HELP: C3 tire choice - Yokohama VS. Dunlop

[Eric]

I had GT Qualifiers on my 71 when I bought it and they slipped and slid all over the place. That was great for making lots of squealling noise but I got kinda tired of them breaking loose so often so I upgraded to Firehawks.

 

[c4ever]

BFG 255/60/15's on the 82. I prefer the look and performance has been solid for me.

I do run Dunlops on the 85 but she's an entirely different animal.

Carlo

 

[page62]

Hey, mvftw...

GR60-15's?!?!?! Those tires are OLDER than your car! GM was using P-metric tires years before '78.

I have 255/60-15s all the way around on my '79. The 78-82 C3's seem to have less problems with tires rubbing than the earlier ones.

 

[mvftw]

Not my fault, I bought her 6 months ago. The treads are very good, but side walls are dry rioting. I'm going with 255-60-15, not sure what brand. My research on tirerack says the Yoko's are the best bang for your buck. But my heart says Goodyear or Goodrich...

 

[page62]

Do us a favor...don't drive that car until you get new rubber on there!

I know what you mean about the Yoko's -- great tires, but somehow they don't look right on the quintessential American sports car...

 

[81 MAKO]

Tire "make-over "

Jason tire selecting can be fun! Most of these replys are helpful; if you plan on rotating front to back you may want to think about those sizes. BFG is good for the price, good tires, I just put some GOOD YEARS GT 255-60-15 on my 81 and I love'um. Those 70 series will not give you that wide meat look on the ground. If you drop to low under that 255 #NR size the car really gets low to the ground. Good luck...LOBO out....

 

[LEEJANDZ]

I dont want matching size tires.
The rolling resistance up front with a 255 is too high.
I was actually thinking of dropping down to 195's up front.

I want to be able to control the car and have the traction I want.

I still havent decided... but if it makes you guys feel better... I havent driven since I put the 215/70's up front.
They just keep the car off the ground for the time being.

When I bought the car it came with 3 different wheels & 3 different tires.

I am currently looking for a nice matching set and so far I have found nothing I like.

 

[LIRacer]

Stay away from French (er...I mean freedom) tires. They blow.

 

[Grizzly]

Dunlop Vote

Go to the 8000 or 9000 Dunlops. Good tires. Z Rated and very sticky and good in the wet. 225/60/16 are less than $100 around here.

 

[SLICKMAN]

Get the BFG 255/60/15, they are VERY close to OEM's and they perform well too.

 

[Neepawa]

The C3 looks best with wide meats all around. BFG's are the best bang for the buck. Good all around tire. This is my opinion.

Are you talking about the Radial TA's? Its hard to find wide 15" tires. I have 245/60/15 on mine and there are not a lot of options for tires.

 

[84Vette]

I bought Firestone Firehawks Indy 500 and had them since last friday and have nothing but praise for the quiet, very good ride, and never have had them lose grip yet and have traveled over 200 mile within the last weekend. i bought 255/60/R15's

BJ

 

[BORDERBUM]

I haven't finished my vette projects yet for new tires, but I have the Cooper Cobras on my 454 SS 1990 CHEVY TRUCK and I am very Happy! I did have the dunlops on there before and they seemed to not have much life in them, nice and soft but tread life sucked. With the Cooper Cobras I have a firmer but still soft tire, and also have the tread life. I tend to lean towards the Coopers for my finished project.

note. I have Mich's on my 77 vette now and they seem a little hard to me for any real traction at the line.

Just my 2 cents, nobody else has said any thing about Cooper Cobras, Maybe someone will chime in who has experience with them with good Horse power experience.

GIT R DONE_______________________BORDERBUM

 

[Eric]

I bought firestone indy 500 and had them last friday and have nothing but praise for the quiet, very good ride, and never have had them lose grip yet and have traveled over 200 mile within the last weekend. i bought 255/60/R15's

BJ

I think the Indy 500 is the replacement for the SS20. I have a spare set for the Z24 and the tread pattern is identical.

-Eric

 

[rick7402]

I have had gt qualifiers on my 74 for about 10 years( best tire i ever owned). I replaced them with bfg comp ta (last 2 years) because new qualifies are completely new from what i had (now owned by goodyear). My qualifiers had better traction then new bfg, especially when wet. I personally am not too thrilled with bfg comp ta. I also have the avids on my 82. So far they seem to be a good tire. I would probably recomend the avids. I am still curious how good the (current version) qualifier T is. The biggest problem in choosing tires is people choose from past experience and designs seem to change every couple of years and what once was a great tire could now be a piece of crap and vice versa. Goodluck in your choice. rick

 

[81 Corvette]

I bought Firestone Firehawks Indy 500 and had them since last friday and have nothing but praise for the quiet, very good ride, and never have had them lose grip yet and have traveled over 200 mile within the last weekend. i bought 255/60/R15's

BJ

Give us an update once you get some more miles on them. Thats the tire i am leaning towards. I like the look, and the reviews i hear about them have all been good.

 

[Neepawa]

I didn't have a lot of options for tires. I have 15"x9.5" rims all around. The old tires were 245/60/15, too wide and nothing sporty available. I considered changing rims, but new mags wouldn't look right and I didn't really want to change it back to stock. I like the 5 slot mags.

I ended up getting Michelin Pilot 235/60/15. They are the bottom end of the "Pilot" series, but still high performance tires.

So far, very happy. They look good, feel good and the over-sized interference problems have gone away.

 

[Alan76]

Cooper Cobra P225R15
The Dunlop GTs came with the car when I bought it might as well had wagon wheels. The Coopers ride well

 

[ernbuild]

yokos are great

;help ;help ;help

I want to get a new set of tires for my 79 L-82.
I have the factory wheels and have narrowed my selection to 2 brands.

Yokohama Avid S/T: 235/60's up front - 255/60's in back or
Dunlop GT Qualifier T: 225/50's up front - 255/60's in back.

$$$ is not an issue.

Which would you pick and why?

;help ;help ;help

JASON *** BRAND NEW NITROUS KITS FOR SALE!!! *** 1979 L-82

Hi mate, I run the Avids on my 78 L82, and find them great. The goodrich we get down under are just to hard and are like driving on ice. I know of one suspension place here that wont even do test drives if fitted.
I run 265x15 on the rear and 235x15 on the front. I tried 245 on the front but they rub on the inner guard. Oddly enough we cant get the avids over here, mine were brought over from the states. One thing I found keep the front tyre pressure down about 4 PSI less than the rear, and it steers a whole lot better.

Good luck with your choice Regards ernie.

 

[gravismaximus]

its a new tire---kumo makes it and its in the estca series 2556015 i think it was h rated. has more grip then anytire outthere for this size excluding slicks lol. i put on indy 500's on mine cause they were still making these still but i couldnt wait anymore i was hydro planing at 45mph. the indys have nice grip but allow to much tire roll. if moneys not an issue why not buy some 17 inch rims and get a real nice griping tire. but for 15inch id go with the khumo.