lionelhutz

LOL, ya I've upgraded my 65 Impala to larger wheels from the 15" BFG's that I had on it and it made a HUGE difference in how the car drives, yet it's just a cruising car and no corner carver. Anyone who hasn't done it has no clue what they are talking about. I want every advantage I can get when driving on the streets. It's the same reason I upgraded the car to disk brakes - sure the drums were fine is the 60's but that doesn't mean they're still fine today.

But, if you just must stick with the 15" rims then at look to the better 15" tires, like the MT tires and avoid the low end crap. The guy in that other car that cuts you off or does some other crap that puts you in danger doesn't care that your car is just for cruising and can't be thrown around hard enough to avoid him.

jb78L-82

Actually Lionelhutz is correct!

The 15 inch tires available today for a C3 15 inch rim (worse than a passenger car tire that would be found on a new corolla) are frankly crap compared to a MODERN 17/18 tire....ancient tire technology could effect the safety of the occupant and your car under extreme conditions such as high speed maneuvering, dry braking, wet braking, tire integrity under various conditions from 75-80 mph driving to hitting road obstructions.

Tire technology is generally totally misunderstood by the average driver. Tires are not all black, round and the same..nothing is farther from the truth.

There are big differences in SPEED RATED tires of the same size. The tires speed rating really has very little to do in how fast you drive...I'll say that again, the speed rating is NOT a determinant of how fast you drive, meaning if I don't drive 168 MPH I don't need a W rated tire! Completely FALSE!

A tire's speed rating DOES TELL you about the strength of the tire's carcass, the ability of the tire to reject heat (which causes blowouts), the ability of the tire to corner, steering response, etc The higher the speed rating generally the softer the rubber which INCREASES the ability of the tire to dry brake, better wet braking, AND LAST, the ability of the tire to be driven at sustained speeds up to the speed rating. The higher speed rated tires not only are much safer than a BFG TA S/T rated tire but will ride better, handle MUCH better, stop faster in both the wet and dry, and is SAFER to drive at sustained high speeds (70/80/90 MPH). Ultra high performance tires also will dissipate water under the tire MUCH MORE Efficiently than a passenger car tire like BFG TA at any speed...they are designed to be driven FAST in wet conditions. There is no comparison....

I went from a 255/60/15 T rated BFG TA to an ultra high performance summer only 255/45/17 W rated tire. OMG! what a difference!

Every car I own has a W/Y rated ultra high performance summer only or all season...Most are Daily drivers and it is NOT so I can drive 170 MPH, obviously.

1Sweet66

https://www.cokertire.com/tires/styl...adial-rwl.html

Hope this link works. If not go to the Coker Tire website and search for " bias look radial tire" .
Been watching these. You probably have seen my thread on the 225/70 question.
I too have had good luck with the BFG's but these would be pretty cool looking! Just have to over come the high price tag. $269 each for a FR-70-15.
They say they will be ready for shipment this spring 2017. Holding my breath!

BTW - Awesome looking red C3 Alan!!

BLUE1972

I have 225- 15's on my 71 and 72 with no issues. I drive my 71 a lot. The tire temperature rating is A - I'm fine with that. I have a 5 speed so I cruse at 75 a lot - no issues.

In the wheel and tire post there is a green 71 with 17" "stock looking" 71 rims and tires.

Unless you look close it's hard to see that they are 17's.

I saw a set of the 17 stock rim copy at a car show this summer - they do look slightly off, the derby caps are plastic - the trim rings look like the repro's without the indent along the face.

as info:

What is a Tire Temperature Rating?
SEARS:
tire temperature rating
Tire temperature rating grades a correctly inflated tire's ability to resist and properly disperse heat. A tire temperature grade ranges from A to C, with C being the lowest possible score under federal regulations. A tire assigned with an A score means it runs the coolest while one graded C runs the hottest. This score helps determines the risk of potential deterioration when operating a tire in high temperatures. For instance, consistently driving in high temperatures on a C rated tire could potentially lead to blowouts.

jb78L-82

Tires are all speed rated (S (112 mph)/T(118mph)/H(130 mph), V (speeds up to 149 mph), Z(open rating above 149mph), W(168 mph) and Y (186 mph). Also tires are rated according to traction (AA is best), Temperature, and wear (higher the number the longer it will wear). All my tires are AA traction rated (which is rated for the WET), Temperature (A is best) and generally a wear rating of above 300. Keep in mind that the ratings on tires are from the manufacturer so 2 tires from different manufacturers that have the same rating MAY NOT be equal...it is a relative rating that can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.....

Tires are the only item between you and the road...I would not go cheap on this item. There is a very good reason that one tire is $100 and the same size tire with different ratings is $200...you generally get what you pay for with tires................

jb78L-82

Understood and I get the preference of 15 inch wheels. I only switched to 17's because I wanted a better more performance oriented tire, and waited forever in the hopes someone would make the 15 inch style aluminum C3 rim in 17/18...still waiting. I still like the C3 rim but bit the bullet about 10 years ago:







Do I love the look of the ZR1 style rims? NO but I have learned to live with it since the tires have transformed the car-handling, ride, steering response, braking etc. Folks that have ridden in my car are stunned at the suspension performance, not to mentioned the upgraded engine. If ever in RI, I will take you for a ride and make you a believer in the tires..



BTW-Had the 78 out today and smile every time...even with a C6Z06 in the garage...................

jb78L-82

Its all good...everything is relative! You will have a fine ride even with the BFG's....but if you ever want to take the next step...go tires and rims.

mvett6802

I tried 60 series tires on my '68 with stock rims. Looked horrible. Went with 225/70 15's which, IMO, look best on 68/69's. Right height and fill wheel well nicely.

centuryoldracer

I realize there are better tires out there but I run the BFG TAs for the low cost, they last a long time, they look good for a classic car, and I like to use stock 14 or 15" wheels on all of my classic cars. I had a 70 ElCamino with a built 540 and in the case of that car I ran TA radials up front and M/T Drag radials in the rear, but the drag radials only last about 3,000 miles if that.

lionelhutz

Well, I've just been sunny day cruising my Impala for the last 10 years without any issue. And for a while it was on BFG's too. Picking high performance tires for the car was nothing to do with wanting to drive way above the speed limit or driving it un-responsibly on public streets.

Just last year there was an idiot in a minivan that tried damn hard to make me plant my car into the corner of his van. He would have been successful too if I had not installed the better tires, brakes and sway bars onto the car. I had to brake and throw the car around REALLY hard and it wouldn't have been capable without the upgrades. It was the worst close call I've had in any vehicle for a very long time. I was damn happy I had upgraded the car. It would have been a good hit, so I might have been hurt and there would have been a good chance the car would have been totaled if that accident had happened.

So sure, the stock drum brakes, little skinny tall 15" bias tires and thin little front sway bar would drive just as "safe" today as they did 60 years ago. But in my opinion that level of "safe" is way below adequate today and it was totally incapable of protecting me against almost any stupid move another car makes. Hell, it wasn't even adequate back when the car was built but no-one knew better back then.

Also sure, the BFG's were just fine for a bunch of years and I had no problem driving the car with them. There were adequate to drive on and would have continued to be adequate if I had installed a new set instead of upgrading to the better tires, EXCEPT that ONE time last year.

Of course, everyone is free to decide what they want in their cars, be it a certain look or a certain level or performance or a certain level of extra safety/security when driving. However, it's is sad to saddle a C3 with low performance mud and snow tires when the chassis is capable of so much more. It too could get you out of a tough situation if you equip it right.

Sigh, funny how the one who emphatically told me I'm Wrong and these old cars are all fine with their original equipment later posted about how he did a bunch of suspension upgrades to his car....

loquinho

I put a set of MickeyThompson Sportsman S/Ts on mine within the last couple years. No complaints from me. I used to have a set of Indy Firehawks which were awesome, but they aged out after a dozen years or so. It came down to the BFG Radials or the Mickey Thompsons, and I like the look and reviews of these better.

Plus, these days it seems everyone's stopping production of the tires in the old sizes, so I was happy MT for starting production of a classic tire and wanted to support them.

And they look good. If I could go back, I might have gotten the original size instead of the slightly wider tires with the shorter sidewall, but I'm happy with these for now.

centuryoldracer

Wow those do look good

v2racing

I ran 255/60/15 BF TA's on my 80 Vette with the engine and tranny in my signature. The traction was non existent with those things. I switched to Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires of the same size and they had much better traction, ride and handling. Then I switched to 265/40 18 front and 285/40/18 rears. It was a night and day difference. Stopping distance was shortened dramatically. That is a safety issue. The handling was of course greatly increased, but the stopping distance alone is more than enough reason to switch. This was on a low mile car with F41 suspension in excellent shape with Bilstein shocks. Any upgrades to the suspension beyond this would be a waste without the tire upgrade.

Mike

BLUE1972

I drag raced for many years, I do understand tires better than most. I worked on the run flat tires in the 70's. Helped / worked on with the design of the inserts.


When most people go to larger diameter tires they feel the difference - really due to a smaller sidewall as result there is less sidewall flex.

The speed rating is for sustained speed for a given load over a given time.

You could tell the old racers by the American Racing AL/mag rims vs the Crager. There must have been a 5 -8# difference in the rim weight.

Tread pattern has as much do with traction as does compound's.

Remember when you go to a larger rim you move the weight of the rim further out - this requires more torque to turn the rim and therefore you go slower.

The softer the compound the better traction on dry surfaces and the lower the tire life.

Just a few thoughts.

The 225 70 - 15's are rated for 112 mph - sustained - I'm good with that.

F4Gary

So Michelin has not changed the tread compound of the T/A Radial at all in the last 20 years?

Tjf2000

Tire options in the 225/70r15 are all but disappearing. BFgoodrich does not even list a Radial TA in that size on there web page any longer. So if you find them, one needs to confirm how old these "new" tires are with the date code.

7t9l82

I have cooper in the front and nitto drag radials in the rear. The cooper's when I had them on all 4 corners were GARBAGE, they are an unsafe tire in my view. If somebody spit on the road in front of me the car would swap ends.the drag radials in the rain are better and they aren't made for wet roads.
with that said the roads in florida are a little different,they use this almost pea gravel in the asphalt and the heat and wear leaves the gravel in the mix pretty slick so perhaps the cooper's weren't that bad but my trans am which had 16 in tires never had a problem

lionelhutz

And yet your point is still just an opinion. You keep posting this as if this is an unarguable fact, but it's not. They may meet your personal "requirement" for street tires, but that doesn't mean they meet anyone else's.

I also NEVER posted that BFG's or any other low end tire was unsafe. It's not like your car will just suddenly crash while you're cruising down a dry clean straight road, well unless that cheap tire just randomly comes apart on you...

What I did post was that better high performance tires will make your car safer. Tires that stick better WILL brake in a shorter distance if you have to panic stop. They WILL allow you to swerve harder if you are ever required to. These improvements 100% do make your car safer. You would have be completely delusional to argue that this isn't true.

I also posted that I found better performance summer tires made my car drive nicer. More connected to the road, steering feels more precise, not as much wallowing on the soft wide sidewalls, responds to bumps much more precisely eliminating much of the shaking and shuddering. In my case, the car drove much smoother too, but I don't know if that was runout in the BFG's or runout in the old rims. My car always had some vibrations with the BFG's that balancing never did eliminate yet when I had the tires balanced the techs seemed to think everything was fine with the tires and rims. No matter because it drives way smoother with the new tires. Overall my whole driving experience has improved. This is all just my opinion on how I felt the tires improved my car. But, I bet anyone else who did a similar upgrade would also feel they got similar benefits.

Hell, if you think a tire that is equivalent to the OE tire is all that is need and is more than good enough for any street driving a C3 could do then you should be buying the cheapest tires you can, such as Sentury or West Lake or Nexan tires. They're all 1/2 the price of BFG's and I bet they all exceed the performance of the original equipment tires. So, why are you spending extra money on BFG's when these tires are all you REALLY need?

AirBusPilot

These are 17" rims. 285's R, 275's F, fronts rub slightly at full lock.

I think they look old school, despite being 17's.

jb78L-82

I say it every time...absolutely gorgeous 71!!!

Not only does that car look fantastic but it has the vintage look with all the modern running gear.....Tires, suspension, Tremac OD tranny, and the REAL stroker motor 415 Dart SB. Awesome.