1Sweet66

I need new tires for my '71 coupe. I currently am running a 60 series BF Goodrich and am thinking of going with a 70 series tire when I purchase the new set. My good friend has 215/70/15's all around on his '70 and they really look good.
I may want to fill up the rear wheel well a little more so I was thinking of 215/70 on the front and 225/70 on the rear. Not worried with rotating since I probably only put less than 700 or 800 miles per year on the car tops!

- anyone run a staggered size tire?
- will the 225 show too much sidewall and look like a truck tire?
- pics would help
- only interested in 15" stock/factory style rally wheel style look. I know there are a lot of 17" rims & low profile tires out there. Want to stay close to the factory look with my existing factory rally rims.
- Like the BF Goodrich TA's
- Really like the new radial tires from Coker that look like the bias Firestone's $$$$$ & not yet available _ check out their website!
- Did a forum search and there are a lot of threads but I didn't specifically see 225's or staggered size discussions

Comments??

Jebbysan

The 225/70 will be quite tall.......I recommend a 245/60/15 with your front to keep the sidewall height even......

Jebby

Alan 71

Hi 1S66,
The 225/70/15 tire is very close to the current equivalent size of the original F70-15 that was on your 71 when new. The current equivalent size tire is the 215-70.
The 225-70 will be a little fatter and taller than the original F-70 and will fill the wheel-well opening quite well.
It's a good choice for someone who wants to maintain the original side wall proportion in a new tire.
The 245-60 will be a lot fatter but just a little bit shorter than the original F-70 tire.
Regards,
Alan

Here're photos of a couple of CF members' cars taken from the net.

1Sweet66

Thanks Alan,
Assuming that the green LT1 is running a 225 rear - that's the look that I would want.

Having the wider 60 series tires I found that it always kicked up some road debris onto both the rear lower quarter panel and the lower doors ( from the front). It's no tire burner being a factory stock 270hp small block so there really is no need for traction.

Still considering those Coker tire radial Firestones. They look awesome on the Coker website. It's just that they are about 2X the $ than the BF's. Actually kind of hard to find a lot of choices in a 215 or 225 / 70 tire for a 15" rim. Don't really care for the Cooper Cobra & the Goodyear Eagle's don't come up on a search of the Goodyear website. Most likely be the BF G's as they have always been a good look on any 60's or 70's car.

1Sweet66

One more thing.
PSA-
Check the manufactured date of your tires!
I put new tires on my '71 way back when during it's restoration. Won't say when that was but it was a looooong time ago! Never paid much attention to them since it really is a low miles per year car. Tread was still around 85% of new.
Coming home from a car show last fall and had the front drivers tire delaminate. Tread came right off. The tire stayed intact and held air but the tread did some damage to the lower front and rear fender fiberglass. Could of been MUCH worse if the whole tire blew. Went from happy to sad in about 3 seconds during that time. Gave me an excuse to freshen it up a bit. Now onto new tires.
I'll post some pics if I can find them

Alan 71

Hi 1S,
The Coker RWL F70-15 tires look terrific if you're looking for the original appearance.
However they leave a lot to be desired as far as being a nice tire to drive on.
Have you considered the Goodyear F70-15 reproduction tires?
Regards,
Alan

1Sweet66

Tire damage from front tread delamination

1Sweet66

Did not know that Goodyear was repo'ing a F70 tire. Are they radial construction with the bias look?

Yes, agree that the original Bias Ply tire is "old school" in ride quality but they are coming out with a radial tire that has the look of the original bias Firestone all with updated radial construction. From what it looks like on their website it is coming "spring of '17".

Alan 71

Hi 1S,
Yes…. old tires.
I'm sorry to see that photo.
I can certainly understand how that spoiled your day!
How long HAD the tires been on the car and what were they?
Regards,
Alan

The Goodyear Speedway F70-15 tire is made by Kelsey.
"Two polyester body plies with two under tread circumferential belts of fiberglass."

1Sweet66

They were BF Goodrich TA's that were about 18 years old, maybe just a bit more! Yes, I know - stupid me!
I knew that they were old but I was thinking that since the car is always in the garage, never driven in the rain, very little UV ray abuse that they would be sort of OK for the 5 to 10 times it's out on the road. I would check them out from time to time. Never saw any cracking or dry rot.

Older pic before the damage. Soon will be back better than ever!

Revi

You can run 225/70/15's on all four corners. You're not going to notice the 0.5" difference between the 215 vs. 225 unless you're the Six Million Dollar man.

F70-15........26.51" dia.
215/70/15...26.90" dia.
225/70/15...27.40" dia.

sunflower 1972

Sorry about the damage from the tire. BUT, I like the color of your C3.

1Sweet66

Thanks!
Looks like we have good taste when it comes to C3's

keithinspace

I am personally running 235/70-15's on all 4 corners. I was running 225/70's before.

If I was being honest, 225's fit better. Nothing rubs on my car, but the 235 does have quite a bit more height to it. A half inch doesn't sound like much, but it makes a pretty significant difference to the look of the car.

So...from one tall-tire person to another: 225/70-15 fits just right.

DonnieP73

I am running 225/70R/15 all around on my 73.
Have no problems and like the look.








Donnie

1Sweet66

Those look good Donnie, thanks for the pic.
The 225's fill up the wheel well nicely.

7T1vette

The diameter of the BFG Radial T/A 235R60-15 tire is about the same as the original factory tire (equivalent size to 215R70-15) but it adds some width for better handling. The 235 width tire will work fine in ALL C3's; larger width tires will have problems with earlier C3 models.

My avatar photo shows 235R60's all-around. Below is a better photo of the tires.

leadfoot4

My wife was the original owner of 2 C-3s in the past, a '76, then a '79. They both came with 225/70s from the factory...........


EDIT..........I'm having second thoughts. Maybe the '76 had GR70s.......

ENCSDOUG

I'm running MT 235/60/15's in the front and NT 55R P275/60/15's on the back on my 72. The rear well is full of rubber.
Front 235/60/15. Back 275/60/15

427390

I'm running 235/60/15 on all four corners of my '69