Tire RANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 3,775
Likes: 4
so your saying you have an issue with my 2 Dominators up front, and the 2 BFGs in back? my car rarely goes over 85, so im really not too concerned with the tires, as long as they have tread and theyre not cracking.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,810
Likes: 0
From: NJ
Ah....the word is "whether" and I brought this to your attention because in this post:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...post1577352210
You talk about "weakening of America" and I just wanted to point this out to you in regards to your botching of the word
Stay tuned
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 840
Likes: 4
From: Syracuse IN
Gregg, I see you were running BFG adn now Firestone. Which do you think are better? 15" tires are becoming extinct in our sizes. I bought Firestones last summer but could not stand the white letters of "firehawk". I personally think "Firehawk" looks bad. But as you know everyone has opinions. The tires you are running are not high speed tires either. Unless I looked at the wrong photos. ????????? Al
Intermediate
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 47
Likes: 0
From: Orlando, FL
Gregg, I hear all of your ranting, but see NO PICTURE of you and your car showing off the high price wheels and tires! HUH? I agree witht the guy who said that some of us do not have bottomless pockets and are trying to make do for now. We are more interested in trying to get the "car, engine and body correct FIRST! So go ahead with your ranting but be a little considerate of those who are a little strapped for money but are plugging away trying to get their C3 working and correct. Just had to say something.
You can put lipstick on a pig but pssst guess what, it's still a pig 
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,813
Likes: 1
From: JOPPA MD
Ah....the word is "whether" and I brought this to your attention because in this post:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...post1577352210
You talk about "weakening of America" and I just wanted to point this out to you in regards to your botching of the word
Stay tuned
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...post1577352210
You talk about "weakening of America" and I just wanted to point this out to you in regards to your botching of the word
Stay tuned
Gregg, I see you were running BFG adn now Firestone. Which do you think are better? 15" tires are becoming extinct in our sizes. I bought Firestones last summer but could not stand the white letters of "firehawk". I personally think "Firehawk" looks bad. But as you know everyone has opinions. The tires you are running are not high speed tires either. Unless I looked at the wrong photos. ????????? Al
Stay in tune....
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 840
Likes: 4
From: Syracuse IN
Last Summer I bought the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's. I like the tires, smooth and great traction, but I just could not get over the white lettering. So I swapped the tires around and now hav black walls. I really wished Firestone would bring back the "Firestone SS" I liked the looks, the writing was cools also. Al
Pro
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 675
Likes: 95
From: North Mankato MN
Mine are on their last threads..... but I think the best looking 15" tires were the Eagle GT+4. White outlined lettering (rather than solid white) is what I want.... Probably going to have to go with BFG after these, because I agree ... "Firehawk" just doesn't do it for me.
Last edited by Xanthophyll; Apr 17, 2011 at 12:28 PM.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,429
Likes: 20
From: Kingston Ontario
Mine are on their last threads..... but I think the best looking 15" tires were the Eagle GT+4. White outlined lettering (rather than solid white) is what I want.... Probably going to have to go with BFG after these, because I agree ... "Firehawk" just doesn't do it for me.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 850
Likes: 36
From: Providence RI
I really wish I could find a set of high-performance 15" tires that would fill my '71's wheelwells without rubbing, but aside from importing four of those 245/60-15" Avons for $377/EACH, I was going to have to go with a relatively low-speed tire that everyone is panning here. Since the BFG's had such mediocre reviews, the choice came down to Coopers, M/T's or some Uniroyal Tiger-Paws that were being discontinued. Since I'm not made of money, I went with the Tiger Paws, and will just try to keep it below 110mph as I drive through town to cruise-night... 
I think the cars look best with the original F70 whitewalls, but the repro bias-plies aren't high-performance and they aren't affordable either.
I suppose I could upgrade to a set of 17" rims and appropriate high-performance tires... but did I mention that I'm not made of money?
I think the cars look best with the original F70 whitewalls, but the repro bias-plies aren't high-performance and they aren't affordable either.
I suppose I could upgrade to a set of 17" rims and appropriate high-performance tires... but did I mention that I'm not made of money?
Racer
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 367
Likes: 1
From: Christchurch Canterbury
Why do C3 owner's with seemingly beautiful and correct cars put cheap, off brand, low speed rated tires on their car? 
Hey folks, this is a real pet peeve of mine. I constantly see C3's for sale.. or not, that seem to either have great potential, or have been restored to a respectable level, but then have some goofy looking cheap, off brand tires mounted. Most are mounted on the correct Rally wheel, but the look / make of the tires just makes me want to puke. I mean hey, the tires in my opinion make or break the total appeal / appearance of the car, not to mention the safety concern here with a classic car that you have a considerable amount of monies invested. And, when I see these cars with the cheap, off brand, low speed rated tires on them....... My first thought is, if they went cheap there, where else did they cut corners, to save a trivial amount of monies? I could easily post several examples, but I really do not want to pick on any certain CF member....you know who you are already.
Anybody else feel this way, or am I just being a tad critical ????????
Stay in tune....
Hey folks, this is a real pet peeve of mine. I constantly see C3's for sale.. or not, that seem to either have great potential, or have been restored to a respectable level, but then have some goofy looking cheap, off brand tires mounted. Most are mounted on the correct Rally wheel, but the look / make of the tires just makes me want to puke. I mean hey, the tires in my opinion make or break the total appeal / appearance of the car, not to mention the safety concern here with a classic car that you have a considerable amount of monies invested. And, when I see these cars with the cheap, off brand, low speed rated tires on them....... My first thought is, if they went cheap there, where else did they cut corners, to save a trivial amount of monies? I could easily post several examples, but I really do not want to pick on any certain CF member....you know who you are already.
Anybody else feel this way, or am I just being a tad critical ????????
Stay in tune....
Over here you pay $80 for a budger 175/70/13 inch!
I agree its a shame there is not a good reasonably priced high speed rated tyre available, save of the avon with are out side my budget for both price and longlivity.
Can't undersand why one of the big manufactures does not make a few larger sized 15 inch performance tyres, there surely must be a market??
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,831
Likes: 36
From: Cedar,BC
Get a grip.I'm willing to bet that the cheapest offshore tire built with modern technology and material available now is likely better than the one produced by a hungover,disinterested assembly line worker in the early seventies.And who's kidding who about "speed rated" tires for a mid seventies C3?The Ford Escape I rented this week at the airport would likely outperform any showroom stock 1975 Corvette in any performance measure other than straight line braking...
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 95
Likes: 0
From: Tabernacle NJ
I just put on a set of 225/70-15 BFGs on my 71 LS-5. I stopped by a Goodyear dealer and was told the Eagle GT II did not come in that size. Long story short, Discount Tire charged me $97 a pop. I used to run BFGs back in the late 80s...they lasted forever but seemed a bit slick. Maybe now that they are owned by Michelin they will be a bit stickier on the road. We'll see.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 26,545
Likes: 46
From: Huntersville NC
I put 225/70s BFG on about 10 years ago, and I am not going to buy new tires just because these are 10 yrs old. I opted for the black wall tires mainly because that was the only way to buy the H rated BFGs which I believe are no longer available. I am slightly bothered by the tread that just looks a little truck/suv like to me. I see that a lot, and it bugs me a little but not a huge pet peeve.
Last edited by PRNDL; Apr 23, 2011 at 09:39 AM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,186
Likes: 41
From: Pinecrest FL
2015 C3 of the Year Finalist
The 69 that I just bought has 245 60 15 Goodyear eagle GT's. They are brand new and still have the nubbies.
I was looking through receipts the other day and found the one for the tires...they were purchased in 1988. The car has never been stored out of a garage, so no dry rot or cracks, but not sure how safe the tires will actually be on the road.
I haven't actually driven the car on the road yet, but not looking forward to finding replacement tires, and I hate the idea of replacing "new" tires.
I was looking through receipts the other day and found the one for the tires...they were purchased in 1988. The car has never been stored out of a garage, so no dry rot or cracks, but not sure how safe the tires will actually be on the road.
I haven't actually driven the car on the road yet, but not looking forward to finding replacement tires, and I hate the idea of replacing "new" tires.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,839
Likes: 45
From: nassau co. new york
i am going through the same issue with tires as the rest of you and being poor,(those that surround me don't seem to think so),i cannot afford exotic tires either.i decided that i would take a chance on the grabber hts tires .i have not heard that anyone on this forum has tried them so someone has to go first.they are available off the shelf in the p255/70r 15 size only and i am not sure they will fit in the front without rubbing.235/70's are not available off the shelf and who knows when they would be stocked again.some web tire dealer in california has 1.meantime i slowly roll along for now with 10 year old t/a's that look new but are not able to be balanced properly and handle like crap.the search goes on and if i ever find and mount them i will let you guy's know how they are on a vette.
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 155
Likes: 0
From: Minnesota
New Tires
Took me more than a month and a lot of phone calls and e-mails to track down my Firehawks last fall. Ended up getting them drop shipped when even the manufacturer didn't have them in the warehouse.
[IMG]hhttp://www.pbbergs.com/corvette/photos/tire.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]hhttp://www.pbbergs.com/corvette/photos/tire.jpg[/IMG]
Pro
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 507
Likes: 5
From: Seattle WA
I've had top quality tires and crap tires. You CAN tell the difference in the basic driving experience. If you plan to drive your Corvette the way it was intended, then buy performance tires - at least for safety sake. A Corvette will wallow and roll standard sidewalls right over in hard cornering. After all, it's a 3,400lb car engineered to stop and corner. The tires take most of the inertia and heat produced.
Had a set of FireHawks de-laminate on the sidewall and nearly caused a blowout on a curvy Oregon mountain pass. Limped into a small town and replaced them with the cheapest passenger car tires they had just to get me home (about 500 mi.). Scary... with the added weight of a 427 up front caused yaw and exacerbated the plow normally found when cornering in a big block C2. Gave them to my father to put on his Crown Vic, then replaced them with a set of Pirelli P4000's. Night & Day difference.
Pop even complained the tires I gave him were too soft.
Had a set of FireHawks de-laminate on the sidewall and nearly caused a blowout on a curvy Oregon mountain pass. Limped into a small town and replaced them with the cheapest passenger car tires they had just to get me home (about 500 mi.). Scary... with the added weight of a 427 up front caused yaw and exacerbated the plow normally found when cornering in a big block C2. Gave them to my father to put on his Crown Vic, then replaced them with a set of Pirelli P4000's. Night & Day difference.
Pop even complained the tires I gave him were too soft.