LSH77VETTE

I'll be purchasing a new set of tires soon. This past weekend I noticed a vibration while driving the car and upon inspection, found that the left front tire had a slipped belt and was close to blowing. I currently have BF Goodrich raised white letter P255-60R-15's on it. I might go with a new set of those but wanted to see what else is out there in raised white letters before making a decision. I also wanted to see what others are running.

thanks in advanced for any input.

REELAV8R

I run the same size in the back in the Cooper cobra tires. Run the cobra 225/70-15 in the front.
You get any rubbing on the frame at full clock with that size up front?

They run $107 apiece at Discount tire, free shipping too.

LSH77VETTE

Thanks !! I'll check them out. I have the 255/60-15's all the way around and have had no issues at all with rubbing. Those tires were on the car when I purchased it. I still have a ton of tread on the tires but have no idea how old they are. Since I had one with a slipped belt getting ready to blow, I figure I need to replace all of them. A blow out would cause major damage to the fiberglass fenders I am sure. Don't want to take a chance on that happening. Do you like the Coopers okay? I put a set of Coopers on my boat trailer and love them so far.

REELAV8R

Good tires. Super grippy when fresh. Mine are 4 years old still have pretty good grip. My 225/70-15's rub ever so slightly on the front so I stuck with that size vs going wider.

LSH77VETTE

I wonder why I have clearance and no issues for this size tire but you don't? Do you think even though the tire size of these coopers are the same as the BFG's I have that they are somehow a little different in shape, hence causing the rubbing issue? The BFG's I have do not rub at all.

REELAV8R

It's my understanding that several things could effect it. How sagged out the front springs are,maybe?, the relationship of the chassis to the frame, either factory set or due to shifting over time if it's a body panel contact which mine is not. Various suspension components that may be worn or in a slightly different location in relation to the frame on one 77 vs another due to said wear and various alignments over the years. Frame flex or lack there of perhaps? And I suppose the brand of the tire itself could contribute. I haven't compared a BFG to a Cooper either to see the difference in actual width. I suppose Tirerack would provide some specs for that.
I have not tried the 255's on the front, just didn't get them up front as the 225's already made contact and didn't want to aggravate that condition with a wider tire.
I could likely easily solve it with a 1/4" spacer if I felt I really wanted to run 255's up front.

This was all 4 years ago. since then i've made several changes. Could be it's not an issue anymore. Haven't checked lately.

LSH77VETTE

Well, I pulled the trigger and ordered 4 new Coopers as suggested from Discount Tire. Compared to the BF Goodrich tires, these were a pretty sweet deal price wise. I only drive this car maybe 500 miles a year and only get it out on pretty weekends, so the tires will dry rot before I wear the tread out. I think these Coopers will be just fine and they will look good too. I'll have to figure out where to take them to have them mounted but I have several tire shops not far away to choose from. I figure that will add another $20 per tire, but it's still a great deal compared to the BFG's.

REELAV8R

I think you'll be happy. Not too common anymore, but I had a shop start to put on crimp weights on my aluminum wheels, so I guess a guy should point out tape weights are desired vs crimps on the outside. Crimps on the inside, I don't care.

I did look up the specs to compare cooper to BFG and all I saw different was that the coopers are 27.01" and the BFG's are 27.1" diameters. Width was the same at 10.2" each.

LSH77VETTE

Yeah, I am definitely going with the stick on weights. I hate the crimp weights..........they destroy the edge of the rims. Thanks for looking up the specs between the two tire mfg. That makes me feel better knowing there should not be any clearance issues with this new set I have coming. I look forward to getting them mounted and put on the car.

69Vett

tires are same size, rim offset is most likely different,
you did not mention year of C3 this also makes a difference for tire fitment.

LSH77VETTE

My C3 is a 1977

REELAV8R

You mean like it says in the title of this thread?

LSH77VETTE

Yup

69Vett

No, I mean like answering this question,
"I wonder why I have clearance and no issues for this size tire but you don't?"
requires knowing both year vehicles,
rest assured I will go out of my way to help you both in future requests.

REELAV8R

Both 77, both aluminum wheels.