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A friend of mine has a 1970 small block convertible. He's running the stock 8" wheels and wants to keep it looking mostly stock. Currently, he has 255/60-15 tires and they slightly rub the emergency brake cable. I think a 245 series tire would be good, but all I can find is all season with a S or T Speed Rating. Does anyone know of a higher performance tire that will fit his 15" wheels?
A friend of mine has a 1970 small block convertible. He's running the stock 8" wheels and wants to keep it looking mostly stock. Currently, he has 255/60-15 tires and they slightly rub the emergency brake cable. I think a 245 series tire would be good, but all I can find is all season with a S or T Speed Rating. Does anyone know of a higher performance tire that will fit his 15" wheels?
Fine by me and the only v-rated tire I could find easily and locally. Domestic manufacturers have had decades to provide an alternative and they have not.
If they blow up, or whatnot, I'll report it. Don't really see how they could be any worse than those crappy S-rated, and T-rated garbage 15s otherwise available. On my pickup I've been buying the cheapest tires for decades and they last just fine.
Originally Posted by 20mercury
Thanks and pretty reasonably priced. Is Vitour a good tire?
Last edited by carriljc; Dec 10, 2018 at 01:38 PM.
I don't mind paying a little more for quality products, especially if they are made in the USA. I really have a hard time trusting anything made in China.
my stock E-cable was very close also, Zip tie or metal strap the cable to the trailing arm for additional clearance.
this will gain you about 1" more clearance.
These would look awesome, but I think they would rub the ebrake cable. The 255/60-15 already rub a little.
P255/60R15's were factory installed on 78-82 Corvettes, using the same trailing arms and wheels, as the 70 Corvette. A 255/60 should not rub if they are mounted on a wheel with the correct, stock offset.
P255/60R15's were factory installed on 78-82 Corvettes, using the same trailing arms and wheels, as the 70 Corvette. A 255/60 should not rub if they are mounted on a wheel with the correct, stock offset.
Everything on this car is stock. But like the guy said above, I've been using a Zip Tie to hold the ebrake cable away from the tire. Which I don't mind too much, I'm just looking for a higher performance tire.
It's not that simple. On my 68 the 255s fit fine in the rear. For the front I went to 235s because the 245s just barely rubbed. 255s would not even come close to fitting on the front. From reading this forum I suspect there were some subtle bodywork changes around the wheelwells over the C3 Corvette generation so that they could put bigger tires on the newer models.
Originally Posted by gbvette62
P255/60R15's were factory installed on 78-82 Corvettes, using the same trailing arms and wheels, as the 70 Corvette. A 255/60 should not rub if they are mounted on a wheel with the correct, stock offset.
Hoosier has them, but I do not know what the speed rating is or what Hoosier size is similar to a 245-60-15. Maybe someone can decipher the chart since I need tires also in this size. My 1981 Goodyear Eagle NCTs are a bit old even thought they still have the ******* on the sidewalls. https://www.hoosiertire.com/assets/P...compressed.pdf
DOH!!! should have read further doewn the page. 130 mph speed rating
Fine by me and the only v-rated tire I could find easily and locally. Domestic manufacturers have had decades to provide an alternative and they have not.
Don't take this personally, but the reason the domestic manufacturers haven't "provided an alternative", is because for all intent and purposes, 15" tires are all but obsolete, for passenger car use. The mainstream manufacturers aren't going to remain "tooled up" for a tire that they may sell 2-300 per year. It's not feasible for them to do that.
Oh, not taking personally at all. But just from reading this forum , and how often folks ask about a 15" performance tire, I would suspect that they'd sell quite a few per year. Nevertheless, I have found a V-rated 15" tire, had it about 10 months, seems to be a fine tire.... I know that it rides really smooth, but haven't had them long enough, and I don't drive it enough miles in that time, to report that they're "good". However, they are good enough that I am going to buy the rears early next year since my BF Goodrich slow speed tires are now old.
Originally Posted by leadfoot4
Don't take this personally, but the reason the domestic manufacturers haven't "provided an alternative", is because for all intent and purposes, 15" tires are all but obsolete, for passenger car use. The mainstream manufacturers aren't going to remain "tooled up" for a tire that they may sell 2-300 per year. It's not feasible for them to do that.
A friend of mine has a 1970 small block convertible. He's running the stock 8" wheels and wants to keep it looking mostly stock. Currently, he has 255/60-15 tires and they slightly rub the emergency brake cable. I think a 245 series tire would be good, but all I can find is all season with a S or T Speed Rating. Does anyone know of a higher performance tire that will fit his 15" wheels?
Thanks,
John
How does he drive it, and how many MILES per year does he drive it (DRY OR RAIN?)
If less than 3000 miles per year, and DRY only, then I would recommend Hoosier Street TD "S" tires. If he drives it in the wet then I would recommend Hoosier "H2O" tires.
The Street TD is s DRY race tire and will need some heat to work well. The H20 is a treaded RACE tire which works SO WELL that I can run almost as quick in the wet as I can in the dry!!!
BTW size (width) doesn't matter because one of these tires in a 225X60-15 will provide three times the traction of the widest tire available that is NOT an R-Comp tire.
Last edited by 63Corvette; Dec 12, 2018 at 05:25 PM.
How does he drive it, and how many MILES per year does he drive it (DRY OR RAIN?)
If less than 3000 miles per year, and DRY only, then I would recommend Hoosier Street TD "S" tires. If he drives it in the wet then I would recommend Hoosier "H2O" tires.
The Street TD is s DRY race tire and will need some heat to work well. The H20 is a treaded RACE tire which works SO WELL that I can run almost as quick in the wet as I can in the dry!!!
Neither of those Hoosiers are street legal. i.e.DOT certified. Get in an accident with those and I'm sure your insurance company will deny any claims. Might also get your car impounded for non DOT tires, depending on the cop. I drive less than 100 miles a year and wouldn't take that kind of risk. I was going to go with Hoosier wets but the Hoosier engineers I talked with were quite clear not to use them on the street.
15" Performance Tires
