The Nittos I'm referring to are the drag radials, which may not be what you're looking for. Here's their listing for those and you'll see the 275/50/15s at the top- http://www.nittotire.com/Tire/nt555r#size
You can get them through Discount Tires or somebody local to you.

The front tires I have were made by Yokohama but they don't make them anymore unfortunately. When I bought them they had the best speed rating available but now it's either an "S" rating or the expensive Pirellis with a "W" rating- that's good for a sustained 168 MPH vs. 112 MPH for the "S". That speaks volumes about the difference in the quality of construction between the two.

I have the longer leaf spring bolts in the rear but the way it's set up they aren't being fully utilized. At this point I'm not sure what the ride height is compared to stock. I do have the E-brake brackets moved to the top of the trailing arms to make room for wider tires. I did that when I had 295/50/15 tires, which are wider than the 275s of course. I'm not !00% sure but I think you'd need to do that to fit the 275s too. Nitto shows that acceptable rim width for those is 7.5-9.5. My front suspension is stock height.

 

I have been waiting for the Pirelli P600 the ones you are talking about but I am also having a hard time getting into paying 250 plus for them. I actually did purchase the P600s from a company that had some but when I got the tires they were brand new but produced 9 years ago so I sent them back, they cost half of what the new ones cost but like everyone else I am waiting for another batch to be produced. I have actually written a bunch of letters to tire companies and magazines complaining about the lack of 15 inch tires. No one seemed to be interested in helping guys with classic cars. I wont buy the BFGs because S rated just sucks and I wont do it, I also wont spend a grand for reproduction crap for my Vette. Anyway, such is life, I will go with what ever brand comes up with a good tire for 15 inch wheels. I will stick with 255 on the rear and 235 on the front. Still looking around to see what is out there. Have plenty of things to fix on the car before I need tires anyway.

 

I just had a rep at Discount Tires call Pirelli a few minutes ago. Pirelli told him that they expect to have a production run of the 235/60/15 P600s and have them available within about 3 months. To me they'll be worth the wait and cost since there are no other legit performance options now and I don't see that changing. FWIW Discount Tires will be able to get them when they're available and I've always found their prices and service to be hard to beat.

 

actually the correct tire that came in/on the first C-3, {1968} is a 'F70....

but I knew all the experts knew that....

 

Just something to consider.....

Yes, it's a nice safety cushion, to have at least "H" speed rated tires on your car. However, consider that A) an "H" rated tire is good for sustained 130 MPH speeds, and B) your car originally came with non speed rated fiberglass belted tires.

My point...where in the US, are you going to go 130 MPH for any length of time (assuming street use, of course)? Secondly, since the car originally came with tires that were non speed rated, and you today put a high quality radial tire of the car, IMHO you should be just fine.

As a point of comparison, my first brand new car was a '71 Chevelle SS454...a pretty fast car. On a couple of occasions, I had the car in excess of 130 MPH for a brief time, and never had an issue...

 

I have BFG 255/60/15's on my 69 and I am going to put them on my 72. I have not had a problem with them rubbing. I also like how they fill out the wheel well.

 

This thread started in 2008 and has definitely veered from the OP's question since then. At this point some of us are talking about our best options as they exist today. I personally don't have an interest in what would have been the original size, although somebody else might care. For a 15" wheel the options are very limited at this point and that's why so many others have gone to 17" wheels or bigger. I happen to like my 15s and would rather optimize my choice as long as there still is a decent choice for that size.
You make a valid point. In the case of the Pirellis that have come up for discussion I'm not just interested in the higher speed rating but also in the much stickier compound, which has a treadwear rating of 180 vs. 400 or 500 for the other 2 choices. Those other 2 choices also have a speed rating of "S" which is only 112 MPH, not 130 MPH. The far superior materials and type of construction not only make for a tire that's quite a bit safer at the limits but, more importantly, more capable during an emergency maneuver that could save my butt or my car from disaster. Tires and brakes are 2 things that are so important for safety that I'll always try to find the best options for both.

 

LES, my point exactly and for those that say the car came with a worse tire than the BFG S rated tire, maybe so and I also remember tires blowing apart in those days, in other words tires that completely came apart in normal use. I am sorry I do not want to go backwards and put crap on my car and the S rated tire is not a performance tire at all. Do you see any late model cars out there with an S rated tire, in fact I have not found any car company today putting S rated tires on cars at all. My 2006 Honda has H rated tires and it handles like a Go Cart, came that way from the factory. Just an update, DPtires does have an H rated tire in 15 inch sizes and they are lined tires but they are asking $250 each, there is the problem, I can buy very high speed tires for less than that, why is it that these companies think it is okay to make these reproduction tires for classics and then turn around and charge us twice what the tire is worth. Lets rob the classic guys blind and give them crap tires at the same time.
BFG if you want my business bring back the Comp TA H rated. I would rather buy a MT T rated tire before I slap on a S rated BFG. Everyone is hurting and these **** heads want us to fork out $1000 for crappy tires, please

 

I also looked at the MTs and if Pirelli doesn't come through I may go with the MTs. My contact at Discount Tire told me to call him back in 1.5-2 months and he'll check back with Pirelli at that time. My calendar is marked with a reminder and I'll post an update when I have one.

 

Les check out DPtires, they have a H rated 15 inch tire that looks like the BFG redline or whiteline (even gold), in fact they make the tires in different lines sizes. Have no idea about the tires quality, just found them this week, then again the tire looks much like the BFG redline and it cost as much as the Pirelli. As for waiting for Pirelli I have been told for months now they would be coming out with new ones in the next couple of months, its already been 4 months. Funny they are asking 250 bucks for this one tire and they will not match it with a larger tire for the rear and we have to wait for it. What is up with that, there are millions of Euro cars needing the tire and Muscle cars as well and we have to wait. Wait for what are they waiting for them to hatch? Pour in the Rubber and cool them down and ship them out!

 

have you looked at DBTires.com? They have a good selection. I am contemplating putting redlines mounted on ralleys for my '72.

 

Thanks, I have that bookmarked in case Pirelli doesn't get it done. I'd be happy with the H speed rating but I'd prefer the stickier compound of the Pirellis if I can get those.

 

I love the redlines as well, they are not correct on my car but look great with Gold, the white lines just do nothing for me.

69 Fastfun I am wondering if you are good with 255's on the front because the 69 wheel wells do not have the wider flares on them I would like to see how well it goes on your 72.

Just wish DPtires was not asking $250 per tire for an H rated tire, shiiitttt!

 

Hi? Did you lower your vehicle? If yes how much did you lower it and how did you lower the vehicle front and rear? Are those oem rims? Thkx

 

Okay I looked into the DPtires H rated radial and they are using Maxxis MA-S1 Marauder tires, they come in all kinds of sizes for 15 inch wheels. Basically DPtires shaves off the Maxxis name and stuff on one side and then vulcanizes the stripes onto that one side, so basically you are getting a Maxxis H rated tires with a simple cosmetic change and then DPtires marks up the price. I am thinking it is cheaper to just buy the Maxxis tire direct, comes in 235, 245 and 255/60/15. Be careful this tire is made in S rated and H rated, different part numbers. Also the unaltered Maxxis one would have a stronger sidewall because it is not worked on, just what I am thinking here.

 

I just ordered some 225/70/15 outlined white letter Grand Am radial GTs, they are made by Cooper.
We all used to run them back in the day and they never wore out, so im going back to them.
The tires I took off were dated 1994! 1 had a plug in the side wall and it was splitting.

 

http://www.onlinetires.com/user/vehi...allbrands.html

 

Thanks just purchased 2 Maxxis 235/60/15 98H tires from them.

 

235s are going to make the front end look like its jacked up off the tire

 

Agreed. I have them on mine but the next set will be 255's up front and probably 275's on the rear.