I did a horrible burn out and almost lost in a drag yesterday to a riced out ford probe because I got a little scared after he stuck and ran from me with the front wheel drive. I've got a 69 with a 350 and a 4 spd so far all I know thats been done to the engine is a new intake and and new exhaust. I realize tire size's that are to big for the engine might hurt more then help. So without doing any suspension modifications what would be the best size of tire to use so I could get decent traction, 225's are just not enough :)

 

If you want to stick with the stock 15" wheels, 255/60' all around will fit with no mods, but the number of 15" performance tires is rapidly decreasing.
If you want to upgrade to 16 or 17" wheels it opens up a much wider range of choices.

By the way, I hope your encounter with the ricer was at a sanctioned track, you shouldn't be drag racing on public roads. :jester


[Modified by 6t9l4t6, 7:17 PM 4/21/2003]

 

I beat a probe GT on my 225's. wasn't hard at all.

In fact I think maybe you just need to give it a little less gas next time...probes are turds.

 

:withstupid: The front tires could scrub a little if the front end is worn, or misaligned.

I'm running Firestone Firehawk SS20 P255's all the way around. Best tires in terms of grip, per $, that I've owned. Cost is about $70 each. Even in the rain, I really have to punch it to lose grip, and my vette has about 300hp.
On dry pavement, I'm lucky to get a squeak from the tires when I floor it


On the other hand, it could be the age of your tires that is causing you traction problems. Before my current engine, I had a 240hp 350, with an old set of tires. The tires were old and hard. Whenever I decided to run thru the gears at full throttle, it would smoke the tires in first, and chirp 2nd. Driving in the rain was a nightmare. The slightest throttle blip would spin the tires. Once I got my new tires, it was as if I was driving a totally different car, in terms of handling and traction :cheers:

So, the condition of your tires can be the biggest factor in traction, rather than tire size. In fact, if you check some of the archives, there have been numerous debates on whether an increase in tire size width actually gives you more traction.


Hope this helps :seeya





[Modified by shotgun_000, 4:40 PM 4/21/2003]

 

Larger wheel diameter will make huge difference in the cars handling. I've got 20" all around :yesnod:

 

If you want to find anything over a 225/60 R15 don't go to Tirerack.com . I just ordered some clearence tires in this size because they had nothing else wider in anything.
From looking around is seems like the options for 15" rims are deminishing.

I agree with the comment on old tires. I can put my vette sideways at any given speed or time. I found out the tires that came on my car haven't been made in 10 yrs. so even though my forward traction is good by lateral sucks.

Get a good set of slicks, remember you car came with F70's so a 225 is even wider than stock.

 

Get a copy of the May 2003 issue of Corvette Fever. It has a great article on the options for tires and wheels for the C3.

 

Huh? Just did a quick search for 255/60-15 on tirerack and got 8 hits.

See for yourself:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp?startIndex=0&width=255%2F&r atio=60&diameter=15&search=true&pagelen= 20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&do=Search

 

When I looked I wasn't getting any hits. I must have not chosen all the areas, I am pretty sure I didn't look at the all season tires because I didn't want anything for snow and wanted more of a tire for street and track.

But I did do a manufacture search for BFG, Good Year, Yokohama and another brand and that didn't give me any hits either.

Good to see there are some out there.

 

I have 255's all the way around on my car, and it rubs a little in the front, sits really low. I wouldn't go with the firehawk SS20's though, I can easily start sliding around in third gear on the highway with a little mist on the road. In my opinion, they're just a decent tire for something that isn't able to spin the tires, like a van. We run them on our vans, and they're great.

 

Gotta watch the rice burner types- lots of Nitrous in those things these days.

 

Where do you suggest 69Sting?

If you look at the specs on the tires listed by tirerack you will find:

Kumho Ecsta STX are rated 420 A A and only have 8" of tread width even though they have a 10" section width...thus bubble tire for comfort ride and not performance.

The Pirelli Scorpion Zero are rated 360 A A and though the tread width is not listed currently, I have an excel document that I created the past couple of years that says the tread width is 8" and 10" section width.

The specs are the same for nearly every tire in the size 255/60-15. The tire industry has determined that a 255/60-15 is a truck tire size, and thus nearly every one of them is a truck tire..tread, rubber compound, etc. The only tire that still LOOKS like a car tire is the BFGOODRICH RADIAL T/A. You could also throw on a set of BFGOODRICH COMP T/A DRAG RADIALS: 235/60-15 just for the race track.

Now...if you want PERFORMANCE, and willing to sacrafice an inch or two on your ride height, then take a look at the smaller tires...for example:

Pirelli P600 : 235/60-15 rated: 180 A A real sticky tire full 10/32" tread depth

Dunlop SP Sport 8000 : 245/50-15 rated: 200 A A another sticky tire, but this one has 9.1" of tread width with 9.6" section width...nearly a flat sidewall nice and stiff...a little more tread than even the BFG 255/60-15. Nice looking tire.

If you want to be a trailer queen then carry some tires with you...how about these:

Hoosier R3S03 rated: 40 C A (a couple of runs down dry track with only 4/32" of tread). You will not spin these suckers!

There's a few others, but I think you get my point. Also look at the prices. A good performance tire will cost you about $150 each, which is why most of us go for the BFG RADIAL T/A or the FIRESTONE which we can get two for the price of one.

If you are interested in the excel file, you can find it here:

http://67.116.80.81/Vette/Files/TireRackTires2001.xls

http://67.116.80.81/Vette/Files/TireRackTires2002.xls

http://67.116.80.81/Vette/Files/TireRackTires2003.xls

I just updated the 2003 file at the beginning of this month. You can take a look at how the industry has been eliminating performance tires in the sizes we need by comparing these files. But, as I pointed out...some tires like the Dunlop SP Sport 8000 235/50-15 will fit like a snake.

 

Good Info Rock-N-Roll.

I wish I knew where to look, that is why I mention not Tirerack.com Felt they didn't have a good selection of tires for the 15inch rim for a vette.

I was looking at BFG site as well as Goodyear Site. TireRack was just easy at the time, During my search I found some Yokohoma I heard great things about. I stopped searching then.
I ended up purchasing a set of 225/60 r 15 Yokohama AVS Intermediates on closeout for $44 each. These will be 1" smaller than stock if the spread sheet I found on a different site is correct.

I agree all the tires except maybe the kumho didn't look like performance tires but a good traction easy riding tire you would put on a 77 Cutlas supreme.

I am sure there are tires out there in the width and height in 15" but I just didn't have luck finding what I wanted on Tirerack.com

If there are other sites out there, let me know. I am sure I will have these burned up in 2 summers. (if not sooner, depending on track time this year)

 

I went to B&N today looking for the May2003 copy of Corvette Fever. They already have the June2003 copy out, so I was unable to pick up this article. Is there any way I could get a copy of the artcile? :)