Hi. I'm looking for new tires for my 1984 coupe. (P255-50 R16). Seems like the only ones I can find are hi performance type (TOYO, MT etc). I don't want Town Fair tires that have been sitting in a warehouse for 10-15 years. Just looking for All Weather type. Any leads would be helpful. Thanks

 

It seems there are two choices. New 17" wheels and tires or HP tires to fit your stock rims. I went with the Toyo RA-1 'cause I wanted to keep the stock wheels. I am planning to only drive occasionally for pleasure so even these will probably age out before they wear out. With Tire Rack and Discount Tire working together I had the tires within two days of placing the order.

 

here u go:

https://www.zip-corvette.com/promos/...pre-order.html

 

Many early C4 owners are using 245/50R16 tires. BF Goodrich, Cooper, Riken and Toyo all offer ultra high performance all season tires in that size. I expect there are other tire companies. Check out Tire Rack. Discount Tire recently bought Tire Rack. You can have the tires dropped shipped to your local Discount Tire. They will mount and balance them for $22.00 a tire in most locations. Tire Rack ships free.

 

My choice of the Toyo RA-1 also reflected the Z51 handling package which meant 9.5" wheels in the back, 8.5" in front. 245 50/16 stretch pretty wide on the 9.5"

 

@C3POL82 Does you 84 have the Z51 package/ If you are not sure, look at the SPID label for the RPO code. White sticker located on the underside of the rear, left storage compartment cover (on the driver side) of the car.
The OP never stated that he had the Z51 option on his 84.

 

Yes, Z51 pkg. Having tough time finding tires. Even Toyos are back ordered.

 

How are they in the rain. The car isn't used much but must be rain driveable. Thanks

 

Toyo Proxes RA1 is listed on Tire Rack's website as a racetrack and autocross tire only. The majority of consumer reviews listed use as track/autocross with just a few highway use.
They are priced at $305 per tire. The treadwear rating is 100.

 

I'm looking at Proxes TQ. They look a little more streetable.

 

Toyo Proxes TQ, drag racing radials?

 

New with full tread depth (8/32") the Toyo RA-1 should have good wet traction. They are DOT street legal so racers can drive to the track. Other discussion threads and Tire Rack's description of the tire seem to confirm this. With the "stepped" tread block design once the first 2/32" are worn off the tread blocks get bigger and therefore better for dry traction, not so much for wet though. The dry traction continues to improve as the tread wears more. Tire Rack offers tread shaving for those looking for immediate dry traction use. I'm only planning to drive mine in the dry for pleasure. In the Pacific N/W that means a lot of garage storage time unfortunately.

 

The RA1 comes with 8/32" tread depth and and is used by many track competitors as a rain tire. It will actually perform quite well in the rain. They would be way better than the TQ, both on tread pattern and tread compound. A drag radial is going to be garbage in the rain. I would strongly persuade you not to get those. Same goes for R888R: avoid them like the plague if you need rain drivability.

The RA1 shows to be in stock at Tire Rack. It's a soft, competition-oriented tire so it won't last 50,000mi, but it should be very streetable. It's a great rain tire. It's the perfect tire for your stated use: "The car isn't used much but must be rain drivable."

PS - Do not order the RA1 shaved. You will want full tread depth for your needs.

 

So, I'm doing my usual random searching and browsing for the elusive 255/50-16 tire size hoping BFG is doing another run or gawd forbid another company show us some respect but I see Summit Racing claims to have Coker/Michelin Pilot Sport repops in stock.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/***-556102

Not as cheap as some of our forum members. In fact a set would cost me twice what I paid for the car, which violates my rule that annual maintenance must not exceed purchase price. However, if you want new tires in the right size for your 9.5s this could be an option.

 

You can search around for in depth discussions of these tires. Short version is these are for concourse show cars, they aren't actual Michelins but rather reproductions, and they will be terrible for actual driving...not mention stupidly expensive.

 

I'm not saying you're wrong. But it sure would be nice if Coker would make that clear.

 

I just bought a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 255/55ZR/16 for my 1984 from Corvette Central back in August. Expensive, but there is nothing else out there.

 

Coker's website represent the tires as Y speed rated. I don't think they could state that if they were just black and round.

 

Hi Matthew, fully agree with "stupidly expensive". But, why would you say that Michelin "Y" marked tires marketed both in Europe and US would be reproduction quality and terrible for actual driving? Are there any facts about this? I am interested in these tires, because BF Goodrich I bought new in 2021 seem to be unavailable in Europe and within next 1-2 years I will have to buy another set of 255/50/R16 for my 85 Z51. I am not a fan of Toyo's semi-slicks, I do prefer street tires and these Michelin Pilot Sports are the only available option now...

 

The facts are that Coker bought the molds for this Michelin and a bunch of other (even way older) tires from Michelin and is producing them on their own. God only knows what the actual rubber compound they are using is. However, let's assume that it's the best case possible and Coker somehow has access to the original rubber compound. These are tires that were OE on Ferrari Testarossas in 1984. So the very best case is that you're spending outrageous money for 40-year-old tire technology. They will be worse performing than any new tire of the same speed rating you can buy now, and you have no idea what their production process or quality control is like. It's a good bet it's far worse than Michelin's own production quality.

If you absolutely have to have 255/50/16, then you'd be far better off spending far less on Toyo Proxes RA1 tires. They are not "semi-slicks": they have 8/32" tread and are frequently as rain tires on track. They have reasonable street performance as long as it's above freezing. However, if your car has 16x8.5 wheels instead of 16x9.5 (most 84-87 C4s came with the narrower wheels), then you can easily fit 245/50/16 tires instead. They will fit and perform great, and there are several choices in summer and all-season tires. Unless you have a concourse Testarossa, there simply is no reason to buy the Coker-built Michelins. They didn't come stock on any C4, so wouldn't even be useful as concourse show tires on a Corvette.