[RallySnake]

I have been having trouble making up my mind which tires to buy for my Arntz Cobra. The Yokohama Avid S/T's have been on it for too many years and even though there is about 3/32" tread left before the wear bars reach the surface, the rubber has hardened up so much that they had no grip any more.

Thanks to the ClubCobra member who wrote that the Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/T's are softer than the S/R's and are recommended by their tire technicians. I installed 255/60R15's (fronts) and 275/60R15's (rears) yesterday and I am very glad I did.

We ran Santa Monica Sports Car Club's First Friday Night rally this evening and the tires were fantastic. We ran down Balcom Canyon and up Grimes Canyon using Stockton and many other fun roads in the Santa Paula area and just had a blast! These roads have severe altitude and camber changes and are a perfect test of a tire's ability to grip in every dimention. The rounded profile of the Mickey Thompson tire gives it a smooth breakaway which only happens when you push it VERY hard. You get a little noise and then a little "dead" feeling in the steering and then the front tires start to slide gradually. I never got the rears to squeel at all. The speeds I was running through the curves felt like at least one "G" and I got a little motion sick. That hasn't happened since I had Hoosier race tires on the car. The Hoosiers would occasionally try to jerk the steering wheel out of my hands on the freeway, too, but the radial S/T's have none of the bias ply race tire's bad traits. I am really excited about my purchase and feel like I have been on a two hour roller coaster ride.

I bought them at Discount Tire on Parthenia in Northridge, CA for $670.00 mounted and balanced. Best money I have spent in a long time (except for my Apple stock). What really made the evening perfect was receiving the First Place Plaque for the best score in the rally. The evening was so much fun I had to go for another drive to burn up the excitement after I dropped off my Navigator, even though it was after midnight. The loop around Woolsey Canyon to Black Canyon and back on Santa Susanna Pass gave me a chance to push the tires hard through 180 degree downhill loops and hard breaking points. I got home with a really big smile on my face and tired enough to sleep.

Good Night,
RS