New Tire Any Good?

[RallySnake]

After the 1000 miles of Targa California, my old Mickey S/T's are about gone. Looking at replacements, the S/T's are hard to beat. Got 3 years and lots of miles out of them.

However, I just saw the new Dunlop GT that comes in the right sizes (255-60-15 and 275-60-15). They look nice with a modern tread pattern. Wonder if anyone has any experience with them?

[RallySnake]

I guess the eBay seller is doing well, he raised the price from $130 to $150. I emailed him about these tires asking if they came in "Left and "Right". He wrote back and said that they are Asymmetric and can be fitted on either side of the car. I wrote back and said that Symmetric tires can be fitted to either side but Asymmetric tires need to be turning in the direction that pushes the rain water away from the center of the tread. He did not reply. So, If you buy them and mount them with the tread in the correct direction, the tires on the left side will look different than the ones on the right side. With this tire, that may not be so bad.

[fordracing65]

I would never use those tires on a Cobra, these cars are so powerful they need something with a little performance in it to say the least...that tire looks like it would work on my mini van...

[Tommy]

I have no direct experience with these tires to offer. But I do find a few things that make me curious about them and the seller. I can't find anyone else offering a Dunlop Sport GT tire in that size with a tread pattern that looks the same. Everyone else is offering a Dunlop Sport GT Maxx. It makes me wonder if those are old or from a different part of the world. I'd want to know more about them before I bought them.

[RallySnake]

Tommy,

Yes, I feel the same way. The tread pattern is interesting. The "S" rating is not so good. The fact that Dunlop does not recognize this tire on their website makes me think that they made a few prototype tires, decided not to go into production for some reason, and are selling them off through a third party.

The thing is, I have used a few Dunlop tires in the past and they were very good. In fact I have some on my Jaguar (different model) and those are great tires.

If they had a left and right tire with this Asymmetric tread pattern, I think I would have to try them. The fact that the left and right sides are going to look different on the car is holding me back.

I usually burn through tires on the Cobra pretty quickly. Hate to spend Avon money for rubber that will be gone in a year or two. The Mickey S/T's have held up better than most but took a lot of weight to balance and are now are really out of round. They may be the best available tire for reasonable money, though. The Cooper Cobra tires look pretty good too and are cheaper. Somebody said they were made at the same place as the Micky's and are virtually the same tire. I wish I could verify that.

[fordracing65]

There is a thread on here that says the cooper and the mickey are the same tire same place made just the mickey has a slightly more aggressive tread....

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by RallySnake

The Cooper Cobra tires look pretty good too and are cheaper. Somebody said they were made at the same place as the Micky's and are virtually the same tire. I wish I could verify that.

Yes, they are the same carcass with different tread patterns and of course, the white letters. Cooper and Avon are owned by the same conglomerate.

[fordracing65]

Originally Posted by Mark IV

Yes, they are the same carcass with different tread patterns and of course, the white letters. Cooper and Avon are owned by the same conglomerate.

I don't think Cooper owns Avon, they may own Mickey T....

[fordracing65]

Originally Posted by fordracing65

I don't think Cooper owns Avon, they may own Mickey T....

I'm wrong, Cooper owns both companies...

[rodneym]

Be careful if you don't see these anywhere else or from an online retailer.
I can't place where I saw the article or news story but there are copies/fakes made in China that make their way here.

[RallySnake]

I ran out of time and needed tires for the FFN rally. A local dealer got the Cooper Cobra's in quickly and mounted and balanced them for under $600. I went with 245/60-15's on the front instead of the 255's that I had run before. They are 0.6" shorter and 0.2" narrower. I am hoping that reduces the rubbing under the fenders. I stayed with 275/60-15's in the rear. I also got the suspension aligned by Pacific Frame, one of the best shops in the business.

My initial impression was fantastic, the car has never steered and handled this well or felt so comfortable. There were a couple of times when I pushed it hard and could feel a little tire squirm. I guess this is expected since I am used to running on almost bald tires. But, it could also be the tread pattern because I don't remember the Mickey S/T's ever feeling this way. I was surprised that when we took the old tires off the car the date code was from early 2010. Those things lasted over 4 years, that's a record for my car. If it weren't for the track day at Willow Springs, they probably would have made it to the end of the year.

[VanCobra]

Considering they don't come up on the Dunlop website, my guess is they are Chinese knock-offs. I think you did well to avoid.

Re. asymmetrical tires: there is no left or right (like a directional tire); they are marked with an "outside", for mounting. They asymmetric tread pattern will direct the water properly. Unlike directional tires, they can be cross-rotated, increasing the life of the tire.

[FatBoy]

RS,

Excuse my bluntness, but I think you're nuts selecting the tires for your Cobra on looks and price. The primary criteria SHOULD be performance with these cars.
You quickly dismissed the Avons on price, but they are far and away the best Cobra tires available, bar none.

It's your neck, but I value mine much higher that a set of tires.

Paul

[Bobcat]

RS,

Excuse my bluntness, but I think you're nuts selecting the tires for your Cobra on looks and price. The primary criteria SHOULD be performance with these cars.
You quickly dismissed the Avons on price, but they are far and away the best Cobra tires available, bar none.

It's your neck, but I value mine much higher that a set of tires.

Paul


X2!!!!! I run Avons on mine and can run both street and track , wet or dry .

[twobjshelbys]

These street tires will likely kill you the first time you make a good left turn under modest acceleration. The rear end is going to break loose...

You should stay with the tires mentioned before: Avons are very good and are sticky when cold and better when they warm up. I had Goodyears on my Cobra and the next generation on the Ford GT but they were hard as a rock when cold.

I don't know if they are avaialble in the Cobra sizes but I switched to Bridgestone and they are super sticky warm. The Ford GT sizes end up with two different tire "models", check to see if they area available in your size: Bridgestone RE050A (N1? - these tires were original factory tires on the Porsche Carrera) , and Bridgestone RE050A Scuderia (original tires for Ferrari Enzo).

On the street they are sticky enough that they will pick up small gravel ("grit"), and when warmed on the track were soft enough to take a thumb print. Expect about 5K miles out of a set of rears (and that's without burnouts).

People now swear by the Michelin Pilot Sports

[RallySnake]

I will not excuse your bluntness, Fatboy. People who put down other people on these forums is the primary reason that readers go away. There is no reason for negativity.

I have driven my Arntz Cobra for over 30 years in every possible condition. I drive it very hard and have used up over a dozen sets of tires. I only tires I really disliked (on the road) were the Goodrich TA's because the rubber is so hard. However, I had a lot of fun doing drifts with them. One day, I drove up six ramps to the top of a parking garage on Wilshire Boulevard. At the top, I hit the gas and maintained a drift around the whole southern half of the parking structure. It was a good 500' slide. That's what those tires are good for.

The Mickey S\T tires are much softer than that. Your speed has to be much higher to attain the breakaway. So far, I have only managed a 50' foot drift around a 90 degree bend. Some slides ended up in a spin and were shorter. I have done a number of doughnuts after winning rally events, too. I will admit that they are not the best on the race track, but that's what slicks are for. We competed in more than 10 rallies that were around 500 miles and 60 that were around 100 miles long. A couple of those events were in the rain. I am just happy that they lasted almost 5 years.

To say, "These street tires will likely kill you the first time you make a good left turn under modest acceleration" is completely wrong. They did not. There is a little test loop on a very twisty road that I use to check my car out after I make a change and the new Cooper Cobra's did just fine. At the limit, I can feel some tire squirm but it's not bad and I lived to tell about it. I really like the feel of the tires at the limit and knowing when they are about to slide.

I am happy that you can afford to burn up $2000 sets of tires and criticize others for not doing the same. But then I wonder, just how hard have you really pushed your car?

[FatBoy]

RS,

I didn't criticise your choice of tyre, only your method of selection. However, while you clearly enjoy your Cobra, I don't personally think that a tire's ability to drift or do donuts makes it a good road tire for a Cobra.
I'll stand by my comment that if you can afford to own and run a Cobra, price should have no part go play in the selection process for tires.

Paul