tires

[bluoval]

Anybody out there running 16in. tires? The widest 16in. I can find is a 255/50/16. Anybody know of anything wider and where I can get them?

[Fred Douglass]

Bluoval,
You might want to check Mickey Thompson tires. I'm going to put Sportsman types (DOT) on my Butler---with 15" rims. You can go 'way out on rim widths with George Petrus' outboard-brake modified Jaguar rear ends. You (apparently and hopefully) can slip even 15ers over the hub-carriers. At the Thompson site, I saw some tires (again for 15" rims) that went out to 15" tread width!; they don't use the metric width data (like "255").
I'm not sure how good Thompsons are on the street, but they're supposedly great in "informal" track situations. Lots of the T-buckets and other Hot Rod types use 'em---mostly for the "wide look", I guess.
Good luck.

[RallySnake]

Fred,

Thanks for the Petrus reference. I was able to find his website and his company is only about 10 miles from my office. I've been trying to figure out how to get outboard brakes on my car for years! He also make a hub carrier with a Watts link setup. That's an idea I had long ago but could never figure out how to attach it to the standard Jag hub. Thank you very much.

I used lots of Mickey's tire over the years. I ran the Competitor series tires on my 15" wheels. The grip of those tires was outstanding but the wear was too! Every time I drove the car, I could see the change in the tread pattern. At $100 per tire, I would still be buying those bias ply Competitors if they had not stopped making them. The Sportsman tire looks very similar but I would like to see how stiff the sidewall is before buying them. Wrinklewall drag tires do not corner so well!

Bluoval,

In my younger years, I always tried to squeeze the largest possible tires under the fenders. This looks good but can actually reduce performance and mileage. If top end is important to you, remember that the tire width is a major component of the car's aerodynamics.

Paul

[Fred Douglass]

Paul,
I've been dying to talk to yet another "Arntz and early Butler" guy. I came out last Fall, spent time with Jerry Goddard who has a Butler similar to "Jamo" Ron Barsamian's (right down to the color), and Jim Weatherford (starting to import Porsche Spyder 550 replicas) and even Ron Butler "himself".

Re the inboard brake "problem": what I learned years ago from a fellow who used to race a "front engined special" at the Glen in the 1960's (Chapparal time!) was he felt that the rear inboard brakes on his Jag rear-end grabbed fine, but the big racing tires kept wanting to rotate and take the outboard length of the half-shaft with them. Storing this knowledge for 40 years (amazing how I can remember it!), I knoew it would come in to be useful! I went to buy a Butler, and lo, saw the inv=board brakes, etc.. Right now, I'm buying a "usie" but am reserving a newer set of parts. George Petrus was very informative and helpful. He got in contact with Butler (they're old friends anyway) and the upshot was Petrus sold me on the "outboard-brake, smaller hub-carrier--15" wheels" set-up. As to the M/T Sportsman tires, they're really not drag tires---they apparently are "street/track" in terms of utilization..not "street/strip".

I'd really like to hear from you (another Arntz/Butler man!)--if you have time, e-mail me (DouglassF@aol.com) or call (508) 564-4297. This'll spare the other CC denizens from "back and forth" gab which may not concern their type of car. I'm coming out to the Left Coast in two weeks, to check out Petrus, look over the used car I'm buying and generally check out engine and other options.

Cheers

[ac andy]

Hey Bluoval, (nice tag by the way), have you already got 16inch rims or are you just considering them? For some reason they werent a very popular size.

[Fred Douglass]

I have done exhaustive (and sometimes wasteful) research on 15"s v.s. 16"s v.s. 17"s. The guy at Tire-rack said "go to 17"s, soon there won't be any 15" tires being made". He also said that 16" were probably going to disappear, too. Low demand he said. Well, I happen to be among the tiny minority that doesn't like the "look" of 17", although I yam NOT a rivet-counting authenticity-fiend! I just happen to like the higher-aspect-ratio tires. It's too bad the BIG-LETTER
Goodyears don't seem to be streetable or less prone to vacuum up all flingables off the road-surface and sand-blast your finders, etc.

Paul, et al, was also right about the thread-depth on Thompsons, good for one exit of your driveway and one trip down-town.....

[bluoval]

I haven't bought the wheels yet. It just seems that everyone is running 15in. tires on the street, and there just aren't any really good tires available. The BFGs and Goodyears are ok, but just ok. There are better tires available in 16in. As far as handling, grip, and speed ratings go. The 17in. tires are great but I don't like the look on a Cobra. And they don't offer a very good ride. My Dad has a set of 335/35/17, and 245/45/17, on his Pantera. They have excellent grip, just a stiff, bumpy ride, no give in the tire. They look awesome on the Pantera.

[Tony Radford]

Bluoval, I'm running 16" compomotives with BF Goodrich tires - 255s on the front and 275s on the rear. I can't imagine needing to go wider.

[Alan Vanhollebeke]

A few years ago, BFG used to make the "EURO T/A" in sizes like 305/55/15. These were popular on Panteras w/15 inch wheels, and I just saw a pair on an older GTD GT40 the other day.

Since BFG used to produce this tire, I wonder if they would consider putting it back into production?
Does anyone have a contact with them where we could maybe approach them with a "group purchase".

If you look on the Pantera, GT40, cobra forums, the "tire issue" comes up pretty frequently. I bet there are quite a few who would be real happy to keep the 15inch "period" look on their cars.

All we need to do now is find someone who works at or is affiliated somehow with the tire manufacturer. Maybe they still have the tooling/molds for these tires and can produce a batch of them for our group?

I would be willing to pay a hundred bucks a piece(or even a little more) to be able to have 15's on my project,,,,,,how 'bout the rest of you guys?

[RACER X #99]

It seems like some of you guys want the widest tire possible with fantastic traction and wear like iron but does not pick up any stones. Guess what? Nobody ever made a tire like that. Settle for the widest tire available and if you are going to drive fast get a set of slicks and head out to the track where you won't get into trouble.

My .02

Cranky

[Alan Vanhollebeke]

Cranky, I'm not worried about pickin up little stones.
I'm worried about having a "DOT" legal tire on my machine when I drive it on the street.
There are waaay too many lawyers in this town to risk having an accident or something with non dot parts on the car.

[Mr.Fixit]

Fred,
The M/T sportsmans are sticky, but do not corner at all! I used up a pair in two months of "spirited" street driving

Alan,
There are lots of non-DOT parts on cobras. Anything that says Willwood, and your braided stainless brake lines, and many good tires, as well as countless other parts.

[ac andy]

Getting some big fat Euro T/As made again would be awesome for 15inch rims, but if you really want the look, get some NASCAR wet weather tyres, they fit on a 15x10 inch rim and fit under the back of a cobra, they also have the big Goodyear lettering and look horn!

[chill]

bluoval,

I went with 16's for a combination of ride, handling, and still a correct look. (AC uses 16's on their Centennial Eight cars now)

I have 16" Team III/AC III's and BFG Radial T/A's 245/50x16 front and 265/50x16 rear.

Good footprint (about 11" wide) and enough sidewall to look right.

I have a few pics if you want to see the tires.

[427 S/O]

Bluoval your exactly right.....
Anything other than 15" knock off's
is ugly as two dogs F***ing.

[flatliner]

bluoval, I have a set of 305/50/15's BFG Euro TA's on the rear of my Cobra and would gladly pay good $ for 2 or 3 more pairs. If anyone ever gets a "group order" together with BFG please let me know!! Thanks Flatliner

[tim]

There are a lot of cobras out there with BFG Comp T/A 275/50/16's but BFG decided to stop making these tires about 2 years ago. I contacted BFG about making tires for the cobra industry even if it was waiting list only. They said NO. The up side if there is one is that Coker tire buys alot of BFG's old molds. I talked with them and they implied that they may have the molds but would wait until the demand was there. I purchased a spare and put it away when they stopped production. The bigest 16's I have seen still available in "V" rating is 255. If you don't mind an "S" rating BFG offers a 265/50/16 and a 295/50/16 in there radial T/A product line.
Tim

[rms427]

I plan on trying the Yokohama Avid S/T 295x50T15. They have good survey results on The Tire Rack web site. I asked on a previous thread if anyone has tried them but nobody responded, so I assume nobody has. They are the right size and have much better traction per the Tire rack info than BFG T/A's.

The other DOT tire is the Housier 275X50X15 radial race tire. They have 10 inch tread width and great dry traction (poor wet traction) but are smaller in diameter than the stock tires. Housier states they are not to be used on the street even though they are DOT.

Have fun, Ray

[Hal Copple]

I know someone who has used the Avid's on a replica on a race track, this person has a ton of Cobra track time, all sorts of race tires, and says the Avid's are a fabulous tire!!!

[Lew the taxman]

My $0.02 worth. See my reply to. 17's on FIA

Lew