BFG TA/Radials??

[casaleenie]

Just got back from trying to get the front tires balanced due to a shake at 60mph. 15" BFG TA's mounted on Compomotive wheels.

Tires have approx. 4000 miles on them and the shop told me that they were not a candidate for balancing..(wobbled side to side) Need to replace both tires... Asked them if it was possible that the wheels were part of the problem but they didn't seem to think so..

They are going to try and pro-rate the tires but I may be looking at replacing all four tires...

Anyone else have the same experience???

I chased down some archived threads but no exact match as to the problem...

thanks

[Bill Wells]

not necessarily apples to apples, but i have 15,000 miles on bfg t/a's mounted on magnum 500 wheels on my 65 k code modified mustang convertible and the tires are perfect in regards to balance and tire wear. bill

[rsimoes]

I had a set of BFG that were so bad, with less then 10 miles on them, I returned them to Tire Rack and bought new wheels (bigger) and Michelin tires. Of course, this was for a Honda Civic in tiny sizes, but it says something about BFG quality control. . .

[Bannon]

I have heard many bad things about BFG Radial T/A's in the last year or so. Seems they don't like to make em round any more.

In a somewhat related story, my brother just got a set of BFG All terrain 33/1250/15's for his Bronco on brand new wheels. It took nearly 1 pound of lead weghts to balance two of the tires.

I used to think BFG were great tires. They must now have an all around quality control problem.

Seems that they are not the only ones, Eagle GT II"s that are round and balanced are apparently also difficult to find these days.

This is something I don't understand. I realize the demand is relatively low for 275/60/15's or 295/50/15's but the price point for these tires is extremely low relatively speaking ($60-$90 a tire).

I think that the majority of us given the price point of the cars that we are putting them on, would pay a lot more for a quality 15 inch speed rated tire. I know I'd pay $150 or more for a V rated 305/55/15 tire to put on the rear of my car.

Just my $.02

JB

[Zderf]

I'm not going to bore anyone again with my shaggy dog story about balancing, BFG, and the long gone 305/50R15 BFG T/A Euro's for the rear.

We all know that technology stopped on 15" tires a long time ago. There will never be a 15" Z rated tire.

The best way to achieve balance if you are running 15" or 16" Halibrand replicas (or originals) is to "match mount" each tire to each rim, then static balance the assembly (if you don't want weights on the outside of the rim). Of course they should check each wheel and tire for roundness and trueness during this process.

I am told by Goodrich that Coker has bought the rights and molds for 305/50R15 BFG T/A Euro's. They plan to start producing them at some point in the future at about $150 a pop. Here's the link:

http://www.coker.com/default2.asp

In the mean time, I've solved my long-term front end shimmy (15" Trigos / BFG T/A's) following the above advice and with the benefit of the infamous Hunter 9700. I'm going easy on my Euro's so they last until Coker gets it together...

Respectfully,

Zderf

[dalola]

Keep in mind, BFG is the "economy" brand for Michelin, which is also French owned! (sorry, no political opinions here..) My point is, they are a low grade performance tire. You basically get what you pay for. As others have pointed out, there is not much quality, in regards to performance tires, in the 15" size anymore. For sure, this size has been taken over by the "sticky" drag tires. If you wanna go straight in a hurry, lot's to choose from! For all around road performance, you gotta go up 17" and above.
Dave

[rdorman]

Sorry Al. I have read a number of posts about problems with the t/a's. I have heard that your best bet for a street 15" is the Avid S/T. I am going to give it up try a set of Hoosier street TDs and see how I like them. A boat load more expensive over all but a LOT more grip

Rick

[427 S/O]

Someone here tried Dunlop's and liked them, I'm trying to find a dealer that has them in-house and take a look. I've surfed around and found a few that still carry 255-265/60/15 and 295/50/15,
Cooper, goodyear, Dunlop and BFG.

And Still looking.......

[Lew Ledyard]

Does anyone have a picture of the Avid S/T on a Cobra?

[DaveSemko]

I've had BFG T/A's on my SPF since it was built. I'd never buy them again.

Upon delivery my vibration started at about 60 (mild) by 70 you could hardly hold onto the steering wheel. I had the car back at SPF in Ross, and they re-balanced the tires - - and it made a slight improvement. Then one day I made a tight right turn - and the vibrations became worse. I though perhaps I lost a weight... so we pulled the wheels and rebalanced. Same vibration. So we ordered a new set of tires, spent a couple hours rotating the tire on the rim to get the best starting point for dynamic balance... still have the vibration.

I though maybe it was just the balancer - so I headed off to a major tire retailer in my area. We re-balanced yet again (no real change to the weights or position), still had the vibration.

Next we broke down the tires, and tried rotating the tires on the wheels again per BFG Customer Service. Same problem.

We tried a total of 8 tires on the front end of the car - - all of them had the same problem - - when you watch them spin on the balancer - you can literally see the tire runout, and tread move from side to side (the wheels were true to .001). We called BFG again to ask for ideas... they suggested we keep trying tires until we found a good pair! As the lady on the hotline said 'Not too many tires are actually round these days'. WOW some help they are!

I'm planning to pull of the BFG's this year, maybe put them on an old street rod that can tolerate the imperfections.

I'm not sure what I'll replace them with - but I can sure tell you it won't be BFG or their high end brand!

(by the way we adjusted the steering rack per SPF suggestion, it helped to dampen the vibration, but didn't cure the issue).

[cdog]

I had to replace my BFG Euro TA's on the front after about 1,000 miles... The wheel shake was actually hurting my hand and wrist.

I got new ones (same tires) and now its fine.

The golden rule is if you have a shimmy, balance the tires...If it still shimmys replace the tires. Chances of it being a wheel bearing, tie rod end, etc. are the same as it being because the car is made of gumdrops.

[casaleenie]

Based on the postings on this I think I'm going to try getting them to replace the tires with the same thing to see if it improves.
If it doesn't then I'm heading for a different brand..

Would appreciate suggestiions on a replacement brand...

thanks...

I'll know tomorrow how it comes out...

[rdorman]

Buddy! Did you read these posts? BFG are crap! you been in that sauza?

Anyways, good things about the avid s/t, toyo, not bad about dunlop qualifier, man are those big lett goodyears beautiful (non dot and good luck getting them) and WOW do those Street TDs stick!

Coming down for the Ford show and swap meet?

Rick

[Tony Aprile]

caslaleenie....I have the same exact problem as dave semko with a steering vibration starting at 60 and getting much worse at 70, although my spf was delivered with goodyear gt II's. I only have 800 miles since I took delivery in December. I have not gone through all the balancing and tire swaping as dave but I know the goodyears are probably no better then the bfg's or maybe you guy's already knew that.

Tony

[Ron61]

Al,

If you find a good tire in the 15 inch size let me know. I have had the BF/Radials on since 1997 and really haven't had any problem with the tire shake but they are going to be due for replacement one of these days. Now I am afraid to buy more of them and I want to keep my 60s style mag wheels which they only make in the 15 inch size unfortunately. I have looked at some of the tire shops around here and really they don't have much of a selection of anything but drag tires. And they seem to know nothing at all about handling so far as on a road course or even the curves on the highway go. One salesman even suggested I buy 4 drag slicks and they would mount them on the wheels.

Ron

[M & M]

I have the BFG T/A's. Had a vibration right after I took delivery, started in about 65 mph. Took them back for rebalance. All four tires were off on the balance, one was over 2 ounces. Now she is as smooth as silk up to 100 mph. All weights are in the inside of the wheels.

235/60/15 front
295/50/15 back

If someone knows of a higher speed rated 15" in these tire sizes please post because I sure could not locate them.

Be Safe,
Mike