Advice on CRII and Mickey Thompson tires

[James Stern]

I'm looking to replace my BF Goodrich TA tires on my CRII. Currently the front tires are 245/60/15 and the rear tires are 275/50/15. I am currently looking at Mickey Thompson SR #6653 for the front tires and 6654 on the rear. My wheels are 8" front and 10" rear. Anyone out there with a CRII running mickey thompson? Thanks for any help/suggestions.

Jim

[MaSnaka]

Hi James,
I am running with the MT ET Street Drag Radials. 275/60/15 and 245/60/15 both on
8 1/2" wheels. I like them. I don't have any experience with the SR's though.

John

[Dirty Harry]

I replaced my T/A's with the Mickeys on my Shell Valley and they seem to have a lot more grip. Otherwise, about the same. I used 235/60's on the front and 295/50's on the back. I have less than 500 miles since the switch, so I can't say for sure, but I think the Mickeys might be a little better overall.

[James Stern]

Dirty Harry, can you tell me what Mickey Thompson product numbers that related to. The numbers that I am looking at that most closely relates to what I'm using are; 6653 fronts and 6654 rears.

Jim Stern

[FWB]

Jim, if you are using a 8" rim in front and 10" rim in the rear the 6653 and 6654 will be the numbers you need. if you look at the chart........... Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels the overall heights are 26.1" for both these tires, if you go any larger you may get fender interference with suspension travel. go for it!!! Fred

[James Stern]

Fred, That's what my wheels are 8" front 10" rear. I am more worried about the front now on the CRII. I am running Pro Shocks (coilover adjustable). I think I'm OK but still things will be close. Thanks to all for any advice.

Jim

[FWB]

yes it will be close, i had to adjust my springs a tad to stop the fender from kissing the tire on good bumps..... measure the overall of the BF's if i remember correctly they are 26" also

[James Stern]

Fred, The front's are 26 but the rear tires are something less than that.

I'll double measure them before an order is placed. Can you look on your invoice for the M/T numbers?

Jim

[Dirty Harry]

Oops, I mis-read your inquiry. I used the S/T tire, not the S/R. Sorry!

I think my product numbers may have been 6026 and 6031, but that was for the S/T tire.

[James Stern]

Dirty Harry, Regardless, thanks for the feedback. I'm not ready to pull the trigger yet. I think SRs are the way to go but not totally sold.

Jim

[hinoonaz]

There is a big difference between ST's and SR's.. Tread design and the SR's are stickier and do not even compare to BFG's at all from a performance perspective. If you don't get to aggresive then no big deal. Just my opinion.

[James Stern]

hinoonaz, I don't drive my CRII that hard but I won't let a little more money get in the way of better handeling. I'm mostly concerned with rubbing with the taller tires.

Jim

[okiedokie]

I have been using the Mickey Thompson's S/R #6653 ( 26x10xR15LT) on the front and the #6654 (26x12xR15LT ) on the rear of my C.R. I sent the first set back after I could not rid get of the violent shaking ( felt though the steering wheel ) between 60-80 m.p.h.. I have the same problem with the second set of the same tire. This is after alignments, 4 wheel balancing's by different companies, replacing ft. wheel bearings ( nothing wrong with old set), a having my car put up on a hoist to be looked at and examined by more mechanics then I can recall. Nobody could find a problem with the suspension or the car.
Towards the end of this last summer I began Autocrossing it. Top speeds are generally below 70 mph so that shaking was not much of a problem. But these tires leave alot to be desired as far as handling and traction. I'm going to go with 17" Hoosier's for this years coming racing.
I have my car back into the shop this Winter for an upgraded suspension and rear end etc.. I told the guy that will be making these changes to the car about the shaking problem and He suggested I try some tires he uses on his autocross cars. So we first swapped out the fronts with his Hoosier's and I took the car for a spin . The shaking was now only felt only between 65-75mph. We then swapped out the rears and took it for a spin.
HALLELUJAH !!! The shaking problem WAS GONE. I took it up to 100mph. and No Shaking! I believe the problem was the tires all along. I don't think the rims had anything to do with it because these were brand new Team III's which required no added weight for balancing, before mounting the tires.
I will probably go with the B.F.Goodrich Radial T/A's (P235x60R15,P295x50R15) for my street tires this year. but only after I first try them out.

[James Stern]

Okiedokie, What an interesting response. I wonder if your set was typical or a one off? Since I'm not going to track the car at all you have given me a reason to wonder about my path to better tires. I really don't want to spend $300 to $400 more for a set of tires. I know that a part of my issue with the BFG's is their age. I hope other's with experience with Mickey Thompson SRs will chime in.

Jim Stern

[hinoonaz]

I had an initial vibration at around 70. Went back to Discount Tire for a road force balance and all was fixed. It was out an 1/2 ounce to 3/4 on another front tire. I do recall a previous thread about Cooper tires having the same tire under different name. They make MT's I believe. All I know is that the rear hooks up and the front turns alot better than the TA's. I don't race so have never pushed the car except in parking lots and straight line acceleration. It is a better performance tire but not best at all. I would like to have Good years but do not like some of the bad press on them. They do not rub on my car either. I have the back up 1/2 inch higher than normal. Good luck.

[okiedokie]

James Stern,
It could'nt be a one off problem because I sent my original set back and they sent me a replacement set. Same problem.
hinoonaz brought up an interesting point. Cooper tire making Mickey Thompson's ?
When I bought this car 3 years ago, it had Cooper Cobra's on it and guess what. It had the shaking problem at about the same speed range. The difference ( or so I thought ) was that it had one damaged ( dinged ) wheel in the front . It had Ansen Sprints on then. I had the wheel repaired & straightened by Detroit Wheel. There again , I had multiply balancing's done on the tires and it was suggested to me that the problem was in the tire - belt separation.
So, there you go.... ?

[Bill Bess]

I've been running Mickey Thompson SR Radials on my cobra for over 5 years, only one problem. The left rear tire was mounted improperly resulted in an out of round condition, rotated the tire 180 degrees, rebalanced it and it's been smooth sailing ever since. These tires are like most, when they sit for long periods in cold weather they tend to ride a bit stiff until they warm up. I don't race my car, mostly highway driving between 45 and 80, it seems like the highway surface has a lot to do with the smoothness of the ride. So far no complaints with these tire and they wear like iron.

[James Stern]

Great responses. Hinoonaz, Are you using S/Rs or S/Ts? Bill, My driving needs are very similar to how you drive your Cobra. Okiedokie, I had read that you got a replacement set but wonder if they came from the same batch? When I talked to Cooper in Ohio they confirmed that Cooper does make the MT's but they were not prepared to discuss MT's and suggested that I call them. Someone else had pointed out that because a tire company makes another brand does not suggest that the other brand uses the same compounds or the same tread design.

I hope anyone else that has had experience with Mickey Thompson SRs will shed some light here.

Jim

[hinoonaz]

I am running the SR's. They are stickier than TA's from my experience. The back end does not want to come around as when I ran TA's. I know other factors were involved but just feel better about the change. They were old and the front looked like new. I am at 5 years now on SR's and more concerned about age of tire than hardness of the rubber. So far no signs of the rubber deteriating. I tried to find in the archives about details on Cooper tire and there version of the MT SR's. Ran out time, sorry. Gary

[rpatton3]

I don't know if Cooper sells the same tire as M/T brand. They MAKE M/T tires but Cooper may not sell a similar product with Cooper name.