Tires

NC427 · #1 (**permalink**) 01-30-2002, 04:18 AM

TIRES 255/60 15 130mp/h min speed rateing

Hope I can get some help from this forum.

I have to replace the rear tires of my Cobra and it appears as if there are only SEMI-OFF-ROAD tires available with low speed indexes in Europe.

I would need tires with the dimension 255/60 R15 and H-speed index as a minimum ( 130mp/h)

Does anyone have a recommendation for me as I will otherwise be forced to stick to the YOKOHAMA 352 which is on the rear axle at present and which grants very little grip (to put it the polite way) or a Pirelli SCORPION ZERO about which I have not found anyone who made experiences with it.

Looking forward to your comments.
Carsten

cob289 · #2 (**permalink**) 01-30-2002, 04:02 PM

Hallo Carsten !

Ruf mich einfach mal an ! Ich kann dir mit Sicherheit weiterhelfen !

06427-1048 abends 06427-2578

Gruß aus Schönstadt

Fritz

justa6 · #3 (**permalink**) 02-01-2002, 07:18 AM

You might consider changing to 17" wheels. When I finished my car I bought them because its so hard to get good 15" tires any more. Even 16's are getting hard to come by. I used BFG Gforce KD's they are "Y rated" which is above 150MPH sustained. I believe....

What fun it must be to drive a Cobra on the autobahn...

Regards,

Ikestaa · #4 (**permalink**) 02-01-2002, 02:55 PM

Here is all the German I know

Schlecht

Est gibt kein beir auf Hawaaii

Tanzen zeit

Jack21 · #5 (**permalink**) 02-01-2002, 03:37 PM

Will somebody pinch this guy for me.

Owning a Cobra in a land with no speed limits on the highway! And then asking, Hey, what kind of tires do I put on this thing?"

OK, seriously. The bad news is this. The 15 inchers will have to go. But with almost any 17" you'd care to use, you can drive as fast as you want to, or dare to. Let no Benz, Beamer, or Porche kick sand in your face.

I'd be a little reuctant to recommend a brand, because anything US DOT approved for 55 MPH use alongside minivans and SUV's chugging along in the left hand lane, is garbage where triple digit highway speeds are common.

From my tire research, there are 2 things you need in a high perf tire for a Benz, Beamer, Porche, or Cobra. 1) AA traction rating on dry and wet roads. 2) "Z" speed rating or better. That's 149 MPH+

There is a Jap made tire that was track tested in Germany that stood toe to toe with the Michilen, Pirelli, Yokohama, Dunlop, Goodyear, BFG, and doesn't cost a fortune. Falken FK451. Have a set of 235/45's & 275/40's on mine. AA Traction, and Z speed rated.

There is also a thread here, "What tire is everybody using?" with numerous other suggestions/opinions.

justa6 · #6 (**permalink**) 02-01-2002, 06:10 PM

What did those tires run? And were they z or y rated?

I agree with you 100% on the 17" wheels. Although I got an email
from this gentleman and he told me that the problem is with the Motor Vehicle dept. Apparently he is stuck with 15's.

Maybe we don't have autobahn's but I went to my DMV in Georgia and told them I wanted a license plate for my kit car. She said what year do you want it to be? I said 65 sounds good. $25 dollars and a new plate.

As it should be...

Jack21 · #7 (**permalink**) 02-01-2002, 09:24 PM

The Falken 451's ran me $113 apiece for the 235's, and $132 apiece for the 275's. They are "Z" rated. This was last August, and Falken was having a sale. Got them from vulcantire.com, a little on-line tire store in Scranton, PA. The German track test write ups I got directly from Falken tech support in California.

Used to be, the procedure for dealing with DMV was to have two engines. Guys would buy an old, beat up, but running Ford sedan, or wagon, with a 289 or 390 in it. Install the beater, but correct year engine in the Cobra, get it through DMV, then put the engine back in the beater and sell it. Then put the engine of choice in the Cobra. Swapping wheels & tires for whatever reason DMV wants is a lot easier than swapping engines. I used to have a shelf full of parts I would install on a car once a year for my pilgrimage to the inspection station, then take the parts back off the car the minute I got it home to sit until next year. Yeah, it was a hassle, but it was my car and I liked the way it ran with parts of my choosing. We "played the game", as it were.

$25 for a '66 Georgia title, eh? Think we ought to send everyone from California, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey down your way. Virginia was no cakewalk either. Yet, some of our club guys just sail on through. Depends on what color socks these bureaucrats put on the day we begin the process.

NC427 · #8 (**permalink**) 02-04-2002, 12:43 AM

Actually I have to state your german is covering the mayor issues of life!
Schlecht = bad (actually that´s what my tire problem is)
Es gibt kein Bier auf Hawaii = Ther is no beer on Hawaii = this is a lie I checked it carefully all over the island
Tanzen = dancing = this is what Cobra driving is about once you have found some nive curves.
Zeit = Time = That´s what probably most of us are missing mostly and that is why the snake has to spend so much time in the dark garage.

Carsten

Quote:

Originally posted by Ikestaa
Here is all the German I know

Schlecht

Est gibt kein beir auf Hawaaii

Tanzen zeit

NC427 · #9 (**permalink**) 02-04-2002, 01:16 AM

Hi Jack21!

Be assured I am pinching myself all the time as I share your point of view that it is a pitty to face this bloody tire issue.

As a matter of fact I am checking for apropiate tires in 15 dimension since quite a long time and I have to say I am pretty much afraid that there are only limited options for me:

1 Stick to the current wheels and tires
2 Install 17´s and most probably loosing the vintage status of
my car
3 Hopeing that Fritz (COB 289) of Philipps Cobra in Schoenstadt /
Germany, who replied to my initial query and who appears to
be a highly recommendable Cobra expert with plenty of exper-
tise, finds "the solution".
4 17incers in general are no problem at all and there is a wide
range available which I have checked already. Guess in case
someone needs a hint for those in Europe I can act as an info-
source.
5 Still, stubborn me, I would love it most in case I could stick to
the "original" 15 appearance of the 60´s
6 Will bear your recommendation in mind in regard to the Falken.
In case I am really forced to change to 17 I will sincerly evaluate
them and will check after ending this comment if they are also
available in 215/60 17 and 255/55 17 as I found that at least
for the front axle the 215 do provide for my application (no drag)
but narrow countyside roads with lot´s of curves, the best
response and handling as the wider onces (which I had installed
previously) do sometimes have to many "own" ideas where to
go to in case the road´s surface is not perfect and as I love
to slide through corners "on the point" they are too risky for
my application.

Carsten

Quote:

Originally posted by Jack21
Will somebody pinch this guy for me.

Owning a Cobra in a land with no speed limits on the highway! And then asking, Hey, what kind of tires do I put on this thing?"

OK, seriously. The bad news is this. The 15 inchers will have to go. But with almost any 17" you'd care to use, you can drive as fast as you want to, or dare to. Let no Benz, Beamer, or Porche kick sand in your face.

I'd be a little reuctant to recommend a brand, because anything US DOT approved for 55 MPH use alongside minivans and SUV's chugging along in the left hand lane, is garbage where triple digit highway speeds are common.

From my tire research, there are 2 things you need in a high perf tire for a Benz, Beamer, Porche, or Cobra. 1) AA traction rating on dry and wet roads. 2) "Z" speed rating or better. That's 149 MPH+

There is a Jap made tire that was track tested in Germany that stood toe to toe with the Michilen, Pirelli, Yokohama, Dunlop, Goodyear, BFG, and doesn't cost a fortune. Falken FK451. Have a set of 235/45's & 275/40's on mine. AA Traction, and Z speed rated.

There is also a thread here, "What tire is everybody using?" with numerous other suggestions/opinions.