Tire Preferrence?

[terry lee]

My new SPF is to be delivered with 15" wheels and I was just informed that I have a choice of tire mfg. Size will be 295 width. I would appreciate some feedback as to both best and bad results; and especially tire wear in the heat and hot pavement. Living in So. FLa. this is a major concern. I know soft compound, better traction, quicker replacement.
Thanks,
TL

[Bannon]

terry lee,

Who is your dealer down in Florida? When I placed my SPF order last week I was steered away from the 295/50's in favor of 275/60's. I was told that what I gained in width was offset by the loss in height. (I guess effectively lowering the gear ratio leading to more torque multiplication and therefore less traction.) Secondly, apparently there is not a speedo gear that is exactly right for the 295's so the speedo will be off a bit. What gear are you going with? I'm dropping down to a 3.55's to try to get back a little utility in first gear.

JB

[terry lee]

Bannon,
Car was ordered from Doug Reed (Superformance South) in New Orleans back in July. Right now I have the standard 3.73 rear gears, but may opt for 3.55 or maybe as far as a 3.08. All depends how 528 lb/ft of torque hook up with the pavement as to which way I go with rear gears. We need to do aliitle field testing for this setup. I wanted to use 305 tires, but they seem to be hard to find, or should I say replace. For the track, it's going to be slicks on all 4 corners mounted on the original 15" rims. When I do this I will go to the 17" wheels for street use, and then its going to be the same question on tires.

TL

[Bob In Ct]

Terry:
I've got the BFGs (245-60 in front, 275-60s in the rear). Out of the five I have (including a spare) 2 of them are not very round. I had to replace one of the rear tires. I would never get the Radial T/As again. I would love to find tires with no siping so they would not pick up so many stones.

Bob

[Jack21]

No chance we can convince you to hold the 15's, go with 17's, then we can talk tires that will give you what you want?

[kountzecobra]

I guess I am in the minority, but I have bought and used B F Goodrich TA radials for about 20 years. Probably purchased 10 or 12 sets for various cars and trucks and have never had one out of round, come apart, or have any problems at all and was pleased with their performance. I guess I have been lucky. All I hear on this forum is how bad they are, but when these wear out, (They are on two cars in my garage now), I will replace them with more.

[terry lee]

Jack21,
I am willing to listen to anything. The 15" wheels will become track wheels. 17" are not out of the question for an additional set of wheels at delivery.
Kountzecobra,
I remember having T/A radials on my Pantera back in 73 and they were great.
I had Bridgestone OS-2 on my last Porsche; greatest tires I have had.
Thanks for the input.
TL

[ls1ac]

I must be missing something, most of us use the 17 with track tires for preformance and 15 for the look and street driving. Before you change gears you might want to check your speed in gear ranges if you plan to race. (unless it is only at the strip with drag tires. Check out the safty equpment required by NHRA)

[terry lee]

Is 1ac
I like your solution. I won't have to have the 17" polished now.
I still would like input on tire types for the street as per the original post.
Where is Bristol, Wi.? I lived in Oconomowoc before moving south.
TL

[flipper35]

My BFG's are predictable and forgiving on the street. I'll Call Roger Kraus for track tires.

[BULLITT]

What ever you do , stay away from Good Year EAGLE 1 (Almost the same as eagle 2) tires.
They have a tread ware of 400 & the grip is as good as Gear Oil on Glass. BFGoodRich is Better than most, But if you want the best go to the Tire Outlet & get the Good Year "Cobra" Tires they cost a lot more but are worth the price.

[Jack21]

Koontze,

You are definately not in any minority using BFG T/A radials. I started using them on musclecars in the early 70's, and was frankly very satisfied with them. But that was then. I used BFG's on the factory wheels on mine initially.

Actually, I agonized over the 17" conversion for quite some time, reading everything in print, and on the net. First impressions were, "17's look like fork lift truck tires". What started swaying me were end user satisfaction comments, and published independent track testing results. The high priced spread, even in the 17's; BFG, Goodyear, Pirelli, Yoko, weren't turning in very good scores. Lesser known brands, Brigestone, Falken, and Kuhmo were getting the high marks.

Started talking directly to factory tech support folks who universally stated, "Do not expect any kind of performance out of a 15" tire". "You need 17's on any performance car today because tire technology has changed dramatically!"

Car is pure street, but a 3 1/2 season car. Wet and dry road traction is important.

Final choices were Bridgestone RE730's, and Falken FK451's. Got the Falkens on-line (vulcantire.com) for $495 for the entire set including shipping. Team III wheels were $1,200 for the set. The difference was astounding. 12,000 miles on them now with little noticable wear. Expect these tires should go 40,000 - 50,000 miles before needing replacement. Then, I'll strap on another set of Falkens. (Kinda like upgrading your old 8088, or '286 computer to a Pentium 4.)

Perhaps the new BFG KDW's are an improvement over the Comp T/A's, but you're still looking at a 17" tire.

And they don't look like fork lift truck tires. They give the car a more agressive, no sh!t, all business look.

[Cobra 29]

I am thinking about upgrading to 17" as well. It will require changing wheels since I am now running 16". Thanks

[marty]

Been thinking about the inevitable. So ...... what kind of 17" wheels are people running?

[Tom Wells]

Hi Marty,

I have a set of Compomotives for the street and a set of Team III for the track. 9-1/2" front, 11" rear.

Tom

[Back in Black]

Billet Specialties Rebels high polished aluminum 17 inch mags w/ Pirelli P-Zero tires..these tires were designed for the Ferrari 456...pictures in my photo gallery.

Street (auto) TA radials seem to do well, but the All Terrain TA's I have used in the past tended to get belt seperation after 50% tread wear.. suspension was always to spec, Balanced (supposedly) and alignment always. I have an all new set on my restored International Scout 2, and we shall see how they last.

The P-Zero Pirellis are soft and will not last as long as many tires, but then "she" (my cobra) is not going to be a daily driver, and they should stick very well.. for 1/4 mile I would use rear DOT slicks, and all 4 slicks for racing, although I don't plan to track/road race with this car...at least while she is new.

[Pete C]

Terry,
As I’ve stated before on this forum, I’ve run the BFG TA in 265-15 F and 295-15 R. The tires are not suitable for the power that a Cobra will produce together with the short wheelbase. I use the Goodyear Cobra slicks from Krause (on15" Trigo wheels) on the track and I can’t imagine the car handling or adhering any better. As a result, I now fun the treaded Goodyears, also on 15" Trigo wheels (See Cobra tires on Krause site, not DOT) as my street tire. The traction is almost as good as the slicks and I consider it a safety issue. The cars simply make too much power for a cosmetic performance tire. You will eventually put your foot into it or while driving on twisty country roads, enter a turn too hot and you will need the adhesion.

Cheers, Pete C