15" Tire Feedback - which brand?

[panteralee]

Need 15" tires for my GT. Feedback welcomed on:

1. Cooper Cobra GTs (I already have these on another car)

2. Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/T

3. BFG Radial T/A


Street driven, dry weather only.

thanks

[incoming]

I love my Vitours. Stickier (IMO) than ay you have listed.

[767Jockey]

The Mickeys and the Coopers, from what I've read, are the same tire made by the same company.
The BFG T/A's are rock hard, you'd be better off with tires made of molded concrete for traction. In a light car, usually over powered, short wheelbase, I believe that using the T/A's is asking for trouble.
I know nothing about the Vitour's, only what I have heard, which is that they perform reasonably well.
I have Billboards on my car, the seem to perform OK, they're definitely the best looking option out there. I've read about flinging rocks, darting, etc but I haven't experienced that to any large degree yet.
Lastly, someone is sure to raise their hand here shortly and praise the virtues of the Avon's. They seem to be the best of a marginal group of tires available in our size. The problem is the pricing, which is beyond laughable and has now reached abusive levels. It's almost criminal what they're asking for these tires, which in view of the performance tire market in commonly used sizes are actually pretty poor tires. The pricing on the Avon's is unjustifiably nuts. I believe they're now about $3K for a set of 4. You've gotta be kidding me.

[Grubby]

I have had MT and BFG. Now running Vitour Galaxy.

Hands down the Galaxy’s are better.

John

[novasscnc]

I have the MT they just look right

[Mark IV]

The Coopers and the M/Ts share a carcass, but the tread is different. The Avons (now "Nova") are the standard but are expensive. What is your ass worth?

[saltshaker]

there are only a couple 295/50/15 Avons in the US…. if you blow one where are you getting another?
Jon

[saltshaker]

there are only a couple 295/50/15 Avons in the US…. if you blow one where are you getting another?
Jon

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by saltshaker

there are only a couple 295/50/15 Avons in the US…. if you blow one where are you getting another?
Jon

Avon has been purchased by "Nova" and is building tires in Portugal.

[767Jockey]

Originally Posted by Mark IV

The Coopers and the M/Ts share a carcass, but the tread is different. The Avons (now "Nova") are the standard but are expensive. What is your ass worth?

The Avon's are about triple the price of the Coopers or Mickeys. Are they three times better? Are they three times less likely to contribute to an accident of some type? Compared to state of the art tires like the Michelin Pilot Sports, Pirelli P Zero's, etc - the Avon's cost about double and they're crap compared to those tires. The only reason guys buy them is because real performance tires are not available in our size. The ridiculous cost of the Avon's is unjustifiable, beyond the fact than some guys will pay it. That doesn't make them good tires.

EDIT - Re-reading this it sounds like I'm jumping down Mark IV's throat - that's not my intent at all, and sorry if it came off that way. My beef is not with him at all, but rather with Avon and their punishing pricing due to the fact that there are few other alternatives. They're blatantly taking advantage of that.

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by 767Jockey

but rather with Avon and their punishing pricing due to the fact that there are few other alternatives. They're blatantly taking advantage of that.

Unlike every corporation in America?