C2 Red Line Radial Tires

[Mike Swanson]

I am thinking about replacing my F70-15 Mickey Thompson SS Redlines with some Coker Redlines. I have considered 205-75-15 as replacements but have vever seen them on a C2 and want to make sure that they will not look too wide or too narrow.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Mike Swanson

[Craig S.]

Re: C2 Red Line Radial Tires

Mike - I have a set of these mounted on a set of 67 bolt on repros I plan to use on my 67 when driving...if I get to judging I will use the original rally wheels with vintage repro tires. As far as size, they look just right. I have heard since I bought them that diamondback will grind in and vulcanize the sripes in other tires, and Duke has had many posts about using the better Z rated tires vs tires such as these Cokers. I can't tell you how they drive yet, they are stored at the moment and will be going on the car when I complete some rear end work, but the car had Goodyear F70-15 radials which look about th same profile, and it drove well. Also, these Cokers seem to have issues with getting round tires, I have one with a bobble and there are lots of posts about sending tires back and forth with them. Since I have exceeded a reasonable time frame since I purchased, I will probably use this one tire as a spare (it is not that far off, but I don't want it as a driver tire). Coker makes these in Mexico now, vs the US. They say the plant/process is better...yeah right....Craig

[Michael S.]

Re: C2 Red Line Radial Tires

Look around and see if you can find a set of 215/65-15 UniRoyal SSE redline tires. These were made by UniRoyal about 5-6 years ago and sold nationally at their dealers. They were a miserable failure for late model cars but are perfect for mid-years. At one point I had about 500+ of these tires that I bought all over the place at cheap prices. I sold them in sets and they are all gone except for the last set for my last 67. You may find a UniRoyal dealer who may have some in the back. Most got sold out as black walls mounted with the redline on the inside to get rid of them by tire dealers. They have a nice tread, are radial, have a 380 treadwear and are a perfect size for a mid-year with a beautiful redline. These are "good" modern radial tires with a factory redline, not make it redline tire like available today.

These tires were only made in 2 sizes. The 215/65-15 and 205/60-15. The latter worked OK on early Mustangs. I am sure there are still some out there. I sold them for $400/set. I paid anywhere from $25-$35 a tire but I also bought out the dealers inventory of all he had in stock. They were usually VERY happy to see me. And I was happy to take the dead stock off their hands!

[G B.]

I use Diamond Back's Firestone redline

I won't be putting any more Coker tires on Corvettes. I found them hard to balance, and several developed large blisters within a few thousand miles. I also think their 3/8" redline is too wide and too close to the wheel (starting about 1" out rather than 1.5").

I've been installing Diamond Back 205-75 Firestone redlines and have had no problems. Well, I still don't think their gold line is the right color, but that's another story. Diamond Back will place the redline where you want it. I prefer a 5/16" wide red stripe that has its outer edge 1/2" below the "S". Bill will know what this means when you place an order with him. I've bought several sets with the stripe 3/4" below the "S", but I now think this is a little too close to the wheel once the tire balloons out from inflation.

[Patrick H.]

Diamondback

I have their "usual" Daytona (by Dayton) redline radials on my 71 and really like them. See my site for a picture, since we can't post those here.

Patrick

[Jimmy G.]

Re: C2 Red Line Radial Tires

If you buy Cokers you will be sorry as they are poor tires.

[Mike Yager]

Re: C2 Red Line Radial Tires

I have the Coker repro redline radials on my car. I have had them on the car for almost a year and a half now and have probably put about 1,500 miles on the tire. I have not experienced any problems with these tires and am pleased with the way they look. I had no problems in mounting or balancing the tires. I put the tires on the car in conjunction with a four wheel alignment. The change in the way the car drives was amazing. Very smooth and very straight.

The tires are pricey for waht you get. In my opinion, they are probably an $80 radial tire that Coker charges about $130 for. You are paying a premium for the red stripe but then again your choices are limited. Given how often I will be replacing tires on the car, its not an issue for me. The tires will experience dry rot before they wear out. The pricing premium is not unusual for Corvette parts.

As far as the tires being made in Mexico, I can't see why this would be a problem by itself. There are quite a few auto parts and automobiles made in Mexico today. I am not aware of any widespread quality issues with production from there.

[John H.]

Re: C2 Red Line Radial Tires

I had Coker 205/75-15 wide-whitewall radials on the stock rims on my '57 (had another setup for judging), and put 5,000 miles on them over four years - had no problems with them, balancing or otherwise. I also have a fairly fresh set of Coker 205/75-15 redline radials on bolt-ons on my '67 (with a fresh 4-wheel alignment), and have no complaints on this set either in the 500 or so miles I've driven it since. They're obviously not "performance/handling" tires and they're not speed-rated, but, recognizing that, I have no complaints with them in "normal" touring-type driving. Maybe I just got two "good" sets

[Craig S.]

Re: C2 Red Line Radial Tires

Mike and John - thx for the encouranging words. Three of the four mounted perfectly on my new repro bolt-ons, and run true with no bobble. The 4th, took about 3.5oz of weight, vs the 0.5 to 1.0oz on the others. It has a bobble at one point in the circumfrence, about 3/32" over a 50 degree or so section. These were all new wheels, and I stood over the balnacing machine, and made the guy spin each wheel first to ensure trueness and they all were perfect, so I know the bobble is from the tire not the wheel. I once went through this on my truck, where the wheel had a slight bobble, and I could never get a satisfactory installation, and tires always went out of balance in 1-2K miles, and I couldn't keep them in balance, even though everyone said that the 1/16" bobble in the wheel was not a problem...it was. Changed the wheel, and no problems since. The bad Coker tire on the wheel has been mounted for about 2 years and is in storage, but I am certain it will not meet my expectations, so I plan to use it for a spare and buy one more from Coker, since I sure I wore out my welcome for exchange by now on these tires...even though they have not touched the road...thx!....Craig