I am looking at buying the Goodyar f70-15 wide tread raised white letter tires from kelsey tire to use to drive on, not for judging. I currently am using bf goodrich 225/70-15 radial ta's. Will these tires be that bad to drive on?? I have been told that i will be sorry if i buy these things and @ $205 each, thats alot of money to waste to look correct on a daily basis. I drive about 2,000 miles a summer
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Re: C3 goodyear tires
As accustomed to radial tires that most of us have become, belted and bias ply tires are not an acceptable option for a driver. When these cars were new, the Wide Treads were a wonderful tire, but today it is a 35 year old technology. Put a good set of radials on it and enjoy the ride.Dick Whittington -
Re: C3 goodyear tires
Jeff,
I have yet to drive a car with bias tires so I can't give you any first hand experience on the issue but I've been on the fence for quite a while now wondering if I should go with red stripe radials or original red stripe bias ones from GoodYear for my 69. Most all the questions and answers that I got point to what Dick says and that in this day and age radials are the only way to go with a driver.
I was going to go with the radials until I read an artical on a Imperial forum which was very good. They said that as long as your front end is in good condition and aligned that bias tire are just fine. Someone also made a comment like "you wouldn't put radials on a Model A so why put them on your Imperial"? These two comments is what's making me use the GoodYear Speedway Wide Treads on my car and to be honest I really like the look of the correct tires...it kinda dates the car. I also plan to drive my car on a regular basis once it's done and I'm not at all concerned with how it will drive because it will be a "new" Vette and that is how it was back in 69.
So I guess you have to deceide what is most important to you, the look or the drive. Hope this helps.Comment
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Re: C3 goodyear tires
Try this sometime, Put a set of bias plys on a car and drive it for a while, get used to it, a week or so probably less. Then put on a set of radials. You won't even consider putting the bias plys back on. Ever. My Model "A" doesn't get near the speeds that a modern car will get to or I would put radials on it too. It depends on how much you want to sacrifice for looks. What year of Imperial? I had a '67 Continental suicide door many years ago with bias plys. Made the change to radials on it. It was immediately a different car. At that time I had "experts" try and tell me not to, the car was made for Bias plys. Could be but radials are far better.Comment
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Re: C3 goodyear tires
Jeff,
I have had both bias ply and radials on my 1970. To drive with, the radials are better -- hands down. The trick is to get a size that is reasonably consistent with the configuration of the F70-15. The Goodyear or Firestone police pursuit tires have been recommended here and in The Restorer before. They are getting hard to find in 15-inch sizes any more. Try Tire Rack for 225 R70 15 in Goodyear RSA model -- they are V speed rated. It was only available as a black wall last I looked a year ago. Some C3 Corvettes will clear a 235 R70 15, but some will not. V speed rating should cover most folks driving situations.TerryComment
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Re: C3 goodyear tires
Another option is to have two sets of wheels for your 1970. One set would be the original style tires mounted on the original rims. Get a second set of ralley wheels with radials like the ones Terry suggests. Use the radials for your summer drives. Use the originals for shows.
I actually drove my 1970 several years ago on those Kelsey reproduction bias ply tires. I drove on them until the tread wore away to second ply. I wanted to get the feel for what it felt like when the car was new. Like the others said, there is a big difference between bias ply and radials. Stick to the radials. Even if the car drives straight on a perfectly straight and flat road, the road usually changes. Even small changes in the road surfaces are magnified by the bias ply tires. Radials are overall much safer, in my opinion.TonyComment
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Re: C3 goodyear tires
i originally got a set of coker red line bias tires after my 69 was restored. i love the look of my fathom green paint with red stripe tires. i drove it for about a month and the ride was horrible! if you pretty much drive just back and forth to shows or very little mileage per year, they are acceptable (just barely). however, if you drive 1k to 2k a year, save yourself money and get radials. i have heard good things about the red line radials currently for sale. btw, i ended up getting bf goodrich radial ta's 245 60R15 for my 69 and they fit/look/drive well IMHO.
Kenny #31871Comment
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