Another tire question

[Joe L.]

Re: Another tire question

Terry-----


Yes, it is true that the Kelsey reproductions are available from any Goodyear dealer but, just as you say, virtually none of them know about it. There's a real advantage to buying them this way, too, since you get them mounted for free as part of the deal. In general, the price you pay will be the same since Kelsey will wholesale the tires to the dealer (but not to a retail customer) and the dealer should sell them to you for the same MSRP as you'd pay Kelsey if you order them directly. In fact, John Kelsey is the one that told me this. Of course, be sure to confirm price with the dealer before you have them order them.

As far as shipping goes, you usually have to pay for that whether you order them directly or the Goodyear dealer gets them for you. So, that's the same either way. However, the UPS rate is less for tires shipped to a business than for tires shipped to a home. So, there might be some savings there.

[Terry M.]

Re: Another tire question

Back when I was 1970-72 Team Leader John called as he was developing that tire. He shared exactly the marketing information you posted. He was determined to provide the best reproduction tire he could, within the bounds of Federal DOT rules. He succeeded, and even when we found minor deviations from original (it took us over a year to find them) he changed the molds when he next repaired them.
A real gentleman with a fine product.

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Another tire question

Terry:
Thanks for the explanation. I didn't know that there was a difference in date coding after 2000. This all makes perfect sense now. My tires were made the 21st and 17th week of 1981 or 1991 (211 and 171). Terrific feedback! Thanks.
Jeff

[Fred D.]

Re: Another tire question

Fred-----
Could you provide the tire coding on the Kelsey Goodyear reproductions you purchased? I'd like to confirm the current manufacturer that manufactures them for Kelsey.

Joe,

The pic shows the numbers. If you can make any sense of them, please share. I'd like to know the data code for sure.

Looks like CYU283160909

Tire 1.jpg

Like I said earlier, I'm happy with the tires performance thus far.

[Joe L.]

Re: Another tire question

Joe,

The pic shows the numbers. If you can make any sense of them, please share. I'd like to know the data code for sure.

Looks like CYU283160909

[ATTACH]17810[/ATTACH]

Like I said earlier, I'm happy with the tires performance thus far.

Fred-----


Well, it looks like the Kelsey tires are now manufactured by McCreary/Specialty Tires, the same firm that manufactures the Firestones for Coker.

[Terry M.]

Re: Another tire question

Real new tires. 9th week of 09. They must have come right from the mold.

[Paul C.]

Re: Another tire question

Lots of discussion but no definite answer!!!

My 1971 has BF Goodrich, T/A Radial-raised white letter, P225/70R15. The tires are in great shape, look great, and handle fine but I will take 100% deduction.

Which tire made today would be the best handling and have the least deduction? I have an original spare.

Thanks Paul

[Glenn D.]

Re: Another tire question

I just had P225/70R15 Goodyear Eagle GT II's put on my 74'.They replaced P245/60R15 Goodyear Eagle GT's. I noticed a significant improvement in the ride. I have not had the car judged with these tires.

[Peter G.]

Re: Another tire question

Paul.......

I would say the Goodyear Eagle GTII RWL in the size of P225/70x15 is the best tire for handling and NCRS judging.

You have the correct brand and manufacturer (Goodyear) the nearest modern day sizing (P225/70x15) and closest styling with the raised white lettering.

I had my car judged at the Texas Regional Waco 2008 and received a deduct of 14 points out of the possible 30. Noted:"4 on car current OEM".

My 5th tire the spare is a original Firestone Radial 500 in size GR70x15 RWL so there was NO deduction for that tire.

Thanks to everyone who contributed in this posting. I found it to be very informative in regards to tire date and origins.

[Paul C.]

Re: Another tire question

Thanks for the Input Gregory. Just want to make sure on the correct tire before putting out the money for a set. Does everyone agree the most correct tire excluding an original set is "Goodyear Eagle II RWL, P225/70x15??????

I am thinking about going to Carlisle--do you ever see used sets of reproduction tires there for sale that could be used for judging--say the set indicated by Greg above? A used set would be fine--just need them for judging.

Thanks Paul

[Steven B.]

Re: Another tire question

Originally I was considering the BF Goodrich Radial T/A, but I just spoke to their support line and they tell me that the Radial T/A sizes that they make won't work for my application (the P215/70R15 and P225/70R15 can't be mounted on an 8" wheel and the rest of the sizes don't come close to the JG specs).


This has disturbed me since I read the initial post. Unless there is a huge difference in offset, trailing arms, fender clearance, etc., which there is not, the 215's and 225's will fit with no problem. In MY 1978 the base tire was 225/70R15 and the optional tire was 255/60/R15. We ordered my '78 SA with the 255's, the fenders were ground for the 255's and they were temporarily out of inventory so it was delivered with the GY 225's, which are still on the car. The support line was mistaken.

Steve

[Peter G.]

Re: Another tire question

When I purchased my '73 from the previous owner it had BFGs on it in the size of 225/70x15 RWL. There was no problems with them on the 76-82 Corvette 8in aluminum wheels. No rubbing or wheel bearing noise etc?

It sounds like the training the BFG consultants are getting is flawed.

I took them off right away and replaced them with the current set of GY that are now on my '73 just because of the looks.

I like the GYs better than the BFGs in appearances.

[Joe L.]

Re: Another tire question

Originally I was considering the BF Goodrich Radial T/A, but I just spoke to their support line and they tell me that the Radial T/A sizes that they make won't work for my application (the P215/70R15 and P225/70R15 can't be mounted on an 8" wheel and the rest of the sizes don't come close to the JG specs).


This has disturbed me since I read the initial post. Unless there is a huge difference in offset, trailing arms, fender clearance, etc., which there is not, the 215's and 225's will fit with no problem. In MY 1978 the base tire was 225/70R15 and the optional tire was 255/60/R15. We ordered my '78 SA with the 255's, the fenders were ground for the 255's and they were temporarily out of inventory so it was delivered with the GY 225's, which are still on the car. The support line was mistaken.

Steve

Steve----

The BFG support line was definitely incorrect regarding the 225-70-15 not being an acceptable tire for 68-82 Corvettes. As you mention, it was actually used on many later C3's which used the same 8" wide steel wheels as all 69+ Corvettes.

However, the 215-70-15 is another story. That size was never actually used on a Corvette. Although it is closer in several dimensional parameters to the original F70-15 tires used for all 68-72 Corvettes than the 225-70-15, most tire catalogs specify that the widest wheel it should be mounted on is 7.5". Consequently, no tire manufacturer's technical support department is going to tell someone that it's ok to mount a 215-70-15 tire on an 8" wheel. I'll bet that many 215-70-15 tires have been mounted on 8" wheels with no problem, though.

[John H.]

Re: Another tire question

The BFG tech guy is reading right from their Radial T/A spec chart, which is on their website; it shows 7.5" as max rim width for the 225/70-15, and 7" as max rim width for the 215/70-15. They aren't going to tell you anything different.

[Kenneth H.]

Re: Another tire question

When I started this thread way back in April it was because I was interested in purchasing the 215/70R15 tires but tech support at B.F. Goodrich told me that the 215/70R15's couldn't be used with 8" wheels. However, after receiving a number of positive responses from other members to this thread, as well as talking to reps from a couple of tire centers, I decided to go with the 215's anyway. I've been using them since May, and they're fine.

Thanks.