What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

[Stuart F.]

Re: What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

Thanks again guys. I think we have it narrowed down now so I can go to my friend and give her a challenge to find them.
Because my old Goodyear "Van" tires still look so good, my thought is to get something like polished "Keystone" mags to mount the new tires on. I've always wanted a set of "MAGS" on one of my cars before they tell me to hang it up. I did own a 32 5 window show car with a so called "Full Race" flat head. That was a beast to drive what with Zepher gears and a Columbia rear end. Nothing like 4 Stromberg 97's, a wild Isky cam and Edelbrock finned heads. That car did, as I recall, have aluminum wheels of some sort. I only had it for about a month before I sold it for a good profit, and the buyer rolled it into a field the following week - ouch!

Stu Fox

[John S.]

Re: What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

Stu,
I run 225/70R 15 on my 63, I just went out out and measured them, they are the same hight as the 670 15 on my 1954 vette. I run a white wall and they are getting harder to come by these days so I ended up putting Hankook Optimo H724 on this time.

John

[Michael J.]

Re: What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

Stu,
I run 225/70R 15 on my 63, I just went out out and measured them, they are the same hight as the 670 15 on my 1954 vette. I run a white wall and they are getting harder to come by these days so I ended up putting Hankook Optimo H724 on this time.

John

That's good to know, I have a set of 225X70ZR15 Pirelli P4000s, but thought they might be too big for my '64. Guess I should try them.

[Roger P.]

Re: What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

Hi Stu. If you want tires with a narrow whitewall and can live with a T rating, look into Cordovan Grand Spirit Touring SLi. They also make the Cordovan Centron which has a slightly wider whitewall and an S rating. These tires are actually made in the USA... right here in South Florida! If you don't mind an import tire, Vogue has a couple options. One is the All Season Radial 97S with a narrow whitewall, and the other is the Vogue Wide Trac Touring Type II 98T (sold at Amazon). The Type II is interesting because it has a very narrow yellow line. You might want to check them out before making your final decision. Good luck, Roger (50141)

[Roger P.]

Re: What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

Stu, I found one more option for you. The Hankook Optimo H724 are available in both blackwall and whitewall. They are S rated tires and come in both the 215 and 205 sizes. It's slim pickings out there!

[Duke W.]

Re: What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

That's good to know, I have a set of 225X70ZR15 Pirelli P4000s, but thought they might be too big for my '64. Guess I should try them.

Here we go again. The Pirelli P4000 Super Touring was not available in 225X70ZR15 [sic]. It was available as a 215/70ZR-15 97W as I previously stated, and many have been installed on C2 Corvettes with OE 5.5" or 6" wheels.

At worst the shoulders may rub on the steering gear carriage bolts at full lock, and one should not enter steep driveways with significant steering input, but any interference with the fenders in normal driving can usually be eliminated by resetting camber in the negative direction, particularly at the front when camber may be excessively positive.

I recommend zero front camber for "touring" and negative one-half to one degree for "sport".

A one degree change in camber will move the top of the top of the tire laterally about one-quarter inch, and you can linearly proportion for different values of camber change.

Here are the approximate inflated ODs and revs/mile for OE and common replacement sizes. There is some variation depending on the make/model tire, but all are very close if they conform to the narrow range specified by the Tire and Rim Assc. for each size. The revs/mile are NOT calculated from the inflated OD, which is typically what you see on home-made "tire calculator" Web sites. They are MEASURED on a loaded tire. Due to deflection under load the measured revs/mile is usually about three percent greater than the "rigid body" calculation. Revs/mile will usually increase by about two percent for a tire worn to the wear bars (2/32" tread depth remaining) compared to the new tire with 10-11/32" inch new tread depth

6.70-15, 225/70R-15: 27.5"/760
7.75-15, 215/70R-15: F70-15: 27.0"/775
205/75R-15: 27.3"/766

Actual revs/mile will also vary slightly depending on load and pressure. For a given load, revs/mile will decrease very slightly with higher pressure due to less deflection under load. If stated on the spec sheet, the "static loaded radius", which is usually measured at maximum load/maximum cold pressure as placarded on the sidewall can be compared to half the inflated OD to determine the amount of loaded deflection.

[Michael J.]

Re: What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

Oops, my bad, I misread it. Yes, mine are 215s. But still good to know they might work on my '64, I had been afraid to try before. Thanks for the info.

[Duke W.]

Re: What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

Unless your car has some dimensions way out of spec 215/70s on the OE 5.5" steel wheels should have plenty of outboard clearance. It's less on disk brake cars because the wheel mounting planes are a fraction of an inch further outboard, which is why they have greater track dimensions.

1967 models are the tightest because the 6" rally wheels have less positive offset than prior steel wheels, which moves the wheels another fraction of and inch outboard. KOs, including the adapter and '67 bolt-on aluminum wheels have the same offset as the 6" Rallys.

Duke

[George J.]

Re: What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

...seems a lot of guys have trouble with tire sizes - both the correct numbers and proper format.


It looks like the above Scorpion STR is the only H or above rated tire currently available in a size that will fit C1 and C2 Corvettes with OE size wheels. Even the 205/75R-15 low speed rated "van tires" are being dropped by many manufacturers. The Tire Rack only lists 8 and most are offshore brands.

Duke, I think there are still some types that will fit, and are rated Z, or above, but they are expensive. I think the Michelin xwx's, Vredesteins, and Pirelli Cintuados, will all fit, but are about $400-$500 each.

[Mike E.]

Re: What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

I have some zero mile BFG 205 mounted on repo knock offs I put on my '65 15 years ago. It's always been stored at 60-70 degrees with very little humidity and temperature changes, they look new but don't think I would trust them.

If I was to buy new tires and store away till the car is done is there any way a tire can be kept where it won't deteriorate over time?


Mike

[Michael J.]

Re: What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

My brother, who worked for Goodyear all his life, told me to always store them in a cool, dry, dark place, preferably out of any area with high ozone problems. It seems UV light, heat, ozone, and microorganisms in humid conditions are the worst for tire deterioration.

[Duke W.]

Re: What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

Duke, I think there are still some types that will fit, and are rated Z, or above, but they are expensive. I think the Michelin xwx's, Vredesteins, and Pirelli Cintuados, will all fit, but are about $400-$500 each.

You can also add the Avon CR6ZZ to this list, but they would be, hands down, my pick if you want maximum dynamic performance.

There is no rating above Z, but the tires you mention are H (Pirelli CN72) and V (XWX).

I had a set of 185/70HR-13s Vredesteins on my old '72 Vega GT back in the seventies and was happy with them. They offer 205/70VR-15 96W 215/70VR-15 98W in their Sprint Classic line. Some sizes are sold in the USA by the various specialty tire retailers, and they're in the same price class as the other specialty tires.

Duke

[Duke W.]

Re: What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

My brother, who worked for Goodyear all his life, told me to always store them in a cool, dry, dark place, preferably out of any area with high ozone problems. It seems UV light, heat, ozone, and microorganisms in humid conditions are the worst for tire deterioration.

I will also add that high speed rated tires are made with better materials and construction techniques, which inherently gives them greater shelf life and service life in low annual mileage accumulation service.

Duke

[Michael J.]

Re: What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

I have a set of Avons on my old Shelby, they are great tires and you pay for that. Also, the tallest I could find is a 65 series, but on an old Mustang, that is fine.

[Duke W.]

Re: What's the latest on radial tires for a 63 (H speed rating)?

Avon offers the CR6ZZ in 205/70R-15 96V and 215/70R-15 98V. The spec sheet for both lists inflated OD as 26.7", but the 215 has wider section and thread width. Revs/mile are not specified.

Duke