Tires

So I have a cheep set of tires on my '78 CS wagon. I bought them for my '77 when I started to restore it but the tires have blown belts and the other two just never balance out right.

It seems to be hard as heck to find P225/75 R15 with a white wall. I keep finding "Sigma Shadow" tires that are made in China. I already have these and well, like I stated before, I'm not impressed.

I would like a brand name tire, like Cooper or BFG. Anyone have any ideas on finding tires? I have checked Wal Mart, NTB, and a few others, all I seem to get is a quizical look when I say white wall and 1978 Ford wagon......like I time warped or something.

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...5TR5KR21&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

 

Have you tried Firestone? The FR380 comes in that size, and it has a whitewall. You ought to be able to get a set at any Firestone store and probably anywhere that sells Firestone tires. The FR380 is one of their most popular tires. I have a set of them in size 215/70R14 on my '67 Delta 88. They look great and handle fine.

Also, I recently purchased from a local independent tire shop a set of Mastercraft A/S IV tires in a very similar size to what you're looking for (235/75R15) for my '73 Custom Cruiser, and these come with a white stripe as well. According to the Mastercraft website:

http://www.mastercrafttires.com/htm...er_AS_IV&search=bySize&twtd=225&artw=75&rd=15

they can be gotten in the size you need as well. There's also a dealer search function on that website.

 

Thank you Handy Andy.......from what I see, they look to be a decent tire.

Jaunty75. I have yet to try firestone. I just really started to look for tires today. I have written to a few major tire companies, see if I get anywhere with that. Rather than deal with some kettle head tire dealer around here.

Mastercraft, thats a offshoot of a Cooper tire, right?

 

When you say "written," do you mean like with pen and paper, or by email? If by the former, cool, and how 20th century of you!

But why bother writing at all? Just go to their websites. All of the tire manufacturers, big and small, have them, and they have a search mechanism so you can see what they offer. Have you tried this? Tirerack.com was mentioned, too. Have you tried sites like that? There are a number of places that sell tires online, and you can search their inventory online as well to see what they have in your size. See something you like, and they can arrange delivery right to a shop near you for installation.

Don't be too hard on the kettleheads. They're the ones who will actually be installing them on your car, and I have found the independent shops to be run by capable people who can really be a help. If they weren't, they wouldn't be in business. The guy I bought my Mastercrafts from can track down pretty much any tire made. I've bought most of the tires on my family vehicles over the past 21 years from this guy.

I don't know, and does it really matter? It's a name brand that's been around for many years, and I put these on my collector car, a vehicle that I might put 500 miles on each year. This isn't the family daily driver that will see 15,000 miles annually, so tread life or heat resistance or whatever is of relatively less importance, even though these tires measure up just fine in those categories.

At 500 miles per year, it will take me 80 years to reach the 40,000 mile treadlife warranty on these tires, and I will likely be dead before half that time is up. If I'm not, I'll be in my 90s and probably not driving cars anymore, anyway. If I do replace these tires again, it will likely be because of age and dry rot, not because the tread has worn off.

I just wanted something that looked good, wasn't too expensive, was a brand I'd heard of, and that had a white stripe. I'm sure these will be fine and will give me good service for as long as I have them.

 

I wrote by email to a few. I have looked online, figured I would cut to the chase and communicate one on one with the tire company.

I'm a big truck tech, I already have a place that I know well that can install my tires. I would do it myself but all of our equipment is for big stuff. I was a Volvo tech for 6 years here in Chicago. The brand name tires seemed to wear out nice, balance better, and hold up in this area.

I have had off the wall brand tires before, never had good luck with them. I would rather stick with brand name tires. Besides, I drive about 10,000 miles a year, so I want something of quality between me and the road. The last thing I need is a tire pulling apart while I am going down state, out in the middle of nowhere.

 

That tire size seems pretty common. I've had somewhat of a difficult time with choices for my WW 14". 14s are getting scarce now. I've used Cooper and I have Goodrich on the wagon right now. PS2000 white wall 205/70R-14 and I know they have the 15s. I have 215/70R-15 Generals on the Tbird. They were white wall too but I have the black side out.

You can substitute 70s with no problem if 75s are getting hard to find.

Goodrich
Cooper
General
Firestone

 

Just get any tire that's good for the size and what-not then get these sweet white wall inserts they're wide whitewalls They're the portawalls you'll have to scroll down to see em.

http://www.lucasclassictires.com/

 

i just put 225 75 15 ww on my car. i bought Milestar brand.
i thought they might be decent since they are sold at sears .....WRONG!.
bought them off ebay and the seller was buywheelstoday. the seller was excellent to deal with and but i wont buy this brand tire again ....
the first 2 weeks they were pretty good but they were doing EVERYTHING in their power to hold up the roadmistress wagon(and i havenvt even installed the extra battery, new tunes, and crazy alarm/remotestart/anticarjack systems yet).

after 2 weeks they started making more and more road noise. it is terrible on a concrete road and still too much for my liking on pavement.

if you drive 75mph on a freeway that is concrete and have to make a near stop they sound just like the opening of VanHalen's first album turned up to about 8.5 (on the spinal tap scale.)
in the rain they slide WAY too easy(the surprize 4 wheel drifts in the wagon on wet pavement is interesting to say the least)


the tires i replaced were General Ameri-G4S. they were awsome and 8 years old and handled near perfect in all driving condiitons. this past winter i drove in a field with almost a foot of snow in the ground and never had a problem. they had over half the tread still on them but were cracking bigtime between the tread blocks and around the bead. ... but still rode better at 70mph than the new ones ever have. they never felt squishy like the news either.

of course the generals are no longer made ...

 

In high school I had Cooper Lifeliners on my 1978 Thunderbird, LOVED them. Handled my stupid high school driving......

I don't want to put just any tire on my wagon. It's the only thing between you and the ground.

 

Finding anyone that knows tires around here seems to be hard. The guy at NTB argued with me, saying that a pass car could not have that size. And the guy at wal mart didnt really know what "white wall" tires where. He thought it was the raised white lettering.

 

I feel your pain, I went through the same grief finding Tires for the Buick, P235 70 R15. I was not after white walls, but after the best ballance between snow,ice,rain. I now have Cooper truck tires on the Buick. Rides a little stiffer, but handles a bit better.

Finding tires for my Cutlass is a B****, I can get winter tires in the stock factory size P205 70 R14 but not in P215s. How ever I can get the size I want in a all season...waist of $$ for the winter driving around here though.

 

Iv run nothing but Michelin on all my cars/trucks for years.
Great mileage and handling.
Got some at Sears and Costco, well worth the money.
Just my

 

Yes, but can you get any with white sidewalls?

I did a search just now at the Michelin website for tires in the size I needed, P235/75R15, and four options came up. However, all are classified as "SUV/Crossover" tires (this size is apparently unusual on a passenger car these days), and none of the four options has a white sidewall.

I did a search for tires for my other old car, which has P215/70R14 on it. Only one option came up. It's a passenger car tire, but it does not have a white sidewall.

If the OP really wants a white sidewall tire, it doesn't appear that Michelin can help him.

 

Thank you everyone for your input. One way or another I will find some good solid treads for my '78.