Tire choice in 15''

[Jonny30]

Hello,

I'm looking for my tire choice and need your experience to find the best tire for my drive. I like the Good Year Eagle look but i'm in Canada and couldn't ride this tire here. For now my choice is Radial T/A or Mickey Thompson Sportsman ST. Any suggestion are welcome. I want to keep a vintage look with 15'' tire. I will probably put some big white sticker on to get the look of the Good Year Eagle. I want to have tire that stick to the road and to have a good driving experience.

Thanks guys for your help.

Jonny

[Gordon Levy]

Not a TA fan, prefer the cooper cobra. The rest would be race tires so you are quite limited

[alexmak]

Mine are Mickey Thompson S/T tires with tirestickers.com applied
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=134522&d=1598883636

[Gumball]

I have Avon CR6ZZ tires and love them. I made some stencils out of patterns I bought at a big-box office supply store and used parchment interior spray dye to put "AVON" on the sidewalls.

They are radials, pretty sticky (but wear well), and have a very vintage looking zig-zag tread pattern.

Sizes are 245 rear and 225 front.

[GWL]

I'm considering the Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/R. Looks like it has lots of rubber that will contact the road and they say the flame pattern is good for wet traction. Not quite the traditional look but I'm looking for function. I read on other forums that they do outperform the other tires mentioned here except the Avon.

https://mickeythompsontires.com/street-tires/sportsman-s-r

George

[FF33rod]

You may have checked already but... 15" wheels will limit your brake choices so make sure that you have enough clearance for the calipers.

Steve

[rich grsc]

From talking with a club member, the Cooper Cobra's may be a better tire than the MT Sportsman. The best 15" tires you'll find are Avons. You'll be shocked, twice, once when you pay for them, and second time, when you drive with them. You'll think you're driving a slot car.

[AC Bill]

I couldn't find an Avon car tire dealer in Canada, using Avon's tire dealer locator on their web-site.
If you had to import them from the US, the dollar exchange rate would make an already expensive set of tires, outrageous.

My buddy is running Cooper Cobra 15" and is very happy with them. They are available in Canada from several sources, so that may help with a warranty issue, if should one occur.
If I could still get them, I would go back to the Yokohama Avids I've be running on. Excellent tire, but sadly discontinued in the size I need. I'm running 235-60r15 on all four.

[Jonny30]

Why do you prefer the cobra rather the TA??

[Jonny30]

Alexmak, very nice ride, I really like the look of the tires with the sticker very nice. Where do you take the sticker? The wheels are from FF5?? What tire size do you put on??

I will take a look at the Cooper Cobra too.

Thanks to everyone for your help it's very apreciated :)

[AC Bill]

Mine are Mickey Thompson S/T tires with tirestickers.com applied

The billboard lettering looks great on your car.

[AC Bill]

Why do you prefer the cobra rather the TA??

Over several years or reading posts on the different builder forums,, there has been a lot of criticism of the BFG's, not having the traction needed for our cars. Not great on dry roads, and apparently could get downright nasty in the wet. Compound to hard perhaps? It may depend on the driver to a degree, as there are a lot of roadsters out there, sporting them still.

[NAZ]

You may have checked already but... 15" wheels will limit your brake choices so make sure that you have enough clearance for the calipers.

Steve

I'll echo what Steve said about limiting your brake size. However, there are work arounds if you can find a wheel style you like in a forged wheel. Some forged wheels provide extra clearance for brakes. Forged are stronger, lighter, and provide more room for brakes but at a cost as they're not cheap. I use Weld SFI rated wheels and can run 12.19" rotors with Wilwood Dynalte Pro calipers on the back with 15" wheels. But if you're looking for something that looks more 60's you may have to give up the larger brakes to get the look you're after.

[alexmak]

Alexmak, very nice ride, I really like the look of the tires with the sticker very nice. Where do you take the sticker? The wheels are from FF5?? What tire size do you put on??

I will take a look at the Cooper Cobra too.

Thanks to everyone for your help it's very apreciated :)

Thank you, wait till it's painted! The wheels and tires combo is from FFR, 15" replicas with Mickey Thompson tires, 245/60 front and 295/50 rear. Stickers are from tirestickers.com :)

[Jeff Kleiner]

I've used Cooper Cobras on two customer builds. They're not an especially high performance tire (short of Avons no 15 inchers are) but are a good choice for a street cruiser. If using the FFR Halibrand replica wheels go with 235/60-15 in front and 295/50-15 for the rear.

Jeff

[mburger]

Here are my CC’s in the sizes that Jeff Kleiner mentioned above. I also used tirestickers.com and applied the billboard letters. They are a little too white right now and I prefer the over sprayed look of the originals. I may have used 245 up front. Would likely go with 235 when it’s time for replacement.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=131790&d=1594701964

[Jonny30]

Here are my CC’s in the sizes that Jeff Kleiner mentioned above. I also used tirestickers.com and applied the billboard letters. They are a little too white right now and I prefer the over sprayed look of the originals. I may have used 245 up front. Would likely go with 235 when it’s time for replacement.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=131790&d=1594701964

Thanks they look very nice on your car. Buy the way very nice car :)

[Jonny30]

I've used Cooper Cobras on two customer builds. They're not an especially high performance tire (short of Avons no 15 inchers are) but are a good choice for a street cruiser. If using the FFR Halibrand replica wheels go with 235/60-15 in front and 295/50-15 for the rear.

Jeff

Thank you Jeff thats what I want for my tire size. Any experience with the Mickey Thompson Sportsman ST??

[Jeff Kleiner]

...Any experience with the Mickey Thompson Sportsman ST??

Nope. Someone on here once said that they are the same tire but this is not accurate; it could be possible that they use the same carcass but the tread pattern is definitely different.

Jeff

[Jonny30]

[QUOTE=alexmak;428505]Mine are Mickey Thompson S/T tires with tirestickers.com applied

Did you take the GOOD YEAR EAGLE F1 sticker and cut the F1? Are they 2'' sticker??

Thanks again.

[alexmak]

[QUOTE=alexmak;428505]Mine are Mickey Thompson S/T tires with tirestickers.com applied

Did you take the GOOD YEAR EAGLE F1 sticker and cut the F1? Are they 2'' sticker??

Thanks again.

The words come separate - GOOD, YEAR, EAGLE, F1, os it’s up to you what to put on the tires

[alexmak]

Thank you Jeff thats what I want for my tire size. Any experience with the Mickey Thompson Sportsman ST??

My other car has Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, which are really good tires for summer, spirited driving and track. Let’s just say that Sportsman S/T are nothing like that. Cruising - yes, anything more - not much.

[Jonny30]

My other car has Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, which are really good tires for summer, spirited driving and track. Let’s just say that Sportsman S/T are nothing like that. Cruising - yes, anything more - not much.

That's what I want, cruising, no plan to go on the track so it should be perfect for me. The letter are 2'' I suppose??

Thanks again.

Jonny

[alexmak]

That's what I want, cruising, no plan to go on the track so it should be perfect for me. The letter are 2'' I suppose??

Thanks again.

Jonny

yes, I got 2in letters. In retrospect I feel like 1.5" would probably be enough, but probably next time.

[Jonny30]

Here are my CC’s in the sizes that Jeff Kleiner mentioned above. I also used tirestickers.com and applied the billboard letters. They are a little too white right now and I prefer the over sprayed look of the originals. I may have used 245 up front. Would likely go with 235 when it’s time for replacement.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=131790&d=1594701964

Do you have 2 in or 1.5 in letter on your tire??

[CobraboyDR]

You may have checked already but... 15" wheels will limit your brake choices so make sure that you have enough clearance for the calipers.

SteveUnless you're going to race your car, upgraded pads on the stock brakes offer more than enough stopping power on a 2300lb. street sled. Those brakes are designed to work on a car weighing 1500lbs. more.

[CobraboyDR]

For a street car, unless you are doing illegal street racing, the T/A's are fine. I doubt you'd tell a difference in other street 15" tires...

[CobraboyDR]

I've used Cooper Cobras on two customer builds. They're not an especially high performance tire (short of Avons no 15 inchers are) but are a good choice for a street cruiser. If using the FFR Halibrand replica wheels go with 235/60-15 in front and 295/50-15 for the rear.

JeffMy future build will most likely have CC's.

It's a Cobra, and my name is Cooper. ;)