15” tires preferences

[BaBaBooey]

What model are most people using for 15” tires now? I’m referring to 295/50/15 and 235/60/15 sizes. I am assuming BFG or Cooper Cobras. Looks like they're the easiest to find from most tire retailers right now.

I‘ve now read over 15 years worth of tire related posts. Please nobody say “lotsa threads out there”.

Has anybody ran both sets and have an opinion?

[KDubU]

Mickey Thompson’s are decent street tires (basically the same as Cooper’s I believe with diff tread). Avons are another option but pricey.

[rich grsc]

Avon's if you want the best 15". If you don't want to spend the money, then the Cooper Cobra's, maybe BFG's if you can find them. A friend had the MT's and didn't like them at all, don't think they are the same as CC's.

[BaBaBooey]

I dont want to spend the money on Avons.

I’ve heard somebody else mention BFGs being hard to find but they appear plentiful right now. Summit claims to have them. Local chain claims same.

[John4337]

I just replaced my ancient Firehawks with Cooper Cobras, not a lot of experience with them yet, but so far, so good

[zee]

Cooper Cobras are very popular and people who've used multiple brands and don't want to pay for Avon seem to prefer Cooper over the rest.

(Keep in mind that Cooper owns MT and Avon).

[RFracer]

I’ve got Avons and like them. Had BFG T/A’s on another Cobra I’d owned. Street driving there’s no significant difference. If your going to track the car Avons grip is quite a bit better. No experience with Coopers except seeing a lot of them on a variety of vintage muscle cars & Cobras. Never heard anyone complain about them.

[luvaz]

I'm on my second set of 15's since building my Cobra. The first set was BFG's.
I now have the Mickey Thompson. They are NOT the same as the Cooper Cobra's, as you may hear.

HTH,
Will

[Jeff Kleiner]

I’ve built 2 cars with 15s for customers and used Coopers on both. While not a performance tire they work fine for street cruising. One set I turned into fake Billboards.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=164907&d=1648894480

Jeff

164907

[NAZ]

Choose your tires wisely as they are a safety component and have a great deal of influence over handling and traction.

[Scott Zackowski]

Choose your tires wisely as they are a safety component and have a great deal of influence over handling and traction.

As NAZ stated, these cars are very light and lose traction in the rear easily, particularly if running 400 hp plus. Tire choice for me was all about safety. Price did not matter.

I have AVON's and will never switch. The traction is very impressive.

For a Mk4 AVON tire sizes that fit best: F 225/60/15; R 295/50/15

Note that front size is different.

All said IMHO

[BaBaBooey]

My only reason for preferring a BFG over Cobra is they have a lower treadwear number. In theory I think that means they have slightly better traction. If they wear slightly faster. I could be wrong with that theory.

[NAZ]

My only reason for preferring a BFG over Cobra is they have a lower treadwear number. In theory I think that means they have slightly better traction. If they wear slightly faster. I could be wrong with that theory.

Here's a calculator that attempts to put that theory in practice: https://hpwizard.com/tire-friction-coefficient.html
And here's a simple explanation on friction and traction to help get grounded on how to increase traction: https://www.stevemunden.com/friction.html

[Jeff Kleiner]

My only reason for preferring a BFG over Cobra is they have a lower treadwear number. In theory I think that means they have slightly better traction. If they wear slightly faster. I could be wrong with that theory.

Not necessarily. The UTQG numbers are generated by the manufacturers for their products so what one labels as a 400 may well not be the same as a 400 from another. They aren’t confirmed or regulated by the DOT and are allowed to be manipulated by the manufacturer to place a product into a particular market segment. While useful for comparison in general terms actual performance of different tires with the same UTQG numbers can vary widely. Here’s some interesting info:

http://https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=48 (https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=48)

Jeff