15" tires... that tired topic once again

[Doug DiNunzio]

I have a Mark I with the original 4-lug FFR Halibrands. My last tire refresh was 5 years ago when I could still get white letter BFGs in a 235 60 R15 up front and 275 50 R15 out back. After searching around for a couple of days I'm coming up with no choices for a matching set of 4. I did find a 295 50 R15 from MT and others, but I've read threads that have me concerned about the tires rubbing on the inside of my fenders, so I'm not inclined to go that way, and the cost of upgrading the car to 17s would be huge. What do I do? Has anyone successfully put 295s on the rears without any problems? If I go to drag radials (no white letters unfortunately) will I be plagued with more frequent tire replacements and pummeling my rear fenders with chips? Your helpful info is greatly appreciated.

12498

[skullandbones]

Try Coker Tire out of Chattanooga TN. They have a lot of vintage replicas (their specialty). Hope that helps. WEK.

[Crashburndie]

I have a MK1 with 255 up front and 295's out back, all tires are Dunlop Qualifiers, they have about 9000 miles on them and no issues rubbing, I think I'm going to go with Mickey Thompson S/R's for my next set. From what I read on here the size is 26X12.00R15LT (equivilent to 295's) Amazon has them for 227/each with free shippinghttp://www.amazon.com/Mickey-Thompson-Sportsman-Radial-12-00R15/dp/B00975F8TM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=M3PWD8ILGR81&coliid=IX2FPXUU8XW0R

[Doug DiNunzio]

Really??? I'm cautiously encouraged! Are you running the FFR Halibrands? My rear is a solid rear axle with coil over shocks, bit if a kidney buster, but if I go this route I'm hoping there is not enough suspension travel where the tires will hit the inside of the fenders. I was thinking the MT STs with RWL. I'd probably stay with the 235/60R15 up front. I don't see gaining much handling difference by going larger.

[Doug DiNunzio]

Thank you. I did try Coker but they didn't have anything for me. I thought I even found some old BFG stock at a tire store up in NY but their website was wrongly showing inventory.

[skullandbones]

I saw a guy in my area who has a MkI with probably the same wheels you have. He said the only issues he has had with his car is the hood hinges which let the hood float a bit at high speed and the tires rubbing on the back fenders. So I hope you are able to find the right combination that works well. Good luck, WEK.

[hinoonaz]

I saw a guy in my area who has a MkI with probably the same wheels you have. He said the only issues he has had with his car is the hood hinges which let the hood float a bit at high speed and the tires rubbing on the back fenders. So I hope you are able to find the right combination that works well. Good luck, WEK.

I also have an Mark I with M/T SR's. Previous was the BFG's. Night and day for sticking to the road. Not a problem with tire rub. I do have the rear set at 4 1/2" and the front at 4. Every once in a while the front will rub if turning full lock in a parking lot though. The M/T's are really sticky with lower tire pressure. A softer ride, that is with a little more bounce because of low pressure. Just my experience. They are wearing very good. The front look like new though!

[Doug DiNunzio]

Thank you!

[CraigS]

Some of this depends on what ride height you like to run. A lot of the problem w/ 295s is the diameter. They hit the square tube that runs out to the door latch.My friend has a MkI and just put the Cooper Cobras on. She has some type of halibrand wheels that are pretty old and gotten from another friend who has an early mkII so I "think" they are the FFR wheels. SHe is getting a little bit of 'zing' from the tire hitting the inside of the fender on big bumps but that's it. This could be fixed w/ a little more height but she has the mustang spring setup so way too much work to be bothered. The good thing is that hitting either the fender or the tube does no damage to the tire since it's a light contact for a very short time.
http://us.coopertire.com/Tires/Passenger/COBRA-RADIAL-G-T.aspx
I know there are few tires available but if you search way back on the other forum you may come up w/ some tread width comparisons. Seems different brand tires of the same nominal size actually vay some. So look at diameter which varies the least and also at tread width which varies more and get the narrowest width.

[Doug DiNunzio]

Thank you for that info. I'm running coil over shocks out back, however I didn't install them myself. I believe they are adjustable for the ride height, so this will be a little bit trial and error. I'm going with the Mickey Thompsons because I hear they're better than the BFGs I used to have, and I can still get them in white letters. I'll stay with the 235/60R15s up front as I suspect the alleged turning radius problems aren't as easy to fix as ride height.

[CraigS]

Pls report back after you have the Mickeys on the car. My info is from a bunch of posts over the last 3 yrs or so but nothing recently re; mickey's so will be glad for an update.

[mcwho]

I have bfg r/ta's that are 295/50 15 rear and 235/60 15 front. I had to special order them and wait a few months but Tire Rack makes them once a year for a few weeks in the summer. I was in contact with the Tire Rack Guy on the vendors site. Halibarnd 15" wheels and assembly is not complete so don't know about clearance as yet. They are mounted on the rolling chassis now.

In response to Craig S.: Re clearance for 295/50 bfg tires; I see that there is about 4" clearance now without body and engine, but I can see that it may be an issue if rear suspension, std width irs, moves that far. Any idea if this may be an issue?

[CraigS]

Mcwho- do some searching so you get the correct answer. There are two things about the later cars which pretty much take care of the problem. There is a difference between a mkIII and a 3.1. Problem is I can't remember exactly when the two updates happened for sure. Thing 1- the rear fenders are widened approx 3/4 inch per side. Thing 2- the 315 mod is incorporated into the chassis by FFR. If you determine that your car has both improvements you will be good to go.

[Doug DiNunzio]

Pls report back after you have the Mickeys on the car. My info is from a bunch of posts over the last 3 yrs or so but nothing recently re; mickey's so will be glad for an update.

I definitely will. Hoping to get this done next week.