Tires: Size, Type, Brand, Retailer

[bobconant]

Hello Avanti Folks,

My car is a 1982 Avanti #RQB3420. It has the standard steel wheels, 15x6 inches. I believe the correct tire size is P205/75R15. That is what is on the car and I want to replace them. My build sheet says it had Michelins but these tires are Firestone FR380. They have the narrow whitewall; about 3/4 inch. I searched but did not find any Michelins that meet these requirements. In fact I found very few tires of this size with the narrow whitewall. I couldn't even find the same Firestone tires that I have although I will go to a Firestone dealer next week with the car and ask them. So far only Coker tire has a P205/75R15 with a narrow whitewall at about $150 each and several suppliers have a Hankook tire at about half that price. I think Hankooks are an OK brand but I am a little reluctant to put them on a great American car. My current tires are 7 years old with lots of tread but starting some sidewall checking. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can get for my car?? Thanks for any help and advice.

Bob Conant

Bradenton, FL

[Gunslinger]

Whitewalls are getting tougher to find all the time. A good alternative would be P215/70R15...a bit wider profile and the height difference is negligible.

As far as brand, Cooper makes w/w tires in that size. You can check around for other tire makes in that size as well.

[warren55]

I bought some Goodyear tires in that size a couple years ago. I decided to go with blackwall, so they were easy to find. I think it was around $400 out the door at Discount Tire. My other option was raised white letter BFG for just a little more.

[WayneC]

Here's a whitewall in 205/75-15 that looks nice, but not highly-rated:

http://tinyurl.com/leuyd5z and http://tinyurl.com/qyse9h7

If you can stand blackwalls...

http://tinyurl.com/pdkyn6e

And, 215/70-15 is also a possibility (I use them on my 1971 Avanti)

http://tinyurl.com/mejr956 (whitewall, low price and highly-rated)

http://tinyurl.com/l3lafww (whitewall, but not highly rated)

http://tinyurl.com/2esycue (blackwall)

http://tinyurl.com/puablu7

http://tinyurl.com/mnywjs9

http://tinyurl.com/nqktqll

On the links above that go to TireRack, click on the "Surveys" and "Reviews" tabs near the bottom of the page to see how users rate them in various ride categories.

Edited December 27, 2014 by WayneC

[boogieman]

Tires are so subjective and are dependent on the driver to make a statement about the car.

The 215-70-15 T/A radials on 7" Magnum 500's on the front of my '79 were too big and rubbed at full lock turns.

Even more so when the suspension traveled, turning up driveways and such.

The same wheel/tire combo on the rear was slightly small to my liking.

Wanting to return to the Wire hubcaps that came on my '79 when built, I went with 15 x 6 steel wheels in front,

and 15 x 7 rears. Staggered tire sizes, larger rears, gave all the front turning clearances I wanted,

eliminated the suspension travel interference, and gave me the early "Avanti Rake" I wanted. The wire hubcaps look great

and give my '79 the distinction of being ever so slightly unique from all the other similar cars.

There are many discussions here about tires and wheels. Ranging from stock to 16's, 17's, 18's,

40 series tires, 50 series, 60's, 70's, and everything in between.

Here is another factor to consider. How are you going to drive your car? A cruiser, a restoration type of look,

a hard driver, G-machine, drag car, a slalom-course look, or what?

Since most of our cars get only weekend or cruise night use, I saw no reason to invest great amounts of money

into tires that are dated coded to be unusable after 6 years or so but still having the majority of tread life left.

I went with steel belted radials in a warrantied brand that look great. A 40,000 mile tire that is softer

for a great ride, handle very well, and at only $360 mounted, balanced, valve stems, and road hazard replacement

through Discount Tire. A great value for the cost. And I wanted blackwalls for a more GT/Touring car look rather than

a "luxury look". 25" diameter fronts and 28" diameter rears give an equal 2" tire tread to wheel opening that "looks

right" and uniform to me. The modern tires in the staggered sizes are more than equal to what was on the car originally so I have lost nothing in that regard, To each his own.

The T/A radials on my car are only 7 years old with almost 5/16" tread depth. Discount could not remount the

tires on any other wheel due to Gubment dictates that to do so makes them liable for any possible tire related

incidents in the future. I had the steel wheels, so pulled the T/A's and Mag 500's as a set.

My '79 is a cruiser and will hardly ever be pushed to the limits by me. Just the way I want it.

So only you can decide what exactly you want your car to be and how you want it to look.

Much more to tires than simply what size tire but you probably already know that.

[bobconant]

My thanks to all who responded to my query, you have given me some good ideas. I do want to retain a "stock" look as seen in the Avanti II brochures which virtually all show a narrow whitewall. I do not race the car but we tour with it including interstate driving at 70-75 mph. We are in Florida so the roads get a bit warm in the summer.

I have two questions which maybe someone can answer that will help me in picking tires.

1. It was stated above that tires older than some age cannot legally be remounted. How do I know whether my tires are still good to use? They are about 7 years old and have some slight sidewall checking. Common wisdom has said that older tires should not be driven at high speed. Do I really need to replace them based on the above usage?

2. It has been suggested above that I consider 215/70R-15. Why not 215/75R-15? The 70R size is wider and seems to need a 7 inch wide rim. The 75R looks from the specifications to be very slightly bigger in circumference and would have less chance of rubbing suspension parts. The only downside is that this would upset the speedometer accuracy although mine is already off by about 5 mph because a previous owner changed the rear axle ratio. (That's a whole 'nother question that I'll ask at a later time.) So any thoughts about the 215/75R-15 as a tire size to use?

Again, thanks for all your responses.

Bob Conant

Bradenton, FL

[Gunslinger]

It's not illegal to remount older tires. The industry recommendation is to replace tires over six years old...from date of manufacture...but there's no legal restriction regarding it. Of course, how the tires are stored and cared for can make a difference. On my '02 Avanti which still has less than 7k miles on it, started riding like it was on square tires...the tread compound had changed and become hard. I took the hint and replaced them.

P215/70R15 tires have no problems being mounted on 6" wide rims as it's an industry approved width for that size. Going to 7" rims isn't necessary. I have them on my '70 and there are no problems whatsoever. Going to P215/75R15 wouldn't be an issue either, outside of increasing the error of the speedometer...but Avantis have never been known for the accuracy of their speedometers and tachs anyway. About the only issue with clearance would depend on whether the coil springs have sagged with age...a not uncommon Avanti problem. If necessary, replacing the coils springs takes care of that should it be necessary.

[Paul K.]

Cooper Tire makes their Lifeliner radial. I have a set on my 66 Cadillac and am happy with them. They are smooth and quiet and made in the USA which I think is of interest to you.

I also have the Hankooks on my 63 Avanti in the 205-75-15 size but I cannot comment yet on their performance because I haven't driven the car yet. They do look good.

FWIW, I had 215/70/15 tires on 7" rims on a 74 and they would rub the front fenders when turning in a driveway or dip. They replaced the original 205/75/15 tires on original 6" rims ( like yours) which did not rub. The tighter front wheelwelll openings of the Avanti IIs create this problem which the original Studebakers did not have.

As mentioned, spring sag contributes to this problem and I assume a wider wheel than the original 6" will too. I also had the same 215/70/15 tires mounted on the same 7" rims ( Magnum 500 wheels) on a 76 Avanti II that I installed new front springs. Rubbed the same as the 74 but not as bad. (the 74 had old springs) Before this wheel and tire package I bought the 76 with 215/75/15 tires on the original 6" rims and they rubbed with the old and new springs. Those tires were too tall.

I have a 72 now which I am putting together and if you haven't guessed yet, I am putting on the stock size 205/75/15. tires on 6" rims. Not sure this helps or just confuses you more but this has been my experience.

Edited December 29, 2014 by Paul K.

[boogieman]

No it is not "illegal" to remount out dated tires. The date code is manufactured into the sidewall.

Any decent tire store can tell you what the manufacture date is.

Discount Tire won't remount out dated coded tires. Not illegal but their corporate policy.

Many years ago I got a very nice '65 Corvette coupe to play with. Tires looked great, lots of tread,

no sidewall issues. Our oldest son borrowed it for a cruise with his wife. Before reaching the highway the

left rear tire let go. The tread separated and the "flap" of the tread beat the quarter panel to shreads

before he could get the car stopped. $9,000 in repairs.

So my advice is to NOT run out dated coded tires. Not worth the chance.

The speedo can be corrected with a driven speedo gear change on the trans end of the speedo cable.

There are several online calculators to find what gear is needed based on multiple factors.

Or a good speedometer shop can do it for you. I will take mine to a shop to get it right.

By the way, I am running 24.5" tall fronts on 6" wheels.

28" tall rears on 7" wheels.

No clearance issues at all.

And the 5* forward rake looks great.

[bobconant]

Dear Avanti Friends,

As a follow up to the discussion about tire sizes, brands, etc, I ended up installing a set of TOYO Extensa A/S tires sized P205/75R15. They were available in a narrow whitewall, about 3/4 inch, and are very close to what was on my car when new in 1982. These tires look great and are performing very well. They cost 104.76 plus all the mount and balance, taxes, tire disposal fees etc. I was able to get them here locally in Bradenton, FL. My only regret is that they are not made in America (they are made in Japan) although the original Michelins weren't made in America either.

Thus ends my search for new tires. Thank you all for your help and suggestions.

Bob Conant

Bradenton, FL

[Gunslinger]

While I like to buy American whenever I can, it's getting more and more difficult to do so. Firestone is owned by Bridgestone, BFG is owned by Michelin...about the only still American owned brands are Goodyear and Cooper and maybe some smaller companies that do private label tires. Cooper was almost purchased by an Indian company but it fell through at the last minute.

Just a sign of the times.