Gatorbacks ????

[in2vh]

Anyone know if the p225/60/vr16 Gators are being repopped yet ??? I thought Kelsey tire would be all over this already. Thanks

[85GTTops]

Not that I'm aware of. One would think Kelsey would have done them by now, both VR60 and VR50. They've already done the Eagle GT's.

Weird.

[85md]

Got an email from Kelsey. I asked about the Gatorbacks.. The email said there was no plan to make them again... at least in the near future

[homer302]

Good riddance. You guys must have never had those when they were new on these cars. What a miserable tire. They were good for making black marks, I will say that. Anything outside of that they were terrible. They road walked (groove wandered) something like I have never seen in such a skinny tire. Hyrdoplaned in the rain unlike any skinny tire I have ever had the misfortune to try as well. If you rotated them weekly and checked the air pressure daily and never, ever abused them you might eek 12K miles out of a set.
Just a horrible tire.

[85GTTops]

I agree. Every Goodyear tire is just horrible.

I remember very well how many silly sets of Gatorbacks we went through. Traction was horrible even in dry weather. They wouldn't balance right either. Their replacement, the GT+4 was equally horrid.

However, they are factory correct, and should be available for show cars. I guess there just isn't enough love for factory correctness.

[homer302]

However, they are factory correct, and should be available for show cars. I guess there just isn't enough love for factory correctness.

Fair enough. But some things I won't budge on. I do love the factory correct cars. The stock 84 cruise steering wheel and now I guess Gatorbacks can be added to the list (even though I don't have a car that would have come with them right now). I have 2 84's with working cruise control and 1 already has the 3 spoke and I already have a 3 spoke for the other one and will install it when the interior goes back in. I don't care about cruise if I have to use that awful wheel. Yes, I am aware practically any cruise control wheel including the Thunderbird cruise wheel will work, I guess I just like the 3 spoke.

Just because Ford made it that way doesn't mean it's a good idea. (Think Heater core).

[sowaxeman]

They may have been crappy tires, but 12k is a bit harsh. I have a set of originals from my car with 16k and the tread depth still looks great. I know of another set that just sold with 41k on them and the tread depth was 1/2 that of my 16k tires. I totally agree on having these for "show" purposes....but I drive on newer Eagle GT II's

[wraithracing]

I will 2nd the horrible grip in the wet of the Gatorbacks!

Had two fender bender back in the late 80's in my 84 T/A due to Gatorbacks hydroplanning in anything even slightly wet!

After the second one the Gatorbacks were yanked off and replaced with some BFG's.

Trey

[HAD85B4]

A lot of that was the low end torque and light weight of the car also. I never had any problems with my 85 and 91 Mustangs' Goodyear tires. I never replaced with Goodyears back then when it was time for new tires because they were just so awfully expensive to my then budget.

[chazman]

I spoke to someone who is close to the owner of Kelsey. He told me that they were close to starting development on repro Gatorback. He contacted me about using one of mine as a sample. I have four 11K mile Gatorbacks from my 1989 IROC-Z, for which I'm the original owner. He told me that they may be out within 2 years and would come in OEM sizes to fit Mustang, Camaro/Firebird and most importantly, (from a business case perspective), Corvette.

We'll see........

[tomswheels]

Man you guys are harsh! For those of us old enough to have new Gatorbacks when they came out in 1984, COMPARED TO EVERY OTHER 1984 tire, they were not half bad. Noisy, and not great in the wet, but few tires were back then, and they out handled anything else available in the dry. They lasted 28k miles on my 84 Vette. The Pirelli P7 s I replaced them with lasted 11k...

[Jimmy2.3Mustang]

But it's not 1984 anymore. Goodyear tires are pure garbage. That they're still in business is a marvel of marketing. Buying reproduction Gatorbacks for what will certainly be at least $200/ea. is something of a public stupidity test. If you fall for it, it displays your own stupidity.

[DrewM]

But it's not 1984 anymore. Goodyear tires are pure garbage. That they're still in business is a marvel of marketing. Buying reproduction Gatorbacks for what will certainly be at least $200/ea. is something of a public stupidity test. If you fall for it, it displays your own stupidity.

Repro Gatorbacks will probably be more like $400-500ea for a Mustang sized tire if/when they are made (enough high end cars came with them, so it's more just a matter of time before they are made), and the only reason you would buy them is for your factory correct car (same reason people spend silly amounts of money on the various other tires companies like Kelly or Cooker sell).

[Jimmy2.3Mustang]

I can understand why a person would want them, but I still think a person would have to be mentally deficient to pay that kind of cash on a sub-standard tire.

[BlackWatch]

What is a good tire, made today, for a stock 15 inch rim?

[sowaxeman]

I can understand why a person would want them, but I still think a person would have to be mentally deficient to pay that kind of cash on a sub-standard tire.

MANY of us would do it. Mentally deficient....I can accept that It's not for performance, grip, longevity or road noise....it's for being Concours Correct. Same reason we buy 20-25 year old take offs, and same reason people spend $400 plus for a silly TRX

Those that drive them all the time, don't care about being Concours correct. They buy whatever is produced today and care about modern day reviews. Those that show them, want the original stuff, and there are more than enough of us out there to warrant the reproductions.

[KCoker]

I bought a set new in 1987 for my 84 svo at a cost of $800. They were pretty good the first year. After a winter cycle they got pretty hard. I would like to have several new sets to make my svo's period correct. I would not buy them for everyday driving. By the way the Goodyear NCT's that came on my svo were a lot worse.

[85md]

I spoke to someone who is close to the owner of Kelsey. He told me that they were close to starting development on repro Gatorback. He contacted me about using one of mine as a sample. I have four 11K mile Gatorbacks from my 1989 IROC-Z, for which I'm the original owner. He told me that they may be out within 2 years and would come in OEM sizes to fit Mustang, Camaro/Firebird and most importantly, (from a business case perspective), Corvette.

We'll see........

I guess I was just a low man on the totem pole... They don't let low lives like me in on their secrets...... :-(

[iron man]

I had 2 sets on my 85 GT. The orginal set and then I replaced them with another set. Big mistake. I babied them and got about 18K out of each set. They did not perform the price.

[PaceFever79]

I had them on several new cars in the late 80s and I never liked them.

I replaced mine with Toyo Proxes, which were new at the time.

I really like the Toyos, they were a much better tire.

[chazman]

I guess I was just a low man on the totem pole... They don't let low lives like me in on their secrets...... :-(

Who knows. I spoke to the guy a couple of months ago, and he wanted my contact info. Haven't heard anything back from anyone so far.

[sowaxeman]

You guys that weren't getting 30-40k miles out of them must have been burning rubber every chance you got The 40k mile set that just sold had 7/32's left on them. My 16k mile set has about 13/32's left on them. Not new by any means, but good enough for concours cruising duty

[homer302]

No Gatorback has ever lasted 41K miles. Period. Just not going to happen. Maybe if he has 4:10 gears and didn't change the speedo gear or the guy is "pretty sure" they have that many.
Not saying you are purposely saying something that isn't true. Just that there is more to the story than we know. 12-18K if they were seriously treated extra gingerly is about it.

[escogt]

I've always loved the look of the tread & sidewall of the VR & ZR Gatorbacks... but their performance is quite lacking to say the least. But I do have a set on my SVO to remain factory correct. My GT is my 'deviant' from stock which I rock Bridgestone Potenza's on.

[homer302]

I've always loved the look of the tread & sidewall of the VR & ZR Gatorbacks... but their performance is quite lacking to say the least. But I do have a set on my SVO to remain factory correct. My GT is my 'deviant' from stock which I rock Bridgestone Potenza's on.

I have the Potenzas on my '84 as well. Love them. I thought SVOs came with Goodyear NCT tires, not Gatorbacks?

And I also agree on the looks. And they make hellacious black marks too. Nice tire smoke too.