Gatorbacks ????

[Link1019]

I will gladly put my 95 BONE stock Cobra against any 95 BONE stock corvett! if you can find me one that is still running, the only company that has advanced is FORD! they are the only company that is not needing Federal Funds to stay in business.

Hell chevy is still trying to run an old Pushrod motor for pete sakes. They spent the last what 5 years building their big bad Camaro ZL1, only to be outed but the new 2013 GT 500! what a blow that must have been

Corvette 1/4 mile time
http://www.zeroto60times.com/Chevrol...mph-Times.html

1994/95 Cobra 1/4 mile time, same car no changes
http://www.zeroto60times.com/Chevrol...mph-Times.html

what an advance LOL Cobra was 1 tenth Faster than the Vett! Again do your homework!

Wow, some of you Ford guys are delusional.

[vascj]

Man you guys are making me sad......gator backs on the 5.0s of the 80s were the cats meow! They were the best looking tire out there in 85-86! I thought they were the coolest thing going especially considering how skinny the tires were prior to 85. The wide 15 inch 10 holes with gator backs finally gave the mustang a nice wide stance in factory form. Only thing better looking were the SVO wheels. I always and still do like the factory stance and tread design of the original gator backs, but, I'm a stock crazy so that probably explains why. Look is one thing, wet road traction is another. I thought the gator backs had ample grip on dry warm pavements, but, yes they wore fairly fast for such expensive tires of the day. The edges would round off too soon if you liked accelerating around ramps getting on and off the highways. The scariest thing about gators is that they would break traction with even the slightest presence of moisture, yes, I've done many unintentional 180s and 360s, especially in the summer, during really hot days, when a light passing shower would mist over black tar roads, the oil would mix with the moisture and man......hold on.....spin city!!!

[homer302]

Gatorbacks were, without a doubt, the worst tire I ever owned. Every Mustang owner I ever talked to felt the same way.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^This

Man you guys are making me sad......gator backs on the 5.0s of the 80s were the cats meow! They were the best looking tire out there in 85-86! I thought they were the coolest thing going especially considering how skinny the tires were prior to 85. The wide 15 inch 10 holes with gator backs finally gave the mustang a nice wide stance in factory form. Only thing better looking were the SVO wheels. I always and still do like the factory stance and tread design of the original gator backs, but, I'm a stock crazy so that probably explains why. Look is one thing, wet road traction is another. I thought the gator backs had ample grip on dry warm pavements, but, yes they wore fairly fast for such expensive tires of the day. The edges would round off too soon if you liked accelerating around ramps getting on and off the highways. The scariest thing about gators is that they would break traction with even the slightest presence of moisture, yes, I've done many unintentional 180s and 360s, especially in the summer, during really hot days, when a light passing shower would mist over black tar roads, the oil would mix with the moisture and man......hold on.....spin city!!!

If by "Cat's Meow" You mean the most expensive, poorest performing, worst wearing tire that has ever had the misfortune of being pressed in a mold machine, then yes. I agree. They were the Cat's Meow. I usually compare them to the Cat's litter pan myself but I see what you mean.

[vascj]

Man you are brutal and taking this subject way too literally. In regards to today's standards, yes, not the best tire, but, back in the day they were very cool tires and were state of the art in regards to street performance tires. I'm just giving you some perspective. Nothing looks better on these foxes than an original set of gator backs on original wheels.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^This

If by "Cat's Meow" You mean the most expensive, poorest performing, worst wearing tire that has ever had the misfortune of being pressed in a mold machine, then yes. I agree. They were the Cat's Meow. I usually compare them to the Cat's litter pan myself but I see what you mean.

[85md]

Man you are brutal and taking this subject way too literally. In regards to today's standards, yes, not the best tire, but, back in the day they were very cool tires and were state of the art in regards to street performance tires. I'm just giving you some perspective. Nothing looks better on these foxes than an original set of gator backs on original wheels.

I agree. Back in 85 when I got my current GT, those tires were great. I replaced them with Pirellis after the Gbacs wore out. I hate Pirellis. Those were shiiiiit. Now I usually run Michelins on my Porsches...Not sure what to put on the stock 85 GT though..P225 60 15 tires.... Not much to choose from now.
Paul

[homer302]

Man you are brutal and taking this subject way too literally. In regards to today's standards, yes, not the best tire, but, back in the day they were very cool tires and were state of the art in regards to street performance tires. I'm just giving you some perspective. Nothing looks better on these foxes than an original set of gator backs on original wheels.

I don't need any perspective. I bought 2 cars that came with these tires back in the day. Just being honest. In 1985 standards, they were garbanzo. guano etc.
I've never heard of people suffering through ownership of a poor quality tire because it "looked cool"

[chazman]

I don't need any perspective. I bought 2 cars that came with these tires back in the day. Just being honest. In 1985 standards, they were garbanzo. guano etc.
I've never heard of people suffering through ownership of a poor quality tire because it "looked cool"

Just curious about a couple of things:

1) What did you hate about them?
2) Were the cars you bought new with new Gatorbacks?

[ThunderBueller]

I had Gatorbacks on my old McLaren when I bought it used in '88, hated them and couldn't wait for them to wear out. Didn't take long once I started autoX and open-tracking it. I bought General XP2000V's to replace them, think Saleen, and I really liked those tires, super sticky for a street tire, they had a treadwear rating of just 120, much lower than the Gators.

I bought a set of NOS Gators for my '86 LX coupe back in 2004, got 'em all for $450! They were mint, and hard as a rock but they sure looked great!

Btw anybody looking for a Gatorback ashtray?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/270985839189...84.m1586.l2649

[sowaxeman]

There you go Homer and Capriman....ash your stogies on a gatorback

[Capriman86]

There you go Homer and Capriman....ash your stogies on a gatorback

LMAO!!

I actually don't dislike Gatorbacks, I know they are not great tires but I did like the styling and still do, and think its cool to see them still on cars.

I totally appreciate a stock fox with its ten holes (and gatorbacks if they are still on it) I really do.
Something like Marshall's notch for example, I can't imagine another wheel on that being so "stock" and factory fresh.

I just think 10 holes are a boring, ugly, cheap looking wheel for some reason, just remind me of something on a FWD econobox or something. I have it stuck in my head and can't get it out. I don't like picking wheels anyway, I have a hard time deciding on something LOL.

[sowaxeman]

Man if you hate picking wheels, I'd say you did alright!

Picture this then....not quite a FWD econobox

[Capriman86]

LOL Jason you are too much, I do like factory stock cars, I don't think I could switch them if I had a minty stock car like some of you's.

Your car does look fantastic as always!!!

[vascj]

I love the Gatorbacks, "back-in-the-day" and presently. They look great on stock cars with factory wheels.

[86 50CPRI]

I remember a buddy had these on his 89 GT and his wife hit a pothole, or somehow damaged the tire, and it was over $200 to replace it..back then!

[Ken P]

Got a set of NOS / sticker P225 / VR50 / 16s in my stash...

They'll be for the Hertz car if I ever get it finished. Also have another used set with about half tread from the 85.5 2R.

It totally depends on which compound you had on tire wear. Not all Gatorbacks were the same. Some were even produced in Germany and were commonly called "Metrics".

I had sets go away in the 10K to 12K range. But I also had a couple that went almost 30K but there wasn't anything left of them at that point.

I also have a set of NOS / sticker GSC 225 / VR50 / 16s. They replaced the Gatorback and were also both directional and side specific. They're on the Vintage 45s for the 66 fastback. Bought them years ago and still haven't put the first mile on them.

Both sets are obviously old and not really safe for daily use. They're nice to have for shows and maybe just an oddity or conversation piece.

I can provide pics if anybody wants or needs them. I believe the half set of GBs are the regular 225s and not the P series tire. Not 100% sure about that though...

Besides skating around in the wet or power sliding was fun. Kept you on your toes for sure HAHA

[sowaxeman]

Man you guys that got less than 20k out of your Gatorbacks must have been on the "fun-pedal" ALL the time That pic of mine above is at 16k miles and it still looks like new Like I said before, the original owner barely drove it, and when he did he drove it like Miss Daisy

[Curtis]

If I recall, I got between 25 and 30k miles out of each of the four sets of gatorbacks that I have owned on my 85. My original clutch outlasted these 4 sets of tires by 25k miles. They looked nice but IMO were terribly expensive for the day. I replaced my last set of Gatorbacks about 5 years ago and haven't looked back.

[Ken P]

Man you guys that got less than 20k out of your Gatorbacks must have been on the "fun-pedal" ALL the time

Yes this was when I was running the SVO at the Talladega track a couple of times every year. Had a way of eating them up even with rotating on a regular schedule...

HAHA

[CobraGT40]

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

I absolutely LOVE my BF Goodrich Radial T/A's ...They look great on most rims, in my opinion.

[mwilson302]

I love the Gatorbacks, "back-in-the-day" and presently. They look great on stock cars with factory wheels.

What he said.

[escogt]

I love the Gatorbacks, "back-in-the-day" and presently. They look great on stock cars with factory wheels.

Same here Tony. I love them on my SVO.

[TheSVOTrust-MarkHaas]

WOW ! Kind of surprised the interest (read passion) going into this thread !

ESPECIALLY since some have pointed out not all tires are the same/MANY things effect tire ware!

It isn't as easy just saying "my first set lasted longer than the second" ! The OEM tire though the same ware rating as the store replacement has the luxury of at least starting with correct balance and new suspension parts and spec settings. Once you add the variables of road surfaces, driving style , load for both total car/shock conditions everything changes!

We could go on and on about the differences in ware or even the differences in OEM tires compared to those pictured above. (There were multiple changes to even that "replacement" before GoodYear stopped molding it)

This is almost like thinking NOS service parts are the same as original assembly line parts (when using for a "restoration")! A glaring difference is when a part doesn't look the same as the OEM part. In this case you could compare the later 7Rib to the early 5Rib. Only a few would be able to know a FORD Goodyear put on a car from a Goodyear sold replacement that same model year. Date Coding to see if a OEM Ford COULD have come on your car is a finer art!

The best thing is that we are spending money to protect and enjoy our cars!
Some would state OLD TIRES (NOS Ford or Goodyear Replacement)are "too old" to be safe! (read the internal components of rubber can't be viewed from a "the sidewalls look great" aspect)

IF no one was interested in having date coded tires for cars for the future this thread would have no weight.


Mark
P.S. Gatorbacks aren't hard to find, just hard to pay for ! (but I only have 4 15") Try finding a set of GS-C stamped "not for sale" given out to Ford racers in 1983 !

[badbrad]

Iin 1991 I bought 87 SSP with 55,000 mi from Floridia Highway Patrol aucton with 60 % remaing, & new spare, they wore out quick . In 2010 I bought 2 86 RCMP SSP- Canadian Police with 100,000 mi. they still had gatorbacks on them as well . ( cars were parked for 20 years). I wonder why police were replacing gatorbacks with gatorbacks,if they were that bad, it appears there may have little other choices out there. Currently the police are running replacement-Goodyear Eagle RSAs on their crown vic's- another horrible tire.

[89GT2NV]

Got this email from ebay since it is one of my favorites.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GOODYEAR-GAT...96470b&vxp=mtr

Looks like you can get them in the 15" size.

[86 50CPRI]

WOW!!! $320..per tire!