New tires aren't quite what I expected. What do you think?

[brianj]

Not for you?

[mmb617]

I debated whether to go with a drag radial and now I wish I would have. The 28x12.5 has almost exactly the same dimensions as my slicks.

I didn't think the T/A's would look as small as they do, and I really wanted a street tire tread as I've driven in the rain before with drag radials and under those conditions they remind me of driving in snow. That plus some cops thinking they aren't legal street tires, and the softer faster wearing compound convinced me to not go that route.

At any rate $400 is a lot of money to me so I'll just have to run what I bought.

[homer302]

I have done this before and no, I did not break even but I got enough back and ended up with what I really wanted that I was satisfied. Why don't you just list the tires for sale in a couple places? You have the receipt, ZERO miles etc. Can't hurt. Maybe you can get $250-300 back or hell, maybe someone has some new drag radials they would trade. You don't know till you try and it's free to list stuff for sale. If there is no interest at least you tried.

[OX1]

I would think with that much power, the thing might be down right dangerous with anything less
than decent drag radial.

[PaceFever79]

Have you considered this tire?

Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/R - 28"x12"

[PaceFever79]

They also make matching skinnies in 26" and 28"

[83gt351w]

You'll get used to the new look. I think it looks great.

[mmb617]

I would think with that much power, the thing might be down right dangerous with anything less
than decent drag radial.

The car is not that powerful.

However I was concerned with the less than stellar performance of drag radials on wet roads. Years ago I had a set of them and noticed they didn't like rain at all. I don't normally drive my car when it's raining but sometimes you can't help it.

Have you considered this tire?

Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/R - 28"x12"

Somehow I completely missed that tire when I was making my decision. It does indeed look like one that would have been a good choice.

They also make matching skinnies in 26" and 28"

Those also look nice, although a little pricey. It's hard to find street tires to fit my 3.5 inch front wheels. The ones I have now are 165/80/15 which are actually rated for wheels down to 4 inches wide. They were the closest I could find for the 3.5 inch wheels. I haven't had any problems with them though.


I'm not going to try selling/trading the tires I bought. Too much hassle and I don't want to take the loss that would be required. I made what was perhaps not the best decision, now I'll live with it.

[mmb617]

You'll get used to the new look.

That's what I'm thinking.

You know how us car guys can obsess over what we think is a flaw in our cars, but nobody else even notices it.

[grabbergreen84]

Yeah, better safe than sorry with the drag radials. You can always get a set for your other rims. I'm under the impression that you have six of those rims? Are your slick rims offset more outward? Will the new tires fit on them?

I think it looks good from the side, and from the rear. The pic from the top does make it look like they're too far inboard, but is not a totally comprehensive representation of the big picture.

[mmb617]

Yeah, better safe than sorry with the drag radials. You can always get a set for your other rims. I'm under the impression that you have six of those rims? Are your slick rims offset more outward? Will the new tires fit on them?

I only have one set of 10 inch rims for the rear. They're the ones I used to have the slicks mounted on. They are Welds that were $500 when I bought them a few years ago. I won't be buying another set anytime soon! The front 3.5 inch rims are also Welds and have been on the car a long time. I like them and intend to stay with them.

The other 4 rims I have are the ones that came on the car when I bought it. They are some Weld knock-offs and are only 7 inches wide. One pair of them has a set of well worn ET streets in 27x10.5 mounted on them. The 7 inch wheels I consider useless as they are too wide for the front and too narrow for the rear.

[Walking-Tall]

Nice. Did the tire guys hassle you at all?

I setup mine up and pre paid online hopping to not get hassled. When the guy looked up my info, he said "huh, this is listing a 15" rim, the computer says your car never came with one". Then I argued with him for like 20 minutes about if I wanted tires that big or not. He kept saying he wasnt even gonna try to mount them cause he knew they wouldn't fit. I ended up getting the store manager and told him I'd pay mount and dismount fee's if they didn't fit.

This was on my 87 tbird. The guy that kept arguing with me was so sure they wouldn't even fit in the wheel wells that he made someone else mount them. Then after they set it on the ground he has two or three guys bounce the back half up and down trying to make it rub. It would rub if I had over 300lbs in the trunk, and hit a steep angled bump like diagonal train tracks or a really sharp driveway entrance or exit. With an empty trunk they never really rubbed.

My 86 had a ton less room though. I know the cars been hit bad before though, its got bondo in the roof and rear quarters, the back bumper only has two bolts holding it on, and it has a complete 84 front end on it. One day I'll run a Carfax or something on it and find out it was totaled when it was a hertz rent a car.

No hassle, no arguing. Ford put 225's on 7" wide 10 holes. With 275's, we're only talking just under an inch (25mm) difference per side in section width. I ordered the tires in person, dropped the 10 holes off, they took my money after they were mounted and balanced, and I took the wheels outside and put them on the car. I think the fellow was a Fox fan, by the grin and thumbs up with the car on the ground with them on.