tire recommendations

[fgross2006]

I have an 84 LS convertible. I got it back in 2013 and as soon as I got it the first thing I did was to replace the entire front end and suspension with mostly all Moog parts. I also dumped the original TRX rims and got 10 hole rims and a set of Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring tires. I also updated the alignment with a high performance camber caster kit.

Jump 10 years forward and I have replaced the front tires on pro rate 3 times and the rears once. The Coopers gave a nice ride but I felt they wore too fast. I just noticed that my passenger front tire wore uneven. Since I only put at most maybe 500 to 750 miles a year on this car it wasn't something I noticed till now. I also see the other 3 tires are pretty worn, although I could get one more summer out of them I'm not going to.

I had the LX aligned at Mavis after all the front end parts and the camber/caster kit was in. I remember the tech at Mavis had a terrible time working with the camber caster kit and it took him a long time with the alignment. Since the car always tracked straight I never noticed anything askew. So I have to get it aligned again. I think I can assume the Moog parts are all still solid. But as for tires, I'm thinking Pirellis this time. I put Pirelli's on my Suburban and I love the ride.

When I put the Coopers on my LX I went with 195/60r15 in the front and 225/60r15 in the rear.

As for Pirelli's Their comparable tire is the Pirelli P4 Persist AS Plus All Season. It comes in 195/60r15 only. There's no wider tire to fit a 15 inch rim in the Pirelli catalogue.

Does anyone have suggestions for a tire better than Coopers?

[85GTGuy]

Not a recommendation, but a couple of other choices that I found at Discount Tire are the BF Goodrich Radial T/A and the General Altimax RT45. Both are available in 195/60-15 and 225/60-15 sizes.Both are all season tires, although the BFG's are listed as a touring tire, whereas the General's are listed as a performance tire.

[fgross2006]

Not a recommendation, but a couple of other choices that I found at Discount Tire are the BF Goodrich Radial T/A and the General Altimax RT45. Both are available in 195/60-15 and 225/60-15 sizes.Both are all season tires, although the BFG's are listed as a touring tire, whereas the General's are listed as a performance tire.

I'll look into those. I did find that the Pirelli P4 Persist AS Plus All Season. It comes in 205/65/r15. Not as thick as a 225 but I'm also curious about the height increase from a 60 to 65.

[85GTGuy]

225/60-15 is 25.63" tall and has a 8.86" section width.
205/65-15 is 25.49" tall and has a 8.07" section width.

[ITdude87]

I just recently had a set of the General Altimax's installed (225/60/15) - Same predicament as you. It was between the BFG and the Generals....That's about the only two available in OE sizes.

I hate white letter sidewalls, so I went with the Generals on that basis alone (I guess the tread is a little nicer too).

They ride nice. I wouldn't say they are a high-performance tire by any means. They are pretty easy to break loose in the rear, but overall pretty quiet and look decent on the 10 holes.

I normally go for Michelins (Pilot Sport 4S on my Subaru WRX daily for the summer and X-Ice for winter) and love those - However finding anything premium in 15'' is nearly impossible. I sort of scoffed at the Generals and bit the bullet since they were the best fit based on what was available, however I don't have any complaints. I keep reminding myself, it's not a daily.

[richpet]

Any particular reason you want a staggered set? You can't do a rotation and the factory fitted all four the same size.
A good alignment and occasional rotation and you'll get much more even wear for longer/safer life.

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[gr79]

Ford and Firestone go back a long time.
Have 215/60/15 Firestone Precision Sport blackwalls on 87 turbine rims now for a few years.
Good all around traction, handling, and ride at 32 psi. Close to stock dia of TRX. Not expensive.
Firestone Destination OWL 15" on the Ranger. Firestone was OE. Same deal. No issues would buy again.
OE on the Cobra was Michelin TRX 190/65/390. Later ran the 220/55/390 version.
Kept losing air and got real hard to find. Still have two sets stored.
Had 225/60/15 Cooper Cobras for a while on the turbines. ok nothing special.

Over the years had Firestone, Goodyear, Big O, BFG, Cooper, Michelin, Continental.
Never again for Goodyear and BFG. The 85 LTD LX's Goodyears sucked in the rain.

Hard to find exact match replacement 15" tire after a few years if one gets damaged.
The LMR 16" TRX would be a nice option for TRX cars.
Wide front tires may rub at full lock even with rack limiters.
Check wear ratings and construction listed for tire to get an idea of longevity.
Had 275/60/15 BFG T/A rears on the truck. Nothing but problems. Are WAY overpriced for what they are.
Many brands out there. Simple Tire online delivers to door or shop. Walmart offers name brands.

Tread pattern is a selling point to me. The look.
Dad used to pick little pebbles out of the tire tread with a key. Pre standard car a/c days 1960's. Made noise i guess.

[fgross2006]

Any particular reason you want a staggered set? You can't do a rotation and the factory fitted all four the same size.
A good alignment and occasional rotation and you'll get much more even wear for longer/safer life.

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I did it for looks. I liked the leaning forward look and the wide tires in the rear. I'm thinking this time to go with all the same and keep it simple. I found Pirelli P4 in a 205/65r15 and I spoke with a local tire wholesaler that I have been going to since the 80's and he assured me this is a great tire and I should go with 4 matching tires all around for better performance. I'll miss the 225 in the rear but I do like the Pirelli tires much better than Coopers. After 3 pro rates in the front and once in the rear I think I got my moneys worth out of the Coopers, but these P4's are supposedly engineered to last longer and produce better mileage.

https://www.bbwheelsonline.com/pirel...BoC6eMQAvD_BwE

[richpet]

Good looking tire! I agree that I like a tread pattern that looks good. It's one reason I put the Nitto NeoGen tires on mine.
But, you don't want a tire to last too long. Age is bad for them. Get a tire you're willing to replace in 3-6 years. They lose flexibility and degrade on an unseen level. It's one of the topics I discuss in the driving class I taught for over 20 years.
The NeoGens only have about 20k of life give or take. Since I only drive the car 4-6k a year that's good.

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[ITdude87]

You don't want a tire to last too long. Age is bad for them. Get a tire you're willing to replace in 3-6 years. They lose flexibility and degrade on an unseen level.

Big facts.

When I drove my car home ~7 hours, it was riding on tires with really good looking tread, but they were about 11 years old. I was white knuckling the entire time.

[richpet]

I have a couple pretty good horror stories. One personally, one a good friend.
Sorry, OP, not trying to veer, but it's hard for me, lol.
Decided on a tire/size? Going with the Pirellis?

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[mcb82gt]

Big facts.

When I drove my car home ~7 hours, it was riding on tires with really good looking tread, but they were about 11 years old. I was white knuckling the entire time.

Aww, thats fine. Im sure they held up just fine. My brother doing 100 mph + on original goodyear gatorbacks, from the 80's, was unnerving.

[ITdude87]

Aww, thats fine. Im sure they held up just fine.

They did. There were definitely some signs of cracking though. It was on the back of my mind the whole time and over every bump.

doing 100 mph + on original goodyear gatorbacks, from the 80's

Yeah that's......To put it nicely, a hard "no" for me.

[ITdude87]

OP, I think it comes down to three choices for ya.

Pirelli - If you want to stick with that brand, but go skinnier and have a taller sidewall
General - OEM size, BSW, nothing too fancy but good all around
BFG - OEM size, white sidewall lettering, old school radials and more "muscle car" look

[gt4494]

For those playing with rim and tire sizes, this is the best on line calculator I have found. You can also look at offset and fender clearance. Open it and then scroll down to see. Its also interactive,

https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/

[KevinK]

You forgot one more choice, Gaterback reproductions for $$$. I went with Generals.

[webestang]

Do not buy Lionhart tires............these were part of a package deal I got from American Muscle for my 99 Mustang.
I replaced them with Uniroyal Tiger Paws.