patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
An interesting tire post from over on the dock you guys might want to read. I've just copied and pasted here...read on, pretty interesting info. Bajajoquin, you might want to take note...
Not sure whether this belongs under tech or somewhere else, but thought it might be of interest.
I put this together based on some research I did last month for tires for my 300L (8.55-14 narrow whitewall OE) and my 67 New Yorker (8.85-14 narrow whitewall OE). I looked at both big 14's (8.00/8.25/G78-14 and larger) and big 15's (7.10/8.15/G78-15 and larger) and was disappointed to find many of the tires which were available only a couple of years back are now extinct.
I included both narrow and wide whitewall, but there are also good options in the 15 inch sizes in blackwall and RWL that could be used as is or have whitewalls added by the Diamondback vulcanizing process.
I put the results in an email in response to a question on another list, but I thought it may also be of interest here so I am reposting. Its a long and somewhat technical "survey" I did on whats still available - probability you will be able to skip through to the portion that deals with your size. For those of you who have seen on the 300 list, I apologize.
Its not guaranteed to be complete and there may be some perfectly good inventory of some tires such as the Firestone F380, Goodyear Regatta II, Cooper Trendsetter SE, etc. that are no longer in production or now only in blackwalls in sizes that previously were available in whitewalls. I would personally have no hesitation to buy such NOS tires which are relatively new - say 1 to 3 years old, but there are those who do not recommend using tires more than 5 years old - others say 10 years old - probably depends on use. For example, I would not want to run a 10 year old tire with age cracking issues for hours under load at 80mph on a hot day but would be fine driving the same tire from home to a local show at 30-45mph.
The sizes of most interest for the big Chryslers are typically the replacements for 7.60/8.45/H78-15, 8.00/8.85/J78-15, 8.00/8.25/G78-14, 8.50/8.55/H78-14, and 9.00/8.85/J78-14. The current "replacements" are respectively P225/75R15, P235/75R15, P215/75R14, P225/75R14, and P235/75R14. I also included the P215/75R15 (7.10/8.15/G78-15) as a point for those considering replacing 14's with 15's due to availability of 14's.
I would note that the metric "equivalent" 75 series sizes tend to be significantly smaller diameter that the 80 and 83 series bias tires they replace. Furthermore, radials of a given diameter tend to have a lower Static Loaded Radius than a comparable bias tire of similar OD. Hence a car on radials will sit a bit lower even if OD is identical. Hence there would seem to be a desire to upsize assuming you have clearance for the increased tread width.
I have provided typical OD and tread width from older files I have dating back to the 50's including some engineering data - but I would also note that in the 1950's thru at least the early 1960's there tended to be some variation in OD by manufacturer and tread width both by manufacturer and in different tire lines within a manufacturer.
Anyway, here's the bad news:
8.00-14 & 8.25-14 typically 27.5 inch OD x 4.6 inch tread width
Replaced by P215/75R14 typically 26.7 inch OD x 5.6 inch tread width
(Another option would be the 225/70R14 but its a bit shorter and wider still and mostly raised white letters)
8.00R14 American Classic 3-inch WW 27.59 OD x 5.9 tread with 7.7 section width
P215/75R14 American Classic (both wide 2.5" and narrow 1" whitewall) 26.7 OD x 5.7 tread
P215/75R14 Coker Classic (wide 2.5" whitewall) 27.1 OD x 5.7 tread
P215/75R14 Hankook Optimo H724 narrow whitewall 26.7 OD x 5.3 tread
P215/75R14 Toyo Extensa AS currently shows blackwall only - I think these were available in narrow white
Now Extinct: Firestone FR380 Narrow Whitewalls 26.7 OD x 5.6 tread
and Cooper Trendsetter SE (et al*) 26.55 OD x 5.4 tread
8.50-14 & 8.55-14 typical OD 28.2-28.3 OD x 4.7-4.8 tread
H78-14 typical 27.6-27.7 OD x 5.7-5.8 tread
Replaced by P225/75R14 - OD range 27.05-27.62 (small sampling)
8.50-14 and 8.55-14 BFGoodrich Silvertowns still available from Coker in correct tread for 1957-1960 cars
8.50-14 - Universal Tire and Lucas Tire also show a Lester tire with a 3 inch Wide Whitewall
H78-14 Coker Classic 4ply bias (wide 2.5" whitewall) 27.60 OD x 5.75 tread
P225/75R14 - Coker Classic (wide 2.5" whitewall) 27.62 OD x 6.04 tread
Narrow Whitewalls Last Seen in Coker Classics 27.62 OD x 6.04 tread
and Cooper Trendsetter SE (et al*) 27.05 OD x 5.6 tread - both now extinct
* Here I would note that Cooper makes several other brands such as the Mastercraft AS-IV which is essentially the same tire and both TBC and Treadways market tires which have similar specs such as Multi-Mile Matrix and the ElDorado Golden Fury - both of which seem to be available in similar size and sidewall configurations. TBC brands include Cordovan, Multi-Mile, Sigma, and Vanderbilt. Treadways brands include ElDorado, Jetzon, Telstar and Sumitomo. Other tires of this family may include Dean, Hercules, Starfire, and Big-O, as well as Mastercraft and possibly others. After finding certain similarities in line specifications and size / sidewall availability, I stopped searching individual lines and only list the Cooper entry into this field. The 14's seem to be extinct in Whitewalls, but 4 or 5 sizes of narrow whitewalls still show up in 15 inch production - including P215/75R15 and P235/75R15 but not P225/75R15 which is now Blackwall only.
Some of the above companies also list a common Gremax 5000 narrow whitewall tire at the end of the passenger section. The Gremax appears to be made by Crowntyre Industrial Co. Ltd of China and imported for distribution by TBC and possibly others. These are mostly 15 inch and a couple of 14 inch (195/75R14 and 205/75R14) narrow whitewalls. The 15 inch narrow whites include 215/75R15, 225/75R15 and 235/75R15 plus 225/70R15.
Another company which has several narrow whitewalls is Milestar in their MS775 line. Milestar according to their site is a trademark of TIRECO a US registered company since 1970, but according to Wiki, the tires are made by Nanking Tires, a Taiwanese based company. Again, these are a few smaller 14 inch in narrow whitewall up to P215/70R14 and some of the larger 15 inch. The 15 inch narrow whites include 215/75R15, 225/75R15 and 235/75R15.
Also I noticed after I had compiled my list that Coker is now listing a new Maxxis Narrow Whitewall, but its size range is limited to those already represented in my tabulation. Maxxis is a well known tire in ATV use made by Cheng Shin Rubber Ind, Ltd. based out of Taiwan - but not sure where the MA1 passenger tires are made and again, sizes in narrow whitewall are only up to P215/70R14 and some of the larger 15 inch. The 15 inch narrow whites include 215/75R15, 225/75R15 and 235/75R15 plus P225/70R15.
9.00-14 & 8.85-14 typical 28.7-28.8 OD x 4.8-4.9 tread
9.00-14 and 8.85-14 BFGoodrich Silvertowns still available from Coker in correct OE tread for 1957-1960 cars
P235/75R14 American Classic (both 2.5" Wide and 1" Narrow Whitewall) 27.9 OD x 6.3 tread
9.50-14 - Lucas Tire has both a Lester with 2.5" Wide White and a General Dual 90 with 2.25" Wide White
As to 15 inch, there are several of what I would call "major" brands - at least those that I recognize as having been around a while - I have listed only the Whitewalls which include Cooper, Toyo, and Hankook - all of which are competitively priced ($70-100) as well as the specialty brands from Coker and American Classics. And there are the many variations of Cooper, TBC, and Treadways as well as the Gremax 5000, the Milestar MS775, and the Maxxis MA1.
There are also a number of Blackwall and Raised White Letter tires including BFGoodrich, Goodyear, Firestone, Michelin, etc which I did not list due to their great population - which would make good candidates for the Diamondback Whitewall Vulcanizing Process.
7.10-15 & 8.15-15 typical 28.0-28.1 OD x 4.5/5.0 tread
7.10R15 American Classic Radial 28.21 OD x 4.70 tread with 2.75" Wide White
P215/75R15 Cooper Trendsetter SE 27.55 OD x 5.4 tread Narrow White
P215/75R15 Hankook H724 27.7 OD x 5.3 tread Narrow White
P215/75R15 Toyo Extensa AS 27.6 OD x ??? tread Narrow White
P215/75R15 American Classic 27.6 OD x 6.24 tread - 1.6" Narrow and 2.75" Wide White
P215/75R15 Coker Classic 27.62 OD x 6.04 tread - 2.5" Wide White
7.60-15 & 8.45-15 typical 28.7-28.8 OD x 4.6/5.0 tread
7.60-15 Coker Classic 4-ply Bias 28.70 OD x 4.90 tread - 3" Wide White
7.60R15 American Classic Radial 28.87 OD x 4.90 tread - 3.25" Wide White
H78-15 Coker Classic 4-ply Bias 28.36 OD x 5.74 tread - 3" and 4.4" Wide White
P225/75R15 Hankook H724 28.3 OD x 5.6 tread Narrow White
P225/75R15 American Classic 28.29 OD x 6.52 tread - 1.3" Narrow and 2.75" Wide White
P225/75R15 Coker Classic 28.29 OD x 6.24 tread - 2.75" Wide White
(continued below)
Not sure whether this belongs under tech or somewhere else, but thought it might be of interest.
I put this together based on some research I did last month for tires for my 300L (8.55-14 narrow whitewall OE) and my 67 New Yorker (8.85-14 narrow whitewall OE). I looked at both big 14's (8.00/8.25/G78-14 and larger) and big 15's (7.10/8.15/G78-15 and larger) and was disappointed to find many of the tires which were available only a couple of years back are now extinct.
I included both narrow and wide whitewall, but there are also good options in the 15 inch sizes in blackwall and RWL that could be used as is or have whitewalls added by the Diamondback vulcanizing process.
I put the results in an email in response to a question on another list, but I thought it may also be of interest here so I am reposting. Its a long and somewhat technical "survey" I did on whats still available - probability you will be able to skip through to the portion that deals with your size. For those of you who have seen on the 300 list, I apologize.
Its not guaranteed to be complete and there may be some perfectly good inventory of some tires such as the Firestone F380, Goodyear Regatta II, Cooper Trendsetter SE, etc. that are no longer in production or now only in blackwalls in sizes that previously were available in whitewalls. I would personally have no hesitation to buy such NOS tires which are relatively new - say 1 to 3 years old, but there are those who do not recommend using tires more than 5 years old - others say 10 years old - probably depends on use. For example, I would not want to run a 10 year old tire with age cracking issues for hours under load at 80mph on a hot day but would be fine driving the same tire from home to a local show at 30-45mph.
The sizes of most interest for the big Chryslers are typically the replacements for 7.60/8.45/H78-15, 8.00/8.85/J78-15, 8.00/8.25/G78-14, 8.50/8.55/H78-14, and 9.00/8.85/J78-14. The current "replacements" are respectively P225/75R15, P235/75R15, P215/75R14, P225/75R14, and P235/75R14. I also included the P215/75R15 (7.10/8.15/G78-15) as a point for those considering replacing 14's with 15's due to availability of 14's.
I would note that the metric "equivalent" 75 series sizes tend to be significantly smaller diameter that the 80 and 83 series bias tires they replace. Furthermore, radials of a given diameter tend to have a lower Static Loaded Radius than a comparable bias tire of similar OD. Hence a car on radials will sit a bit lower even if OD is identical. Hence there would seem to be a desire to upsize assuming you have clearance for the increased tread width.
I have provided typical OD and tread width from older files I have dating back to the 50's including some engineering data - but I would also note that in the 1950's thru at least the early 1960's there tended to be some variation in OD by manufacturer and tread width both by manufacturer and in different tire lines within a manufacturer.
Anyway, here's the bad news:
8.00-14 & 8.25-14 typically 27.5 inch OD x 4.6 inch tread width
Replaced by P215/75R14 typically 26.7 inch OD x 5.6 inch tread width
(Another option would be the 225/70R14 but its a bit shorter and wider still and mostly raised white letters)
8.00R14 American Classic 3-inch WW 27.59 OD x 5.9 tread with 7.7 section width
P215/75R14 American Classic (both wide 2.5" and narrow 1" whitewall) 26.7 OD x 5.7 tread
P215/75R14 Coker Classic (wide 2.5" whitewall) 27.1 OD x 5.7 tread
P215/75R14 Hankook Optimo H724 narrow whitewall 26.7 OD x 5.3 tread
P215/75R14 Toyo Extensa AS currently shows blackwall only - I think these were available in narrow white
Now Extinct: Firestone FR380 Narrow Whitewalls 26.7 OD x 5.6 tread
and Cooper Trendsetter SE (et al*) 26.55 OD x 5.4 tread
8.50-14 & 8.55-14 typical OD 28.2-28.3 OD x 4.7-4.8 tread
H78-14 typical 27.6-27.7 OD x 5.7-5.8 tread
Replaced by P225/75R14 - OD range 27.05-27.62 (small sampling)
8.50-14 and 8.55-14 BFGoodrich Silvertowns still available from Coker in correct tread for 1957-1960 cars
8.50-14 - Universal Tire and Lucas Tire also show a Lester tire with a 3 inch Wide Whitewall
H78-14 Coker Classic 4ply bias (wide 2.5" whitewall) 27.60 OD x 5.75 tread
P225/75R14 - Coker Classic (wide 2.5" whitewall) 27.62 OD x 6.04 tread
Narrow Whitewalls Last Seen in Coker Classics 27.62 OD x 6.04 tread
and Cooper Trendsetter SE (et al*) 27.05 OD x 5.6 tread - both now extinct
* Here I would note that Cooper makes several other brands such as the Mastercraft AS-IV which is essentially the same tire and both TBC and Treadways market tires which have similar specs such as Multi-Mile Matrix and the ElDorado Golden Fury - both of which seem to be available in similar size and sidewall configurations. TBC brands include Cordovan, Multi-Mile, Sigma, and Vanderbilt. Treadways brands include ElDorado, Jetzon, Telstar and Sumitomo. Other tires of this family may include Dean, Hercules, Starfire, and Big-O, as well as Mastercraft and possibly others. After finding certain similarities in line specifications and size / sidewall availability, I stopped searching individual lines and only list the Cooper entry into this field. The 14's seem to be extinct in Whitewalls, but 4 or 5 sizes of narrow whitewalls still show up in 15 inch production - including P215/75R15 and P235/75R15 but not P225/75R15 which is now Blackwall only.
Some of the above companies also list a common Gremax 5000 narrow whitewall tire at the end of the passenger section. The Gremax appears to be made by Crowntyre Industrial Co. Ltd of China and imported for distribution by TBC and possibly others. These are mostly 15 inch and a couple of 14 inch (195/75R14 and 205/75R14) narrow whitewalls. The 15 inch narrow whites include 215/75R15, 225/75R15 and 235/75R15 plus 225/70R15.
Another company which has several narrow whitewalls is Milestar in their MS775 line. Milestar according to their site is a trademark of TIRECO a US registered company since 1970, but according to Wiki, the tires are made by Nanking Tires, a Taiwanese based company. Again, these are a few smaller 14 inch in narrow whitewall up to P215/70R14 and some of the larger 15 inch. The 15 inch narrow whites include 215/75R15, 225/75R15 and 235/75R15.
Also I noticed after I had compiled my list that Coker is now listing a new Maxxis Narrow Whitewall, but its size range is limited to those already represented in my tabulation. Maxxis is a well known tire in ATV use made by Cheng Shin Rubber Ind, Ltd. based out of Taiwan - but not sure where the MA1 passenger tires are made and again, sizes in narrow whitewall are only up to P215/70R14 and some of the larger 15 inch. The 15 inch narrow whites include 215/75R15, 225/75R15 and 235/75R15 plus P225/70R15.
9.00-14 & 8.85-14 typical 28.7-28.8 OD x 4.8-4.9 tread
9.00-14 and 8.85-14 BFGoodrich Silvertowns still available from Coker in correct OE tread for 1957-1960 cars
P235/75R14 American Classic (both 2.5" Wide and 1" Narrow Whitewall) 27.9 OD x 6.3 tread
9.50-14 - Lucas Tire has both a Lester with 2.5" Wide White and a General Dual 90 with 2.25" Wide White
As to 15 inch, there are several of what I would call "major" brands - at least those that I recognize as having been around a while - I have listed only the Whitewalls which include Cooper, Toyo, and Hankook - all of which are competitively priced ($70-100) as well as the specialty brands from Coker and American Classics. And there are the many variations of Cooper, TBC, and Treadways as well as the Gremax 5000, the Milestar MS775, and the Maxxis MA1.
There are also a number of Blackwall and Raised White Letter tires including BFGoodrich, Goodyear, Firestone, Michelin, etc which I did not list due to their great population - which would make good candidates for the Diamondback Whitewall Vulcanizing Process.
7.10-15 & 8.15-15 typical 28.0-28.1 OD x 4.5/5.0 tread
7.10R15 American Classic Radial 28.21 OD x 4.70 tread with 2.75" Wide White
P215/75R15 Cooper Trendsetter SE 27.55 OD x 5.4 tread Narrow White
P215/75R15 Hankook H724 27.7 OD x 5.3 tread Narrow White
P215/75R15 Toyo Extensa AS 27.6 OD x ??? tread Narrow White
P215/75R15 American Classic 27.6 OD x 6.24 tread - 1.6" Narrow and 2.75" Wide White
P215/75R15 Coker Classic 27.62 OD x 6.04 tread - 2.5" Wide White
7.60-15 & 8.45-15 typical 28.7-28.8 OD x 4.6/5.0 tread
7.60-15 Coker Classic 4-ply Bias 28.70 OD x 4.90 tread - 3" Wide White
7.60R15 American Classic Radial 28.87 OD x 4.90 tread - 3.25" Wide White
H78-15 Coker Classic 4-ply Bias 28.36 OD x 5.74 tread - 3" and 4.4" Wide White
P225/75R15 Hankook H724 28.3 OD x 5.6 tread Narrow White
P225/75R15 American Classic 28.29 OD x 6.52 tread - 1.3" Narrow and 2.75" Wide White
P225/75R15 Coker Classic 28.29 OD x 6.24 tread - 2.75" Wide White
(continued below)
