Austin Vert Chooses a New Road for Tires.

[Austin Vert]

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to follow up on my last report, with my story on buying new tires for Goldie, my '73 Vert. Hope you find it good, interesting info.

Introduction.

For the Forum members that have followed me over the years, you will know that when it comes to choice of wheels and rubber, i'm old school in my tastes. For me, the look i'm chasing is the classic Magnum 500 x15inch chrome rims,teamed up with old school tires such as T/A Radials with white lettering on the sidewalls. For Goldie, i ended up settling on Magnum 500 rims. Front- 15x8 and back - 15x10. Going back to 2011, i had the choice of buying leading brands such as T/A Radials, Cooper Cobras, Mastercraft Avengers etc. My research led me to buy and try the Avengers, as i had received mixed reports on the other brands. I've been running Avengers since 2011 on all my American cars i've owned.  ( '73 Mustang Vert/ '73 Mach 1/ '71 Dodge Challenger Vert) My common go to size is Front - 245/60 x15 and Back - 295/50x15. on all cars. All i can say, is that i have been very, very happy with the Avengers over the years. To me, they are really are a great all 'round tire. The only exception would be that since i NEVER drive my classic cars in wet weather, i cannot give you any feedback as to how these tires perform in the wet. Sorry.The only other issue that used to annoy me, was that on the back of the Vert, i installed heavy duty leaf springs to set the suspension slightly high. The idea was to help clear the outer edge of the tire from rubbing on the inner wheel arch lip when going over heavy dips in the road or bad potholes. I almost solved this problem, but on some very bad roads, and with extra load such as passengers, i got the occasional rub issue. This slight rubbing problem did not damage the tire in any way would you believe.

However, there's some wise old sayings in life. Don't assume anything to be automatically right, and when your on a good thing, stick to it. In the first case, my Avengers were getting old in years (coming up to 10 years old). Really time to buy some new ones. Funny thing was, is that all tires had heaps of tread left (almost like brand new), and the sidewalls looked spot on. The rubber overall still looked fresh and soft. They still had to go based on age - so sad. I assumed that all tires were 10 years old. I only checked the passengers side tires and assumed the drivers side tires were the same. When i was at the tire shop getting my new tires installed, the owner told me that the drivers side tires were 15 years old. Holy crap. That's dangerous driving. I will live and learn from that experience i can tell you. Would you believe that the tire shop owner inspected and showed me all four tires on the insides, and found them to be in good condition as well, but i was not going to take any chances. So, it was time to grab some new tires.......................................................................

The purchase.

As for the second wise saying in life, it made perfect sense to me to stick with the tires i knew and liked so much. However, i was in for a nasty surprise. Realizing that i had to move fast on getting new rubber, i started to touch base with my old suppliers of the Mastercraft Avenger tires before last Christmas. They told me that none were available to purchase in Australia due to so called manufacture and distribution issues around the world and America, and it could be months away before any would arrive. In desperation, i checked with other brands like Cobras and B.F. Goodrich, but sadly it was the same story. I was caught between a rock and a hard place. I waited for three months. Out of desperation, i deep dived into investigating other possible brands to get me out of trouble. I stumbled on a brand that i never heard of before -  Radial Galaxy R1 tire by Vitour. (an asian tire i believe)  I spent hours researching these tires, and much to my surprise, they came up with very good critique and review all 'round. The good news was that these tires were available in Australia in good supply, and were available in my sizes, white lettering and all. I pulled the trigger in April, 2021, and bought a set for Goldie. All i can say, is i am again, very happy with these tires. They are just great, and perform super well - just as good as the Avengers did. Quiet/ good handling and cornering, great road hugging, with the excepting of wet weather handling of course. They were much cheaper to buy than the Avengers as well. ($750.00 Australian fitted and balanced/ $540.00 US Dollars) These tires are sold in America too. Lastly, the shoulders of the new tires are more curved, and thus, has solved my rear tire rubbing problem completely, as i get good clearance with the inner wheel arch lip.

Your US reference ...................................

https://www.performanceplustire.com/tires-for-sale/vitour-tires/galaxy-r1-5/ts:29550-15:ty:Tire/

Your Australian reference ................................................

https://www.etyrestore.com.au/new_store_listing.php?tyre_id=748

Goldie walk around with the old Avenger tires - (Sorry for the shaky/ noisy video)





Goldie with the new Vitour Tires.

She's sitting high stance here, as she's just been dropped off the front/back jacks and hasn't settled. (Notice the shoulders are more rounded than the Avengers)

Thanks,

Greg. :classic_smile:

 

[c9zx]

Thanks for the link. It sounds like a good alternative to Cooper and BFG. The car looks great. Chuck

 

[luxstang]

I've only got positive feedback on the Vitour Galaxys, especially when it comes to adherence in the rain.  I'll probably try them when my Coopers need replacing. 
it's interesting to see that on yours the writing is on exactly opposing sides of the tire. All the pictures I found regarding tires for sale here in Europe have the writing off to one side which kinda looks good in a 60s kind of way but in the other hand bugs me little. My jury's still out on that. 

 

[Austin Vert]

Hi Chuck,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, from a performance perspective, the tires are up there with the Mastercrafts, if not somewhat better. Hope you are running ok with things.

Hi Mike,

Hope your keeping well these days. Yes, the feedback i got was that these tires are ok in the rain from general consensus. I would want to prove that myself, but don't think i'll get the opportunity. He, he.

Interesting comment on the lettering offset. Yeah, don't know what's going on there. Maybe it's an Aussie production thing or whatever. I remember you're not a great fan of white lettering on your sidewalls. As far as the  lettering goes, i prefer the Avengers in that regard as the letters are positioned closer to the rim and when spelt out, look more attractive than calling your tires Galaxy. Hope your Mustang is running ok and you still are enjoying her.

Thanks Guys,

Greg. :classic_smile:

 

[jscott]

Thanks for all the responses, gettin a clear picture of what i need to do. Just found this also.

 

[Spike Morelli]

You know how we all take to something and never change from it, like oil, or brand of gas you use. Well, I've been a Goodyear tire guy ever since, maybe, 1969, when my Dad put Polyglas tires on the family station wagon and they lasted the best of any he'd tried. So, I come of age, driving, and all of my cars have been shod with Goodyear performance rated tires. My Mach 1 wore new Goodyear STs from the first week I owned it, but for a while now..........Goodyear has discontinued my favorite! They don't even make Eagles, or STs any more. WAAAAAHHHHH! I like the look of white letter tires, kinda reminiscent of the sixties, so I've been running BFG Radial TA's, and they seem fine. Still, I miss those Goodyears. I know the restorers put Coker or Lucas repro Polyglas white letter tires on their cars, but as much as I use mine ,the price is steep for everyday driving.

 

[DaveMT]

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to follow up on my last report, with my story on buying new tires for Goldie, my '73 Vert. Hope you find it good, interesting info.

Introduction.

For the Forum members that have followed me over the years, you will know that when it comes to choice of wheels and rubber, i'm old school in my tastes. For me, the look i'm chasing is the classic Magnum 500 x15inch chrome rims,teamed up with old school tires such as T/A Radials with white lettering on the sidewalls. For Goldie, i ended up settling on Magnum 500 rims. Front- 15x8 and back - 15x10. Going back to 2011, i had the choice of buying leading brands such as T/A Radials, Cooper Cobras, Mastercraft Avengers etc. My research led me to buy and try the Avengers, as i had received mixed reports on the other brands. I've been running Avengers since 2011 on all my American cars i've owned. ( '73 Mustang Vert/ '73 Mach 1/ '71 Dodge Challenger Vert) My common go to size is Front - 245/60 x15 and Back - 295/50x15. on all cars. All i can say, is that i have been very, very happy with the Avengers over the years. To me, they are really are a great all 'round tire. The only exception would be that since i NEVER drive my classic cars in wet weather, i cannot give you any feedback as to how these tires perform in the wet. Sorry.The only other issue that used to annoy me, was that on the back of the Vert, i installed heavy duty leaf springs to set the suspension slightly high. The idea was to help clear the outer edge of the tire from rubbing on the inner wheel arch lip when going over heavy dips in the road or bad potholes. I almost solved this problem, but on some very bad roads, and with extra load such as passengers, i got the occasional rub issue. This slight rubbing problem did not damage the tire in any way would you believe.

However, there's some wise old sayings in life. Don't assume anything to be automatically right, and when your on a good thing, stick to it. In the first case, my Avengers were getting old in years (coming up to 10 years old). Really time to buy some new ones. Funny thing was, is that all tires had heaps of tread left (almost like brand new), and the sidewalls looked spot on. The rubber overall still looked fresh and soft. They still had to go based on age - so sad. I assumed that all tires were 10 years old. I only checked the passengers side tires and assumed the drivers side tires were the same. When i was at the tire shop getting my new tires installed, the owner told me that the drivers side tires were 15 years old. Holy crap. That's dangerous driving. I will live and learn from that experience i can tell you. Would you believe that the tire shop owner inspected and showed me all four tires on the insides, and found them to be in good condition as well, but i was not going to take any chances. So, it was time to grab some new tires.......................................................................

The purchase.

As for the second wise saying in life, it made perfect sense to me to stick with the tires i knew and liked so much. However, i was in for a nasty surprise. Realizing that i had to move fast on getting new rubber, i started to touch base with my old suppliers of the Mastercraft Avenger tires before last Christmas. They told me that none were available to purchase in Australia due to so called manufacture and distribution issues around the world and America, and it could be months away before any would arrive. In desperation, i checked with other brands like Cobras and B.F. Goodrich, but sadly it was the same story. I was caught between a rock and a hard place. I waited for three months. Out of desperation, i deep dived into investigating other possible brands to get me out of trouble. I stumbled on a brand that i never heard of before - Radial Galaxy R1 tire by Vitour. (an asian tire i believe) I spent hours researching these tires, and much to my surprise, they came up with very good critique and review all 'round. The good news was that these tires were available in Australia in good supply, and were available in my sizes, white lettering and all. I pulled the trigger in April, 2021, and bought a set for Goldie. All i can say, is i am again, very happy with these tires. They are just great, and perform super well - just as good as the Avengers did. Quiet/ good handling and cornering, great road hugging, with the excepting of wet weather handling of course. They were much cheaper to buy than the Avengers as well. ($750.00 Australian fitted and balanced/ $540.00 US Dollars) These tires are sold in America too. Lastly, the shoulders of the new tires are more curved, and thus, has solved my rear tire rubbing problem completely, as i get good clearance with the inner wheel arch lip.

Your US reference ...................................

https://www.performanceplustire.com/tires-for-sale/vitour-tires/galaxy-r1-5/ts:29550-15:ty:Tire/

Your Australian reference ................................................

https://www.etyrestore.com.au/new_store_listing.php?tyre_id=748

Goldie walk around with the old Avenger tires - (Sorry for the shaky/ noisy video)





Goldie with the new Vitour Tires.

She's sitting high stance here, as she's just been dropped off the front/back jacks and hasn't settled. (Notice the shoulders are more rounded than the Avengers)

Thanks,

Greg. :classic_smile:

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Sharp looking vert! I have a 1973 Q-Code Mach-1 myself but now my wife wants her own convertible of a similar vintage so I guess i have to start looking for one for her (happy wife = happly life, right?). Plus it's not like I don't enjoy working on them. She would pefer a newer Mustang from this decade but I told her that would be sacrilegious.