mickey thompson poor wet performance 255/60/r15

[Bill73Ragtop]

One thing to consider, although it might not be applicable in your case, is miles driven/time/cost. If you only use the tires on dry-ish days and will only put show or cruising mileage on them, buy something on the cheap end as you will probably want to replace in four years due to hardening or age. You won't wear them out so tread life is not an issue. If you plan to do more miles or travel to distant shows/cities then be prepared to get caught in the rain and spend appropriately. A couple of hundred more for better tires is a deal. I'm sure there are lots of people that would love to be able to spend that same amount AFTER an accident to turn back time.

::thumb:: 

Cost to repair compared to spending a few extra $$ for adequate handling should play large in decision.

 

[1sostatic]

Anyone here had experience with General Grabbers?

 

[1sostatic]

To be honest, I was not going to chime in on this one, but as I too am suffering from old. hard rubber, 13 year old BFG's on my Mach, I decided to add my 2 cents worth.

Just to be clear I only got this car on my doorstep Nov last year -- so I'm still finding **** out

I have learned that my Mickey's could be more than 6 years old - so your clue to poor rubber aging could have some baring 

-- I found receipt for tires in scraps of paperwork with the car when I bought him dated  11th Oct 2013  :-/  OMFG !

I also read that the producers of Mickey's  specialized in truck tires  :-/ 

I'm narrowing down to BF Goodrich or General's ... what do you think guys ?

Sorry but I cant find Avon Tyre's CR6ZZ  available for 15" rims ... and I'm not replacing rims; because if it took $20 to go around the world right now I couldn't get out of sight.

 

[Stanglover]

To be honest, I was not going to chime in on this one, but as I too am suffering from old. hard rubber, 13 year old BFG's on my Mach, I decided to add my 2 cents worth.

Just to be clear I only got this car on my doorstep Nov last year -- so I'm still finding **** out

I have learned that my Mickey's could be more than 6 years old - so your clue to poor rubber aging could have some baring 

-- I found receipt for tires in scraps of paperwork with the car when I bought him dated  11th Oct 2013  :-/  OMFG !

I also read that the producers of Mickey's  specialized in truck tires  :-/ 

I'm narrowing down to BF Goodrich or General's ... what do you think guys ?

Sorry but I cant find Avon Tyre's CR6ZZ  available for 15" rims ... and I'm not replacing rims; because if it took $20 to go around the world right now I couldn't get out of sight.

  I can't seem to find it right now, but Carolina_M_M posted a link to the US tire manufactures and their subsidiaries in a previous post. I printed it off.

 Mickey's and Avon are Cooper tires. BFG are Michelin, but I don't see General Tire. Personally, I'd just stick with the one's that are absolutely the most popular, BFG Radial T/A's.

If I find that link, I'll edit this.

Geoff.

Here you go.

https://www.utires.com/articles/tires-made-usa-american-foreign-brands/

 

[Don C]

Easy enough to tell how old the tires are, check the date codes

https://www.tirebuyer.com/education/how-to-determine-the-age-of-your-tires

 

[Mister 4x4]

To be honest, I was not going to chime in on this one, but as I too am suffering from old. hard rubber, 13 year old BFG's on my Mach, I decided to add my 2 cents worth.

Just to be clear I only got this car on my doorstep Nov last year -- so I'm still finding **** out

I have learned that my Mickey's could be more than 6 years old - so your clue to poor rubber aging could have some baring 

-- I found receipt for tires in scraps of paperwork with the car when I bought him dated  11th Oct 2013  :-/  OMFG !

I also read that the producers of Mickey's  specialized in truck tires  :-/ 

Mickey Thompson was into all sorts of racing back in the day - drag racing, Off-Road racing, Indy cars, land speed record, etc.  I don't recall which came first, but they produce not only off road ties, but racing tires as well.  The Sportsman series fat drag tires have been around since the '60s, as well as the Baja Belted series off road tires.  Their street tires are a fairly new thing, only the last 15-20 years or so.

All tires have a shelf life because of the rubber compounds and vulcanizing process - they go bad with time.  It's not so much of a problem if you're talking about having some tires on show cars or occasional low-medium speed driving (cruising), but when you need to run at speed and for periods of time, safety is an issue with older tires.

For instance, I have a 1980 Jeep with some Super Swampers on it I bought back in 1996 - and didn't know anything about tire shelf life back then.  I have no idea how old they are.  But, they still hold air, are still round, have 80 percent of their tread, and show no signs of dry-rot or cracking... so, I still drive it occasionally to car shows, cruise-ins, etc., but not on the highway.  When they go they go, then I'll get some more.

Conversely, I put a set of Arizonian Silvers on my wife's '01 Grand Prix (Discount Tire 'house' brand), and she hardly ever drove the car... maybe 55K miles in the 15 years she owned it, and they showed dry-rot cracking between the treads after only 6 years on the car.  How's that for not getting your money's worth?

Good luck in your search - I hope you find a set of tires that works out for you.

 

[detritusmaximus]

The hardening not only affects wet weather performance but also your braking/steering ability. So, even in warm dry weather you still have a safety issue.

 

[1sostatic]

The hardening not only affects wet weather performance but also your braking/steering ability. So, even in warm dry weather you still have a safety issue.

It's what worried me - I'm used to gargantuan wet grip on the Pirelli's on my Jag XK8 and Bridgestone Potenza's on my CLK350 -- modern asymmetric soft compounds 

Really appreciate the help guys

 

[donkost]

The hardening not only affects wet weather performance but also your braking/steering ability. So, even in warm dry weather you still have a safety issue.

It's what worried me - I'm used to gargantuan wet grip on the Pirelli's on my Jag XK8 and Bridgestone Potenza's on my CLK350 -- modern asymmetric soft compounds 

Really appreciate the help guys

And you're not exactly comparing apples to apples there.  Modern asymmetric soft compounds on modern suspensions, compared to a '71 Mustang which is really a '63 Falcon underneath.  My '71 Mach 1 won't handle like my '85 Ferrari Mondial (308 chassis in 2+2 format) regardless of which tires are used.  lol

 

[Stanglover]

Damn! Some of you guys have some really nice "daily drivers". I'm lucky to have a VW Passat!!

For me as I've mentioned, I'm sort of stuck for now with BFG T/A's without going to larger wheels. Even then I am pretty sure I'd still run BFG's as I know they handle well, or as well as can be expected on a 48 year old car with stock old school suspension.

It's up to you of course, but BFG's are plentiful and relatively inexpensive. Just stay away from Chinese tyres, but that's my opinion.

Geoff.

 

[1sostatic]

Damn! Some of you guys have some really nice "daily drivers". I'm lucky to have a VW Passat!!

For me as I've mentioned, I'm sort of stuck for now with BFG T/A's without going to larger wheels. Even then I am pretty sure I'd still run BFG's as I know they handle well, or as well as can be expected on a 48 year old car with stock old school suspension.

It's up to you of course, but BFG's are plentiful and relatively inexpensive. Just stay away from Chinese tyres, but that's my opinion.

Geoff.

Geoff m8 

I wouldn't have a Chinese tire if they were the last tires on earth... I'd rather cut down banana leaves and make tires outta that ! ! ! !    :whistling:

 

[1sostatic]

donkost

And you're not exactly comparing apples to apples there. Modern asymmetric soft compounds on modern suspensions, compared to a '71 Mustang which is really a '63 Falcon underneath. My '71 Mach 1 won't handle like my '85 Ferrari Mondial (308 chassis in 2+2 format) regardless of which tires are used. lol

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You're absolutely right 

I'm on 15" rims with ...60mm walls on 48 year old barn door bouncy style engineering made out of cart springs.

 

[Stanglover]

donkost

And you're not exactly comparing apples to apples there.  Modern asymmetric soft compounds on modern suspensions, compared to a '71 Mustang which is really a '63 Falcon underneath.  My '71 Mach 1 won't handle like my '85 Ferrari Mondial (308 chassis in 2+2 format) regardless of which tires are used.  lol

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You're absolutely right 

I'm on 15" rims with ...60mm walls on 48 year old barn door bouncy style engineering made out of cart springs.

If you want to spend more money, may I suggest upgrading the suspension a bit. You don't really need to go all out, but I found that adding larger anti-sway bars, better KYB  Gas-A-Just shocks and 4 1/2 leaf rear springs helped big time.  1/1/8" front and 7/8" rear anti-sway bars. Car goes round corners like it's on rails with little body roll..... remembering of course, it's not your Merc or Jag! 

Geoff.

 

[detritusmaximus]

That brings to mind two things, one is that I've heard the Mustangs do a little better with the Gas-A-Just up front and a lighter GR2 (Excel G) out back. Too stiff and the rear end bounces on rough roads, starting bouncing and you lose contact with the road.

Think about all those little French things that lean onto their door handles, but all four tires are still in contact with the road (that line probably won't make much sense to many, but I think 1sostatic will probably know what I'm talking about). Rough, uneven roads have a different need than a smooth one.

I use to run Kumho Ecsta ASX's on my RX7. They were fantastic. Could not beat them for the price plus 50%. Put them on the 2001 Focus, so much better and cheaper than the original tires. Then they changed. Still make good passenger car all season tires. But the light truck and performance all season just don't rate as high anymore.

 

[tony-muscle]

Drop a 200lb lead block in the trunk and handling will improve. Off course you may need better springs to go with it... lol

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[detritusmaximus]

Drop a 200lb lead block in the trunk and handling will improve. Off course you may need better springs to go with it... lol

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

That was my winter procedure with my 73 Grande and the 70 fastback....a concrete block with more concrete in the holes and a full toolbox. Worked okay, but the Goodyear Eagle GT+4 tires were amazing. I was very sorry when they quit making those.

 

[donkost]

Same trick here, to help with winter driving in the northeast US back in the early 80's. Used to put one or two bags of Sacrete concrete mix in the trunk of my '68 GTO, right above the rear axle. That car had gas shocks and new coil springs at all four corners, and I had installed a rear sway bar from a '70 GTO since the '68 did not have one. Bought it new in the GM box at the neighborhood Pontiac dealer parts counter. It handled acceptably for what it was, a nose-heavy beast with a live rear axle. I wouldn't say my '71 Mach 1 429 is better or worse at handling, but without installing new suspension upgrade kits these cars they are more akin to the handling of a Conestoga wagon. lol But they do go great in a straight line!