Tire prices - comment

[SteveO_71]

On my 71 Mach1, I currently have the period correct polyglas tires, F60-15. They are about 10 years old so I was checking around for replacements, either polylgas again or radial BFG's.
Lucas Tire F60-15 is $360 and Coker Firestone retro look radial (FR60-15) is $400. BFG's (235/60-15) are $187.

I like the retro look but dont know if I can justify the price especially since the car isnt driven that much or entered in concourse shows. Then there is the driveablity differences between polyglas and radial.

Have tire prices really gone up over the last years or have they always been this high?? Sheesh! Do they need to be replaced at 10 years even with no dryrot cracks showing?

 

[MikeGriese]

Tires start degrading the moment they are removed from the mold. The volatile components in the rubber compound outgas over time, changing the characteristics of the rubber. Basically, the rubber gets harder and more brittle, reducing tread grip, tread flexibility and sidewall flexibility. This means they won't behave properly, particularly in wet conditions, when they get hot, when cornered or braked hard, or when hitting potholes. Even if they are never put on a wheel, a tire older than 7 years really shouldn't be used for anything more than rolling a car around a shop or display floor.

Each tire has a date of manufacture code molded into the sidewall. When you buy tires at a shop, make sure to specify that all 4 should be within the same year of manufacture and that they are not more than a year old.

 

[Don C]

In addition to what Mike said, as the tire compounds dry out the tread rubber loses its grip on the tire casing/belts, leading to the tread separating from the tire.

 

[RD-72]

Lol...my car was parked for about 28 years before I had the body and pain’t work completed in ~March 2020.
The tires were off the car during the storage period and maybe had 10,000 miles on them (tread was awesome).

Last fall (2021) was driving to a car show in another city about an hour away at highway speeds (60 mph) and my car was floating all over the road....I thought about it and realized I was driving on 30+ year old michelin sport exp radials.
Needless to say, I slowed down on the way home, and ordered new bf goodrich radial TA tires the following week.

i dont know how, but in the world of supply chain issues, I was able to find 14” tires, so that I didn’t have to get new larger diameter rims. A set of 4 cost me about $880 Canadian. All in, with installation and an alignment is was just under $1,100 Canadian.
The manufacturing date was in the summer of 2021.

 

[RD-72]

Oh ya, when they pulled the old tires off the rims, 2 of the 4 tires separated...I got real luck that it didn’t happen at highway speeds.

 

[SteveO_71]

I realize that there are dates on the tires but cant imagine that manufacturers are constantly producing $400 tires, so they are probably made at some point in time and then sitting in a warehouse until someone buys them.
Makes me wonder how "new" the tires will really be. At least the BFG's seem to be used by more classic cars and hence manufactured more often.

 

[Don C]

It's easy to tell how old your new tires are, just check the date codes:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11&

 

[midlife]

Sigh...I remember getting tires for our 65 t-bird for $10 each, mounted and balanced. These were bias-ply tires, of course. If only tires were priced like computers and TV's, where the prices continue to drop despite new features being added.

 

[Kilgon]

Like everything tire prices have gone up considerably over the past few years. Although you can still find some good bargains out there you have to be careful. A lot of those specials are usually on the older tires they are wanting to move out of stock. That is why you want to check the date code before you buy and have them installed.

As far as what tires to purchased I guess it comes down to preference and what you can afford or are willing to spend. Some of the less expensive tires actual ride better than the higher price ones.

 

[MikeGriese]

I realize that there are dates on the tires but cant imagine that manufacturers are constantly producing $400 tires, so they are probably made at some point in time and then sitting in a warehouse until someone buys them.
Makes me wonder how "new" the tires will really be. At least the BFG's seem to be used by more classic cars and hence manufactured more often.

Tires are typically batched - the mfr will check with their dealers to determine how many to make, make them, and then ship them to their dealer network. The tire manufacturers really don't like warehousing tires - they prefer to put that burden on the dealer network.

The date code tells you when the tire was made - that's how you know how old your new tire is.

 

[Ron Tanzi]

Tire prices have been increasing at a substantial rate year over year since the 2008 recession. I bought my set of BFG radial T/A s 235/60/15 in 2012 @$91.00 each from the Tire Rack. I mounted and balanced them at the shop I worked at and they still on the car. In my observations the biggest factor in tire longevity other than actual mileage is UV exposure and storage. Repeated heat cycling degrades tires. My car is kept in my heated basement garage and my tires are still pliable without any cracking. In the past we had a lot more choices for 15" rims in H speed rated and up. I had a nice set of Yokohama AVS V rated in 235/60/15 (not much more $ than the BFGs at the time) and those things stuck to the road until they were bald. Really bald LOL. Now we are stuck with just S and T speed rated tire options for 15" rims. I do not want to up size my rims at this point as I am sure many of you don't. I still have one of the original Firestone wide ovals F78-14 that was the spare 45 years ago. That tire is just a conversation piece of course.

Ron

 

[Brian Kulis]

Lol...my car was parked for about 28 years before I had the body and pain’t work completed in ~March 2020.
The tires were off the car during the storage period and maybe had 10,000 miles on them (tread was awesome).

Last fall (2021) was driving to a car show in another city about an hour away at highway speeds (60 mph) and my car was floating all over the road....I thought about it and realized I was driving on 30+ year old michelin sport exp radials.
Needless to say, I slowed down on the way home, and ordered new bf goodrich radial TA tires the following week.

i dont know how, but in the world of supply chain issues, I was able to find 14” tires, so that I didn’t have to get new larger diameter rims. A set of 4 cost me about $880 Canadian. All in, with installation and an alignment is was just under $1,100 Canadian.
The manufacturing date was in the summer of 2021.

Glad you were safe! I had 30-year-old Sears Guardsman on my Mustang. I got the car started after 10 years and test drove the car around our ranchette and 2 of them blew up! No harm since no one was hurt.

 

[mrgmhale]

When we acquired out 1969 Shelby GT500 4 years ago it was (and still is ) in near perfect condition. The tires were Mickey Thompson Sportsman Radials, P235R60 x 15 RWL tires, a nice size size tire that performed well. I decided to replace them with reproduction F60 x 15 bias ply Goodyear Polyglas GT RWL tires so they would be period and option correct. What a difference in handling. The bias ply tires were nowhere near as good in helping me keep control on higher speed turns as compared to the radials. But, I did not get the Shelby to race around, so I learned to adapt to the limited performance of the bias ply reproduction tires. The radials went on our 1973 Mach 1, and they look and perform well. I am using Magnum 500 15" wheels on both cars.

For as little I actually drive the Shelby and Mach 1 it will take many years before either set of tires will need to be replaced. I decided to replace the bias ply tires on the Shelby with a set of radial tires designed to look like the old Polyglas GT tires of yore. As much as I appreciate sticking to period nd option correct tires, a good handling set of tires is more important to me, but not so important that I am willing to throw away an other wise perfectly good set of bias ply tires. If the Shelby was driven daily that would be a different story.

 

[Idaho Chris]

....I decided to replace the bias ply tires on the Shelby with a set of radial tires designed to look like the old Polyglas GT tires of yore. ...

Can you elaborate more about these tires? Who makes a radial that looks like the old Polyglass GT tires?

Thanks!

 

[Hemikiller]

Coker carries the bias-look radials.

FWIW, tires are cheaper than bodywork.

To the OP's dilemma, I'd buy a set of wheels for the radials, and save the bias setup for shows only.

 

[SteveO_71]

The tires at Coker are: https://www.cokertire.com/tires/firestone-wide-oval-rwl-fr60-15.html

The tires at Kelsey only come in a 14" https://www.kelseytire.com/performance-group-6/fr70-14-polyglas-radial/

 

[MikeGriese]

When we acquired out 1969 Shelby GT500 4 years ago it was (and still is ) in near perfect condition. The tires were Mickey Thompson Sportsman Radials, P235R60 x 15 RWL tires, a nice size size tire that performed well. I decided to replace them with reproduction F60 x 15 bias ply Goodyear Polyglas GT RWL tires so they would be period and option correct. What a difference in handling. The bias ply tires were nowhere near as good in helping me keep control on higher speed turns as compared to the radials. But, I did not get the Shelby to race around, so I learned to adapt to the limited performance of the bias ply reproduction tires. The radials went on our 1973 Mach 1, and they look and perform well. I am using Magnum 500 15" wheels on both cars.

Did you have your car realigned when you went from radial to bias ply tires?

 

[SteveO_71]

For as little I actually drive the Shelby and Mach 1 it will take many years before either set of tires will need to be replaced. I decided to replace the bias ply tires on the Shelby with a set of radial tires designed to look like the old Polyglas GT tires of yore.

From what I understand, they would need to be replaced in about 10 yrs, whether driven or not. Which tires did you decide to put on the Shelby? the Firestones or some other?