Tires: Firestone Indy 500s vs. Radial T?A vs. Cooper Cobra

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Don65Stang

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I'm looking at getting some new tires for the M-code. Stock tire size is F60-15 which equates to P235/60 R15.

I found three (mostly) 3 brands turning up.

Firestone Wide Oval Firehawk Indy 500

BFGoodrich Radial T/A E4

Cooper Cobra Radial GT

I'm leaning toward the Indy 500s. Anyone have any experience with them? They get great reviews on the internet.

 
The coopers are hard as a rock and quite slippery in the wet. I love my BFG's. No experience with the Firestones though.

 
Im going the vintage wide oval firestone with the raised white letters my self...I think they look too cool!! Not sure how good they realy are thou..So i wont be much help..lol..Besides i think they look fantastic..lol

 
I have run the cooper cobras on a few of my cars and on my 71. They are a good tire and usually a good price. My buddy has a tire shop and is a cooper dealer so i went with them for a while. When i got my new rims I ended up going with Stinger Radial GTS. They are a good tire too. But they were cheaper than the bfg's and coopers so i went that route because my rear tires never seem to last as long as my fronts??? go figure :D I am on the end of my 2nd set now, and will be buying another rear set this winter once i properly remove the rest of the tread from my current tires! The front have about maybe 5000 miles on them and look like new.

Heres a pic of the Stinger radial gts.... i also like the white letter old school look.

72xeuh.png


 
The last Firestones I had were Firestone Firehawk SS 22570R14 front and 24560R14 out back. I think the Indy 500 is a replacement for them. Loved those tires. I bought 24560R15 BFG TA for Dad's Q Code. They seem pretty good as far as ride and hadling go. Price of tires has gone way up since I bought them almost doubled.

 
Just take a look how awesome they look on stock rims...Just them tires alone will get you some wins at the local car show;) hehe...But they could also handle like poop...But i dout they are too bad.

 
Just take a look how awesome they look on stock rims...Just them tires alone will get you some wins at the local car show;) hehe...But they could also handle like poop...But i dout they are too bad.
The wide ovals are bias tires not radials correct? The Boss Dad just got still has bias ply tires F60-15 up front and G60-15 out back those things break loose pretty easy! Which is fun and scary at the same time!

 
The last Firestones I had were Firestone Firehawk SS 22570R14 front and 24560R14 out back. I think the Indy 500 is a replacement for them. Loved those tires. I bought 24560R15 BFG TA for Dad's Q Code. They seem pretty good as far as ride and hadling go. Price of tires has gone way up since I bought them almost doubled.
Ya!! Tires are getting out of controll...All sizes too...I had a little run around escort wagon...And was my daily driver for years...I remmeber when i first got tires for it....little 13's...It was only 18 bucks a tire new at les shwab....i finaly sold it last year to a freind with 300,000 miles on it..i couldnt kill it...we call it the tader..cause its light brownish gold and looks like a bake potato...lol..tires jumped from 20$ a tire...too 40$....to 50$....and last set i got for it..was 80$ a tire..{shakes head} even my little ford ranger..14 inch tires...they wanted 90 bucks a tire...my word..for a run around truck...lol



Just take a look how awesome they look on stock rims...Just them tires alone will get you some wins at the local car show;) hehe...But they could also handle like poop...But i dout they are too bad.
The wide ovals are bias tires not radials correct? The Boss Dad just got still has bias ply tires F60-15 up front and G60-15 out back those things break loose pretty easy! Which is fun and scary at the same time!
Yup..seems you are right...lol interesting note...

there was a big reason that most muscle cars were equipped with bias-ply tires from the factory.

The Firestone Wide-Ovals and Goodyear Polyglas tires are bias-belted..Steel belted radial tires have been around since long before muscle cars gained popularity, but didn't see much use on performance vehicles (or any automotive applications) of the era because of safety reasons. Even though cars of the time would certainly have benefited from the strength and sidewall rigidity of a steel-belted radial, radials of the time were not able to withstand the heat of sustained high speed, and as this author can attest could blow apart doing body damage or at worst, causing loss of vehicle control at high speed. The causes of this problem have been debated, but in general terms the outer rubber plies of the tire would expand at a higher rate than the inner steel radial plies when heated by high-speed driving, eventually causing the outer rubber tread to separate from the tire. Modern radial tires are better engineered and speed-rated, ensuring they don't come apart,

 
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Heck yeah those Wide Ovals look awesome! I wish Firestone would put that on the side of a modern tire.
I know...i dont know why they wouldnt or wont..Its the lettering that makes them look so cool.



http://www.summitracing.com/parts/COK-62480/

Bias Ply according to description here and $286 per tire!
Ya..i kinda expect that..specialy now days...cost you as much as a kick arse super swamper for a 4x4..lol...But...You sometimes got to pay little extra for that special tire..lol

I do like they say..they made little bit more modern...Coker's Firestone Wide Oval tires are original equipment on many muscle and pony cars from 1967-74. Featuring the original Sup-R-Belt tread design, they're built in original molds with modern materials and technology. These Wide Oval tires are available in raised white letters, redline, and white pinstripe styles.

 
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I have BFG radial TAs now because Goodyear doesn't make the sizes I want anymore and they seem to be OK but not many miles yet. Have never used Cooper. Had a set of Firestones, not INDY 500s, on a 90 LX several years ago and they didn't stick well and lasted 16,000 miles. Maybe the Indy 500s are better. Chuck

 
I can only comment on the BFG Radial TA's and my experience with them was that they were decent handling tires that rode well and were fairly quiet, but that they were easily overpowered due to what I suspect was the hardness of the compound. I would not buy them again.

 
Heck yeah those Wide Ovals look awesome! I wish Firestone would put that on the side of a modern tire.
I agree the Firestone Wide Ovals do look awsome. Running BFGoodrich Radial T/A E4's on mine, 255 15's on back and 235 15's on front and have nothing but positive things to say about their performance and handling on my M Code...even at illegal speeds. Just seems everyone has them on their muscle cars so they don't stand out much.

Jim

 
I had two sets of Cooper Cobras on my 73 'vert (302 with some mods but base suspension w/gas shocks) when it was my daily ride and honestly I loved them. They handled well, looked good (IMO) and wore very well. I also ran a set of BFC Comp T/A's for a while. Handled great. Lasted about a week (or so it seemed). Now running a set of Goodyear Wingfoots which i was told by the Goodyear dealer were the replacement for the Eagle ST. They look great. but the turn-in and response doesn't seem near that of the Coopers... They're getting old so i suspect that I'm going to be in the tire market again next year. Thinking stronglu about going back to teh Coopers...

YMMV - literally!

 
I have run 14 inch Firestone 500 for 10+ years on my 70 XR7 and 73 Mustang...and then the price was out of sight so I switched to BFG.

Although I hate the look, I think the BFG handles better, has lasted longer, and runs quieter.

I am mainly switching to 17 inch wheels to get a better choice of tires.

 
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