When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I'm looking for new tires for my inherited '70 Cutlass Supreme convert. It currently has some past-their-prime Radial T/As that are definitely out of round on it, and I'm wondering what to replace them with. My tire pal says the BF Goodrich Radial T/As of today are very good and I would be happy with them. I'm just wondering if I'd like the look of something with a redline better, which I've got on my '68 Camaro. Both cars are red, and I generally like redlines on red cars. But, it seems like it's pretty common to have Radial T/As with raised white lettering, and I think they look pretty appropriate on there. I'm currently running 225/70R15, and plan to stick with the same size.
Also, I live in Minnesota where the driving season is short. My cars sit in indoor heated storage for a good chunk of the year, and I try to roll the cars back and forth at least once a month if I can. I'd like something that will fare better than the average bear when it comes to sitting for long periods of time.
So, what do you think? I'm open to all suggestions, and will look into any good ideas!
Last edited by swothe; March 4th, 2024 at 04:21 PM.
Unless you spend a LOT, today's white letter tires don't have the cachet of the originals, with their classic, restrained lettering. I opted out of that choice.
Blackwalls speak to performance. Most white letter tires say "me too". And blackwalls were standard on our cars; you paid extra for other choices.
I favor Radial T/As because of the extensive size selection. I turn them white letter side in with the letters covered by the tire store's rubberized black coat.
X2 ON the BF Goodrich tires. I like them but personally dealing with the brown letters is making me consider something different for my next set of tires.
I'm in the BFG camp. Others have suffered "browning" of the white letters. I've had my current sets on both my truck and my 4-4-2 about five years, and so far the lettering is still bright white. I've been a BFG user for more than 40 years on every vehicle I've owned, trucks, SUVs, muscle cars. They look great, and the tread, especially when running All-Terrain T/As in winter snow, can't be beat.
I had a set of TAs, once; never cared for them. Cooper used to be made in Ohio. Don't know if they still are. I run their low line- Mastercraft, Avenger GTs to be exact. They're both good tires, but tend to harden with age, seemingly moreso than other brands.
Thanks for all of the responses so far, I appreciate the input. I'm leaning toward the BF Goodrich Radial T/As, but am wondering if anyone has run the Coker BFG Silvertown Redlines. They look nice, but are pretty spendy compared to the BFG T/As. Is there anything about the redlines that would far surpass the T/As (quality, longevity, ride, etc.). I don't put many miles on, so I'm looking more for something that is long-lasting in terms of years over miles.
That is not the only option for redlines. Take a look at Diamond Back. They take new tires and put redlines, goldlines or whitewalls on them. I put a set of goldlines on my 75 Hurst Olds to match the gold stripes on it. Not cheap but I am very satisfied with them. If you guy them through Summitt you get free shipping. I called and talked with them before I ordered my tires. They are good folks. I have not heard any complaints about Diamond Back.
Have you given thought to moving up to a larger wheel size to take advantage of the newer tire tech and vast assortment of choices over the few old-school 15" varieties left?
My '72 ragtop wears 245-50-17 Falken blackwalls on 17" American Racing Torq Thrusts - they overall match the original 15" total tire height so no change in speedo gear accuracy - way many more 17" tire choices for this wheel size and I paid less per tire than current BFG pricing.
1969 was the last year that they were offered by the factory.
Thank you! 😊
[QUOTE]
I thought that BFG had rectified this issue and offered to replace the affected customers (within a certain date window). Are there still issues?, or is this just a lingering bad taste left in the mouths of dissatisfied customers. Thank you for your honest feedback.
Red car SS3s in red, go black walls. Black walls are my next move with my red car & SS1s.
My mocha brown RWL BFS were replaced under warranty... 8 years ago when new. The second set did the same browning within a year after warranty replacement. Only the rear 255s browned. The front 235 have been fine. This picture really doesn't do the brown justice. The 6 year old BFG RWL 235s on the Vette are fine.
I wound up buying white tire paint. Busted the pens open and used an artist brush. The pen tip does a lousy job. Came out decent. Another few years these go in the trash in favor of black walls of a different brand(?).
I don't like the tread pattern on the radial red lines. They look like recapped snow tires from a straight on view. I don't like how the RWL on the BFGs is so close to the rim. Old school BFG were spaced evenly on the side wall, centered.
BFG should have fixed the systemic problem by now???
Snow tire looking tread
Last edited by droldsmorland; March 6th, 2024 at 11:31 PM.
Cooper Cobras get my vote on this post. Also, for long term storage, and if you don't need to move the car during that time, consider tire savers, they keep the tires off the concrete. Avoid trying to drive off and on them though, the best way to use them is jack up/lower down on them.
I have used all of the above. Mickey Thompsons, made by Cooper, are tops unless you need a redline. In case of redlines I would use Diamondback Classics.
Last edited by Tri-Carb; March 7th, 2024 at 06:25 AM.
Funkwagon455
There are bulletins out there from BF Goodrich stating the brown letters are NOT a defect and is natural for the letters to turn brown. I personally called them looking for a solution. The lady i talked with was nice but did not offer any real solutions. I did find a soulion to brighten the letters on my car but it seems like a lot of work for white letters that never was a problem for years.
I too am torn between Cooper and BFG White Letter TA's. I have the BFG's on my Cutlass now but the date code is 2001. Researching, I caught this YouTube video about BFG replacing tires with the brown letter issue.
Also the video mentions a date code of 25/20 (25th week of 2020) as the last of the brown lettering issue.
I'm leaning toward the BFG's because I like the original look and feel. Has anyone purchased BFG's with a date code past 2020?
Last edited by Mark21; April 11th, 2024 at 10:16 AM.
I've been a BFG user since the Tirebird race car in the early 70s (an advertising campaign about as effective as the Rocket V8). I really haven't had a problem with the brown letters, though on some of my cars I mount them letters-in, as not every car needs the "Ricky Racer" look (eg, my black 1985 D88 four door). And for completeness, 1969 was the last year for redlines from the factory. Note Tires under Standard Equipment.
Redlines on that '70 beauty would not be complimentary, in my opinion. And if you are hesitant about the RWL option--mount black walls.
Before you decide, have the current tires on one side of the car turned with the black wall out. That will give you the best opportunity for a visual for your particular car.
Also keep in mind, and for the sake of safety, that any set of tires is only going to be good for between 6 and 10 years regardless of the miles you put on them.
March 4th, 2024, 04:14 PM
