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Topic: My 79 tire issue

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My 79 tire issue (1/21)
 11/5/12 10:01pm
GoodyTLifetime Member
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New Port Richey, FL - USA

Vette(s):
1979 Yellow L-82 Auto - SOLD 1994 1992 White ZO7 6 Spd - SOLD 1998 1978 Silver Anniversary L-82 4 Spd - SOLD 2006 1979 Silver L-82 4 Spd - 18,451 miles 1 owner car, found having been in storage 20 years. Purchased in 2010.


Joined: 4/2/2005
Posts: 31

Help please, My 79 is finally on the road and I was wondering if anyone had any history about Firestone Firehawk SS10's. Driving it right now it feels like all the tires or some have flat spots from storage, I have tried to find mfg date on tires but can't locate, is it possible that these are that old that there is no date stamp?. I know it will not be driven much until new tires are installed but just curious about anyone knowing about these tires, recommendations on decent tires would also be appreciated. G.T

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Re: My 79 tire issue (2/21)
 11/5/12 10:08pm
eboLifetime Member
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Holland Patent, NY - USA

Vette(s):
#1 *1980 White, Red interior 14,000 mile #2 *1980 Red, Oyster interior 93,000 miles Resto project car, rebuilt to 383 stroker


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Posts: 4420

GT, search tire's in the search box, you will find a few nights worth of reading.
In any event if they are that old do not risk your car or your life on $500 worth of tires! 
Just sayin......
Evil Smileebo
Tirerack.com has a great comparison chart
 


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Re: My 79 tire issue (3/21)
 11/5/12 10:56pm
Jaws79Lifetime Member
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Sykesville, MD - USA

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1979 Corvette Coupe Corvette Light Blue Midnight Blue interior Mirrored Glass T-tops


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I always recommend the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires. Great ride, handling, wet traction, and all at a good price! You can't go wrong! Don't even worry about the old tires. DUMP them! I would not buy a car this old and expect to do anything less then changing the tires. When you have a blowout on a Vette, you usually lose a fender!

Barry
 
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Re: My 79 tire issue (4/21)
 11/5/12 11:02pm
GoodyTLifetime Member
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New Port Richey, FL - USA

Vette(s):
1979 Yellow L-82 Auto - SOLD 1994 1992 White ZO7 6 Spd - SOLD 1998 1978 Silver Anniversary L-82 4 Spd - SOLD 2006 1979 Silver L-82 4 Spd - 18,451 miles 1 owner car, found having been in storage 20 years. Purchased in 2010.


Joined: 4/2/2005
Posts: 31

No worries, after all this time working on it I am not about to drive it much right now with these on it.  

So far I have seen photos of several using Goodyear Eagel GT II's, thank s for all the info.

G.T. 


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Re: My 79 tire issue (5/21)
 11/5/12 11:34pm
eboLifetime Member
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Holland Patent, NY - USA

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I also run the Firestones......do your homework.....they outperform the goodyears.
Evil Smileebo


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Re: My 79 tire issue (6/21)
 11/6/12 10:14am
Case75
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, - Canada

Vette(s):
1975 Corvette 383 stroker w/Patriot 190 heads, Eagle stroker kit, Comp 279TH7 cam, DUI distributor, Edelbrock 7116 intake, Edelbrock 1806 carb, Hedman Hedders, TH400 w/TCI Breakaway 2400 stall, Transgo 1-2 shift kit.


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I'm running BF Goodrich Raial T/A's size 245/60/15. Mine are due for replacement next year as they're about 10 years old. I like them and will probably buy again. I've also been looking at the Firestone Indy 500's. Regardless, I'm going up one size to the 255's.

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Build Date: May 7, 1975. 383 w/267 RWHP/310 RWTQ
Re: My 79 tire issue (7/21)
 11/6/12 11:48am
GoodyTLifetime Member
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New Port Richey, FL - USA

Vette(s):
1979 Yellow L-82 Auto - SOLD 1994 1992 White ZO7 6 Spd - SOLD 1998 1978 Silver Anniversary L-82 4 Spd - SOLD 2006 1979 Silver L-82 4 Spd - 18,451 miles 1 owner car, found having been in storage 20 years. Purchased in 2010.


Joined: 4/2/2005
Posts: 31

Ok so a silly question? 

225 vs 255 tires? 

Currently have 225/70R15's and I see the 255's were an option back then, I guess there is no clearance issues? 




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Re: My 79 tire issue (8/21)
 11/6/12 12:41pm
Case75
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, - Canada

Vette(s):
1975 Corvette 383 stroker w/Patriot 190 heads, Eagle stroker kit, Comp 279TH7 cam, DUI distributor, Edelbrock 7116 intake, Edelbrock 1806 carb, Hedman Hedders, TH400 w/TCI Breakaway 2400 stall, Transgo 1-2 shift kit.


Joined: 6/19/2012
Posts: 230

I like the look of the 255's as they fit the 8" wide rim better. A 225 is meant for a 7" wide rim at the maximum. I have no issues with the 245's and the step up to the 255 is very small in width or height.

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Build Date: May 7, 1975. 383 w/267 RWHP/310 RWTQ
Re: My 79 tire issue (9/21)
 11/6/12 5:40pm
DaveMLifetime Member
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Flanders, NJ - USA

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1982 Black, ZZ4, Hooker Side Pipes, 3.55 Rear, Rebuilt & upgraded 700R4, All new suspension, brakes, & new Charcoal interior.


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I have the Firestone Indy 500's in the 255/60 size they don't hit at all. I love them. They are the same dia. as the 225/70 tires so there is no speedo problem. The 60 series is wider.
Good luck,
Dave


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Re: My 79 tire issue (10/21)
 11/6/12 6:49pm
dwright
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Victor, NY - USA

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Ditto from me on the Firestones. Great performance and tread life.
As for size, I like the wide for looks.
I think that is a guy thing.Wacko


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Re: My 79 tire issue (11/21)
 11/6/12 7:27pm
GoodyTLifetime Member
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New Port Richey, FL - USA

Vette(s):
1979 Yellow L-82 Auto - SOLD 1994 1992 White ZO7 6 Spd - SOLD 1998 1978 Silver Anniversary L-82 4 Spd - SOLD 2006 1979 Silver L-82 4 Spd - 18,451 miles 1 owner car, found having been in storage 20 years. Purchased in 2010.


Joined: 4/2/2005
Posts: 31

Well it appears that the Firestone Indy 500's 225/70R15 are discontinued from what I was able to search today locally at tire suppliers.

I guess I will look at 255/60R15's but do they fit the original wheel's???  Or some other alternative.

More research to be done tomorrow.

Thanks for all the great feedback.





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Re: My 79 tire issue (12/21)
 11/6/12 9:09pm
aceintheholeLifetime Member
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Manteca, CA - USA

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1978,two tone,Metalic Rootbeer & gold 1975 L48 4 speed


Joined: 11/20/2005
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 Seems the most popular size is the 255x60 15s. I haven't ever heard of clearance issues until you take the next step to 275x60 then the parking brake cable interferes at the trailing arm mount........ Luv them fastbacks Thumbs Up.

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Re: My 79 tire issue (13/21)
 11/6/12 9:37pm
rod7515Lifetime Member
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Red Lion, PA - USA

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1974 White 350 Corvette, TH400 Automatic 1972 Tangerine /Go Mango Convertible 383 Stroker, 2004r Automatic


Joined: 10/27/2006
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I've been selling tires full time for the past 10 months for a good size tire company here in Pa. Up until that time I was selling tires in my auto repair shop before I sold my business. This is what I know about tires from what I see on a daily basis.

First, 15" sports tires are getting harder to find. Almost, if not all cars have gone to 16" - 18" tires as standard so the tire manufacturers have not and do not plan on producing near as many 15" tires for our older classic / muscle cars. Many of the classic/muscle car owners have gone to the 17" & 18" for a few different reasons. First, some feel they look better while others like the stock sizing looks.(rotors and calipers stand out) 2nd reason for the larger tires is the size availability is much better. What many dont understand about going from a 15" tire to a 17" / 18" tire is that the outside diameter can be matched to what your stock tire was. Then you have many selections on the width of the tires. Todays wheels/tires are all about styling so manufacturers see that as profitability potential, thus the reason they have gone to the newer sizes.

Now when it comes to what brand should I buy, and remember. this is only my opinion and we all know about opinions!
With todays quality control techniques in manufacturing, todays major brand tires are all very good. Remember this about your car, Very few of us race our cars, so the performance side doesnt come into play. (although I'm sure we all drive aggressive at times) (if you plan on racing its a whole other ballgame) Also, mileage usually doesnt matter as the tires get old before they wear out.  Now when it comes to "my car handles great with brand X", its usually because of the difference in the wear and condition of the suspension/alignment. Take care of that part and it comes down to what tire makes me feel good. Some look at pricing to make them feel good, others want a sidewall that looks good. Then there are those that want a tread design that looks aggressive.

I could go on and on about tires but by now you should see that when it comes to "what tires should I buy" only you can make the right decision. I will say this, one of the most important part of the tire purchase is to be sure that the person/place that mounts and balances your tires does a good job. Make sure all old weights are removed before the new tire is mounted.(this includes removing old stickon weights) The rims are cleaned well, they use ruglyde on the beads and you put in new valve stems. Once you get the tires on go drive and enjoy the ride!

Best of luck,
Rodney






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Re: My 79 tire issue (14/21)
 11/6/12 10:23pm
Jaws79Lifetime Member
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Sykesville, MD - USA

Vette(s):
1979 Corvette Coupe Corvette Light Blue Midnight Blue interior Mirrored Glass T-tops


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From 78 up the optional size tire was 255/60-15. The wheels are the same regardless of what tire size you use. In 78, Chevrolet increased the size of the wheelwell to accomodate the larger tires. I agree with most of what Rod said, except I feel that wet traction has to be a consideration. If you use you car, you will be caught out in the rain sooner or later. Ask anyone that has driven in the rain with bad or cheap tires and you'll see it makes a difference. The only thing that holds your Vette to the road is the tires. Don't cheap out!
 
Barry
 
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Re: My 79 tire issue (15/21)
 11/7/12 10:19am
eboLifetime Member
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Holland Patent, NY - USA

Vette(s):
#1 *1980 White, Red interior 14,000 mile #2 *1980 Red, Oyster interior 93,000 miles Resto project car, rebuilt to 383 stroker


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Posts: 4420

Rod, most excellent post, Barry I'm with you, even thou it took me a while to like the lettering on my Indy's I bought them because of traction in wet conditions. I remember a post where a member had new goodyears on and went down a wet exit ramp and looped the car around.
Firestones as rated by tirerack had the best wet conditions. I remember the full day of rain we had traveling to the MAMO gathering and was glad I had the stones on.
Evil Smileebo 


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Re: My 79 tire issue (16/21)
 11/7/12 3:30pm
KDADDY79
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Dutchess County, NY - USA

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G.T,
Mine is a '79 too.
I had the BFG 225/70-15's for about seven years. I liked 'em alot!
After reading many good reviews about the Firestones, I went with the Indy 500 255/60-15 size. Mine do rub just a but, but only when it's in reverse and I cut the steering wheel all the way to the right. It's such an infrequent and minor occurrence I don't spend time worrying about it.
I think they look and ride better, too.
Please let us know which tires you decide to get.
 
Kevin
Re: My 79 tire issue (17/21)
 11/8/12 12:28pm
GoodyTLifetime Member
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New Port Richey, FL - USA

Vette(s):
1979 Yellow L-82 Auto - SOLD 1994 1992 White ZO7 6 Spd - SOLD 1998 1978 Silver Anniversary L-82 4 Spd - SOLD 2006 1979 Silver L-82 4 Spd - 18,451 miles 1 owner car, found having been in storage 20 years. Purchased in 2010.


Joined: 4/2/2005
Posts: 31

Again thank you all for awesome information, you are the greatest.

Latest is that Firestone has discontinued all of the recommended tires that have been mentioned and the only option as of right now is the BF Goodrich TA's. 

But I will keep looking and try and find something as I do NOT want to drive my Vette around on these ancient tires.  There is no MFG date on my tires so they seem to be pre 1993 as the consensus is that's when tire manufacturers started to stamp dates on tires.

The Firestone Firehawk SS10 that is currently on my car was also discontinued in or about 2003, so yes these are OLD tires.

Again thanks for all the great info.




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Re: My 79 tire issue (18/21)
 11/8/12 2:07pm
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Duncanville, TX - USA

Vette(s):
#1-1974 L-48 4spd Cp Med Red Metallic/Black deluxe int w/AC/tilt/tele./p/w-p/b/ Am-Fm/map light National/Regional/Chapter NCRS "Top Flight" #2-1985 Bright Red/Carmine Cp.L-98/auto Member: NCRS, NCRS Texas, Corvette Legends of Texas


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GoodyT said:There is no MFG date on my tires so they seem to be pre 1993 as the consensus is that's when tire manufacturers started to stamp dates on tires.


That's not true....tire dating has been done for many years....long before '93. The date stamps are normally only on the back side of the tire, so if you did not look there, you wouldn't see it. I have an article somewhere describing date de-coding on tires....I'll see if I can dig it up this evening when I get home. I think there was also a thread here before that had the same info. I can check that now....

I did find this in an old thread...it gives basically the same info....

rod7515 said: Mike and follow C3VR members, I dont know what I was thinking last night when I posted but I had to go back and edit to correct what I said. It was late and I was sneaking in some reading while doing my month end closing for work which I am late on! (Again)! Any way the build date always follows the DOT number and can be either a 3 digit or 4 digit number. Its usually only on one side of the tire and can be inside or outside depending on Manufacturer and mounting. If its only a 3 digit number the first 2 will be the week of the year and the last digit will be the year. 3 digits are 90's tire. 4 digits are usually the 2000 and newer. Hope this clears up my mistake!
Rodney

Also, the Federal Guvment started requiring a uniform dating on ALL tires starting in '71. Up until then, each manufacturer had their own way of dating tires.
The original Firestones on my '74 are dated.....can't remember the dates, but I do know I have checked them.





|UPDATED|11/8/2012 11:07:29 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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Re: My 79 tire issue (19/21)
 11/8/12 2:07pm
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Duncanville, TX - USA

Vette(s):
#1-1974 L-48 4spd Cp Med Red Metallic/Black deluxe int w/AC/tilt/tele./p/w-p/b/ Am-Fm/map light National/Regional/Chapter NCRS "Top Flight" #2-1985 Bright Red/Carmine Cp.L-98/auto Member: NCRS, NCRS Texas, Corvette Legends of Texas


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And I found this on the NCRS discussion board, from a retired Firestone employee...

Bruce, Ok I'll give this a shot.
I believe they started requiring the DOT on tires around 68 or 69
. You are correct in the date code with the "347". It would be the 34th week of a year ending in "7". Before 2000 they used a 3 digit date code (first 2 for week and 3rd for the year) because they didn't figure tires would last more than 10 years (OR maybe they didn't figure ANY of us NUTTY classic car enthusiasts would need to know what decade it was produced ). After 2000 they started using the "4" digit (first 2 for week and last 2 for year). The first 2 digits in your DOT (VJ) is where the tire was produced, which in this case is Pottstown Pa. The rest of the numbers/letters had different meanings for each tire manufacturer. At Firestone some of the numbers designated which curing press and mold was used. Not sure what other manufacturers called these numbers but at Firestone they were the "serials". Before we went to the 12 hour/ 7 day operation we would change the serials in the curing molds on 3rd shift (3-11) Saturday. To muddy the waters more, on the set of numbers you posted I'm guessing "N08B" is on one tire and "N15B" on the other? If so that would be the curing presses (N08 and N15) they were cured in. Since they cure 2 tires per press each time one tire would be stamped "N08A" and the other "N08B". Now that you are TOTALLY confused, have fun at BG!!!





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Re: My 79 tire issue (20/21)
 11/8/12 2:47pm
GoodyTLifetime Member
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New Port Richey, FL - USA

Vette(s):
1979 Yellow L-82 Auto - SOLD 1994 1992 White ZO7 6 Spd - SOLD 1998 1978 Silver Anniversary L-82 4 Spd - SOLD 2006 1979 Silver L-82 4 Spd - 18,451 miles 1 owner car, found having been in storage 20 years. Purchased in 2010.


Joined: 4/2/2005
Posts: 31

I stand corrected... Found MFG date on inside... tires are per 96 so time to change.

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Re: My 79 tire issue (21/21)
 11/8/12 9:01pm
rod7515Lifetime Member
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Red Lion, PA - USA

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1974 White 350 Corvette, TH400 Automatic 1972 Tangerine /Go Mango Convertible 383 Stroker, 2004r Automatic


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G,
Did some checking on the inventory we have and we only have 1 of the BFG TA radials. 2 years ago when I bought my BFG's I waited over 3 months for us to get them in. At that time I wasnt working for them but I called every week as they were back ordered. They continue to be on back order all the time due to less manufacturing time as I explained earlier. I didnt have time to check on the Firestone tire as we don't sell many of them and they are supplied to us thru an outside vender. I will try to check tomorrow to see if anything is available. Other tires that are that size that we carry would be in the Hankook line. The MIleage Plus II are advertized at 80K miles with UTQG of 620 A/B. (UTQG stands for Uniform Tire Quality Grading) (The 620 is the tread wear, first letter being Traction rating, 2nd letter being temperture rating) The 2nd Hankook is the Optima 724 listed at 70K miles with the UTQG of 500 A/B and the last Hankook is a Dynapro AS which has a UTQG of 440 A/B. Also has ROWL.(raised outline white letter) Another tire we stock in that size is the Uniroyal  Cross Country Tour that has a UTQG of 540 A/B. ROWL.
This the the problem with the 15" tires. I am sure that their are other tires in other brands that are out there that we dont carry, however I have access to 15 different brands and thats all I have available. If you want the vette to stay as stock/original you can have a local tire shop order you tires and wait until they come in if your not in a hurry. Other option is to go to 17" or 18" wheels but your expense goes up because of wheel purchase. The tires actually are not that much more expensive and some are actually less. A much wider range of selection and they will be available much longer.
Best of luck.
Rodney

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