My 2 cents.  It most likely came with Firestone, Goodyear or BFG's so stick with that.  The only American sports car just does not look right without that american made tire on it.

So, OE tires for an 82 would have been 1 of the 3 then? or was there a specific brand for a certain year?

I think most of the 82s had Goodyear Eagles on them. But its really a matter of personal preference. The Eagle is not a very good rain tire, the Firestone Firehawk is. Depends on how you want to use it. My choice was the Firehawk because it has good wet and dry traction, good ride, AND a reasonable price. On any 78 up I would go for the 255/60s. The earlier cars are a crapshoot weather they fit or not (remember, no two Vettes are the same!). Jaws792010-12-30 14:36:17

Thanks Barry! 

Hello Darrell and All  Happy New Year.

For Christmas, my wife gave me an autographed copy of Dave M's book.  In it he says: "Firestone was the dominant tire supplier for the Corvette and had taken us into the steel-belted radial age in 1973."  Firestone had to recall all their steel-belted radials in 1977 due to a corrosion problem with exposed steel threads.   He goes on to state that Goodyear tires were the only tires delivered on Corvette's in 1978. Also, "This started a long and productive relationship with Goodyear..."  My 82 had 43,000 miles on it when I bought it.  The previous owner said that it had the original tires.  The wear looked right and sidewall condition was what I would expect for the age of the tires.  I put Firestone Indy 500 Firehawks on last summer.  Arizona is pretty hard on tires.  I really noticed an improvement on cornering and an improvement on gas mileage. 
I have not finished reading Dave's book yet.  It is a fascinating read.  And yes, with new tires a straight road a stock 82 will get up to 129 mph.  I used an aviation hand held gps for the speedo.

Happy New Year to all.  It is my wedding anniversary today and we are finalizing the plans for the garage.  The building permit is in hand.
Keith 
   
Quote and reference from Dave McLellan: Corvette from the Inside Page 81

Congrats Keith! Good luck with the garage! Opps off topic! Sorry!