Tires

[plee4139]

One tire got a big bolt in it and they put two plugs in but it won't hold air so I need a new tire. At the same time the existing tires are about 18 years old and are cracked. They are 215/75x15. Who's the best to buy from and what price level is recommended? Are the Coker American Classic tires a good purchase?

[rockne10]

Diamond Back will provide you with NEW name brand tires with a side wall of your choice.

https://dbtires.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Entire-Catalog-5-23-18-proof-1.pdf

[Dick Steinkamp]

215/75/15 is a little big for a stock Studebaker rim. 205/75/15 is marginal but works. Tire Rack has both sizes for $74-80 each.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireS...earDiameter=17

Check your local tire stores. If they don't have them in stock, they can probably order them for you.

18 year old cracked tires are about 10 years overdue for replacement.

[plee4139]

Thanks, but I really need the medium-narrow whitewalls for my car. I'm trying to keep it as period correct as possible within my budget. At this juncture it looks like I'm going to get the Coker.

[Gunslinger]

I've used Coker and Diamondback Tires before...both give excellent service and provide great products. Push come to shove I'd give Diamondback the edge but not by much.

[BobPalma]

'Looks like Coker has some serious deals going if you are so inclined:

https://www.cokertire.com/tires/brands/american-classic-tires.html#utm_source=emailblast&utm_medium=190606-CTC-MecumPortland-Email&utm_campaign=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cokertire.com%2Ftires.html&utm_content=190606-CTC-MecumPortland-Email

[bensherb]

WOW, I looked at that Coker link, and I've bought sets of 4 tires for my regular cars (in the last year) for less than the cheapest tire on those 6 pages. I've never paid that much for any tire, even the ones I bought from Coker, but they were on closeout.

There have been guys on this forum recommend tires that make steering easy that are white walls and come in correct sizes for $50-$60 a tire. I don't really remember for sure what brand they were but, here are some Cooper Trendsetters for $70 each for a 215, they have 205's too for $72; 70 series are a bit cheaper.
https://www.tireamerica.com/tires/sk...00000001013966 This was just a 1 minute search, I'm sure others can be found.

[plee4139]

The Coopers look like a good buy. I tend to be somewhat suspicious about anything that's substantially lower priced than the rest of the dealer's offerings. The American Classic from Coker is nearly $100 more and frankly, I don't understand how they can justify that price. For example: I have a modest home on Long Island's pricey Hamptons and everything is at least half again Anyway thanks for the info. This forum has never let me down.

[t walgamuth]

Hancook or Kuhmo had some about the right size for less than 100 ea. I believe. NIce tires.

[TWChamp]

I paid $257 delivered to my door for the 4 radial tires I installed on my 1950 Land Cruiser last year.
I bought them on ebay from an outfit in one of the eastern states.
They are 225/75/R15, but I wish I'd have bought the 235's for only a few dollars more.
These are the narrow whitewall, but for saving $750, I can live with it.

[pinehurstbob]

I bought a set of Coker radials 205/75R15 and would not buy another set. They require frequent re-balancing.
Bob

[sweetolbob]

The Coopers look like a good buy. I tend to be somewhat suspicious about anything that's substantially lower priced than the rest of the dealer's offerings. The American Classic from Coker is nearly $100 more and frankly, I don't understand how they can justify that price. For example: I have a modest home on Long Island's pricey Hamptons and everything is at least half again Anyway thanks for the info. This forum has never let me down.

Cooper tires are pretty well rated and, are HQ'ed in Findlay, Oh. Remember the large tire brands make millions of tires while Coker is a small manufacture. Kinda like Studebaker competing with the big three only worse.

My guess is Coker can justify and needs the price by providing tires that mimic the ones from the past. I ran a set of Coker BFG Silvertown's on my 39 Ford Coupe because they looked just like the old ones and the upcharge was worth it for the theme I was running. Good tires but that was 20 years ago.

I wouldn't be afraid of Cooper.

Bob

[plee4139]

I decided on the Cooper Trendsetter SEs, from Tire America because they were the only ones who had the narrow stripe, would drop ship and also got very good reviews plus the price was nearly $100 lower than the Coker with wide whites. Some complained about short mileage but those were put on daily drivers.