This is my first post here. I am a huge old Cadillac fan, however I currently have a 66 Lincoln Continental coupe I am doing the finishing touches on. My question is that I have been buying tires for a long time for exotic cars but have never purchased white walls. I am shocked to see how much money these companies want for 225 75 15s white walls. Not to mention I am reading the quality lacks as well with some of these brands. I did come across another post from a few years ago and tried some of the links that seemed reasonable, unfortunately those links are broken.
There has got to be some white walls in the $400.00 per set range somewhere? The last thing I want to do is spend 800 to 1000 on tires that are 15"s. Anyone buy tires in the last few months? Even Ebay has these ridiculous Cokers that I hear are bad quality.
I have Firestone 721 tires on my 66 Cadillac...same size as yours. The whitewalls are not quite as wide as the best looking ones, but they are inexpensive. They drive OK.
Those do look good on that cool looking Caddy. With the stance on the Continental I am really hoping to find a wider white wall, sort of like that Diamond back place does but half the price. If not I will have to go with a skinnier wall. Right now the tires are dry rotted and need to be replaced before going driving so since they must be replaced, I figure better to do it right the first time.
What size whitewall was offered when it was new? There were some very nice one available... I especially like the thin/wider/thin triple stripe.
I really do not know the stock specifications. I am going by some of the restores I have seen recently for those that have not changed the rims. The only way to look really cool with the factory hubcaps is a wide white wall in my opinion.
Do a google search for " runway enduro "
These are inexpensive whitewalls.
I bought a set a few years ago and had problems with discoloration on the whitewalls, but maybe you will have better luck.
You get what you pay for with tires, so buyer beware with cheaper tires.
Brian
I'd rather see 235-75R15's on a car that big and heavy and those are available from Cooper (Trendsetters) and Hankook in a white wall. The Hankooks are the better tire. White walls are definitely getting harder to find though in some sizes.
My '73 has 235-75R15 W/W Trendsetters but I will go with Hankooks next time around.
I bought my last 2 sets of 235 75 15 Han Kook whitewalls at Discount Tire. They are right at $100 each plus mounting and balancing. I have been very happy with them.
Haven't the 721's been discontinued for a while now?
Same with the Runway Enduro? Those did have a wider than typical white wall. I got a pair about 4 years ago when bought a 78. Went back about 3 months later when I had one of the other two fall apart and could not find them from regular tire dealers.
Seems like I read Hankook may still something.
It seems that the bigger names have discontinued white walls so other than the classic tire vendors looking for a store brand seem to be the least expensive option. Most of them still offer a white wall in a 75 series tire. You usually have to go to a more rural dealer to find them. Its been a year since I got any so who knows maybe they also quit. Most of them are made by one of the offshoots of the big names like Kelly, Cooper, those sorts of names.
The Firestone 721's with the 1.6 whitewall have been discontinued for many years.
Brian
Quote from: okccadman on March 10, 2014, 10:37:11 PM
I bought my last 2 sets of 235 75 15 Han Kook whitewalls at Discount Tire. They are right at $100 each plus mounting and balancing. I have been very happy with them.
Awesome. How wide is the white portion on those? I believe I have Hankooks on my newer Town car and they are great with no road noise at all. 235's would be a tad taller right?
Quote from: 76eldo on March 10, 2014, 09:35:04 PM
Do a google search for " runway enduro "
These are inexpensive whitewalls.
I bought a set a few years ago and had problems with discoloration on the whitewalls, but maybe you will have better luck.
You get what you pay for with tires, so buyer beware with cheaper tires.
Brian
Alright, I will check it out. Thanks. Amazing collection by the way. Classic cars are a new thing for me as I watch America and American cars disintegrate, I figure I can capture some of the greatest country in the world that we were and pass it down. I used to be a huge Porsche enthusiast, everything from 928's up to the dreaded 996. It was 1999 that German cars got cheapened and no longer built strong and well. I often wonder how many Hyundai's will be collected.lol
If I recall correctly the Hankooks on my 63 Impala are a 3/4" white wall.
With Runway, the name says it all. Run away! I had a set on my VW GTI that lasted all of 15,000mi. I brought the car to the dealer because of scalloping and I thought I had an alignment issue (mind you this was in the rear). As it turns out, there was nothing wrong with the car. The tread was separating.
There are horror stories out there on the Runways.
Have you tried Diamondback tires? www.dbacktires.com
KD CLC#26801
Anyone use the American Classic's 1.6 in? If so, let us know your thoughts! I need to replace my current tires with their sliver of a whitewall on my '76 soon and am trying to get as close to the original Uniroyal LR78-15's with the 1.6 in whitewall.
Jeff
I am also looking to American Classic whitewall tires,maybe someone can tell more about these tires?
Quote from: KD on March 11, 2014, 12:29:37 PM
Have you tried Diamondback tires? www.dbacktires.com
KD CLC#26801
I did check them, too much cash for a 15inch in my opinion. Doesn't feel right to drop a thousand dollar bill on such small tires.
Quote from: jbmoffo on March 11, 2014, 12:35:15 PM
Anyone use the American Classic's 1.6 in? If so, let us know your thoughts! I need to replace my current tires with their sliver of a whitewall on my '76 soon and am trying to get as close to the original Uniroyal LR78-15's with the 1.6 in whitewall.
Jeff
Sounds interesting, 1.6" sounds much better for me as well. How much are those running? and where do find them?
Ebay
Google American Classic tires. They are sold in many different stores.
Not cheap either.
I bought the Hankooks myself. I don't care what size the white wall is on my car. It is a driver ,come summer.
Mine are 225-75R-15's . 80,000 mile tire. I paid $420.00 for all 4 , mounted and balanced.
Roy
I would also recommend the Hankook tires. I bought a set for my modified '37, and they are excellent. I bought 235-75-15 a year and a half or so ago and should have bought a smaller (225) size. I had a problem with front clearance only in a rare turning dip situation, so I bought a pair of 215 's at a swap meet and have now ordered a set of 225s'; I would have ordered a pair but I had 80k Mileage Plus II's which I can't get now, I wanted to have all the same model and found the Hankook Optimo on line , 70k rated and I think 640 A B. Also this way I have a full set of one size for future or to sell. I took of the fronts at less than 500 miles and the rears have been on for probably 2500 miles at most These are probably the last w/w I will buy, they are getting very hard to find, more 215's are available and 235 being a truck size are out there but for some reason the 225 is harder to find; I'd say stock up now but the radial tires of today don't have the shelf life of the old bias ones, as for the Hankook, high quality, quiet, smooth, and available for $ on par with lesser quality tires. D Varney
Are there wide white Hankook tires 225 75 15?
No, they don't have a wide white.
Tires really have an impact on the quality of the ride and the feel of the car.
I don't have any personal experience with the American Classic's by Coker, but there is a set of Diamond Back Classics on my 60 Convertible that were installed before I got it, and that car rides like a dream on those. The whitewalls are nice and white and the car runs and tracks great.
Ever try blackwall tires with Port-a-Walls? http://www.portawallshop.com/
http://www.portawallshop.com/customer%20review.htm
Might be worth a try...
Brian
Can anyone who bought 235 x 15 Han Kook whitewall tires tell me which model of HK tires they bought? My local Discount tire dealer's web site lists them by model, Han Kook Optima, Han Kook Ventus, etc, so it's hard for me to look them up before going over there to see them.
I think your better off going over and looking at them, and getting the info.
Hankook has changed there line up, and looking at the site, they don't even show the one I bought anymore.
I thought I saw that Walmart was selling them too. Our local car wash, and oil change place even sells them. Pretty popular tire.
Roy
There are several 235-15 Hankook tires, but only one 235-75R15 whitewall Hankook tire, the Optima.
yes Geoff, near as I can figure the Optimo 724 is the only whitewall they have now as they have apparently discontinued the Mileage Plus II that I had; the Plus II was an 80k tire and the 724 is 70k, my new set arrived today from Discount Tire Direct and I note that the ww measures 5/8" and the Plus II was 11/16. I'm taking the wheels and tires in tomorrow for mounting, then I'll have the four 235-75-15 to decide what to do with.
about the port-a-walls, I think either they are not available for radials or they are at least not the same as for a bias tire.
dave v
The sellers do say porta-walls are not for radial tires. Something about the sidewall flexing too much. But I've seen (on the internet) people putting them on PT cruisers and Beetles. I don't know if they stay put in the long term.
-mB
I have done a lot of research on this because my 5 old cars take 15" white stripe tires.
I had a set of Hankook Optima 724 (or 721s?) on a 64 Lincoln. Good tire overall. No Complaints
On my 66 Eldorado, I have a set of Cooper Trendsetters. Very smooth, quiet and crisp steering. Also, not a lot of writing on the sidewall. This is a pet-peeve of mine. Some tires sidewalls have so much writing on them its distracting.
Also check out Mastercraft Tires - made by Cooper
As of a couple of years ago, Hercules and Toyo made touring tires with white stripes in the 225 and 235 - 15 sizes.
Just about any tire smaller than 16" is getting expensive due to demand dropping off. Most car manufacturers don't use those sizes anymore. These days it's cheaper to buy 18-20" tires.
I got Hancooks 225/75/15 whites for the 91 brougham last year for 87.00 wholesale through my friend They look and ride well but seem to be wearing fast