[DeTomaso] Tire advice

Sean Korb spkorb at gmail.com
Sat Feb 15 15:55:53 EST 2014


I've got 16/17 wheels and tires and the 16" fronts are pretty darn
radical.  I'm not sure how 17s would fit on the front and have any
appreciable sidewall.  But I have a narrow body car so I rolled the
front fenders just a little to get them to fit.  I still have tire
contact on the control arm at full droop.  I have a steep driveway so
I haven't removed the 1" rubber spring spacers and I think that helps.

On Sat, Feb 15, 2014 at 3:42 PM, michael at michaelshortt.com
<michael at michaelshortt.com> wrote:
> I concur with Julian, if buying today I would go
> 17/18 (or a bit more radical at 18/19) to ensure a supply of readily
> available performance rated tires in the future at relatively normally
> prices.
>
> Michael
>
> On Feb 15, 2014 3:28 PM, "Julian Kift" <julian_kift at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> I bought a set of Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 for my 17" 10 and 13" GT5 last
>> summer. Availability of the 335-35/17 and 285-40/17 was not a problem. The
>> other choice as you say is a P Zero.
>>
>> If buying wheels, consider a 17" front and 18" rear, that is what I have
>> done for the '74 GP4 project.
>>
>> Julian
>>
>> ________________________________
>> Date: Sat, 15 Feb 2014 12:10:16 -0800
>> From: lashdeep at yahoo.com
>> To: b.hower3400 at yahoo.com; pantdino at aol.com; chrisvkimball at msn.com;
>> mikeldrew at aol.com; michael at michaelshortt.com
>> CC: detomaso at poca.com
>> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Tire advice
>>
>> A good question.
>>
>> What street tires could I run if I switched from my 15x10 and 15x13 Grp4
>> factory wheels to a 17" wheel?
>>
>> Before I bought my replacement set of 15" Yokos 18 mos ago, I couldn't
>> find all that many 17" street options.
>>
>> Maybe a P Zero model and an older design of Michelins?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> LS
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> central
>> wines-spirits   est 1934
>>
>> 625 e street nw
>> washington, dc 20004
>>
>> centralwines.com
>>
>> facebook.com/CentralLiquors
>>
>> 202-737-2800
>>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________
>> From: B Hower <b.hower3400 at yahoo.com>
>> To: Pantdino <pantdino at aol.com>; "chrisvkimball at msn.com"
>> <chrisvkimball at msn.com>; "mikeldrew at aol.com" <mikeldrew at aol.com>;
>> "michael at michaelshortt.com" <michael at michaelshortt.com>
>> Cc: "detomaso at poca.com" <detomaso at poca.com>
>> Sent: Saturday, February 15, 2014 2:46 PM
>> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Tire advice
>>
>> Please inform us on what brand and size tires, on what width wheels, you
>> are running. I don't find a lot of tires for front and rear by the same
>> manufacture in any wheel size. If I buy a set of tires, when I need a new
>> set or a single replacement it seems that tire is now obsolete.
>>
>> Bud #3400 ( Drive it like there is no tomorrow -- for there may not be ! )
>>
>> ________________________________
>> From: Pantdino <pantdino at aol.com>
>> To: chrisvkimball at msn.com; mikeldrew at aol.com; michael at michaelshortt.com
>> Cc: detomaso at poca.com
>> Sent: Friday, February 14, 2014 11:24 PM
>> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Tire advice
>>
>> Are the Toyos the same type as you have on the rear, or similar wear
>> rating?
>> If so, they would make sense.  Toyo makes a broad range of tires so the
>> manufacturer means little in this case.
>>
>> But Mike is right about rear tires-- even some years ago I went to 17"
>> wheels because it was getting too hard to find 15" tires to fit the rear.
>> (Yes, I know Pirelli runs off a batch every so often.  But there are so many
>> modern, great tires readily available in 17" it didn't make sense to me to
>> mess with it.)
>>
>>
>>
>> Jim
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Christopher Kimball <chrisvkimball at msn.com>
>> To: Mike Drew <mikeldrew at aol.com>; michael <michael at michaelshortt.com>
>> Cc: Pantera list serve <detomaso at poca.com>
>> Sent: Fri, Feb 14, 2014 2:14 pm
>> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Tire advice
>>
>> Bummer.  I just assumed if they had 15" 225s they'd have 285 or 295, too.
>>
>> Since I bought the front tires, I've driven over 25,000 miles.  The tire
>> guy I went to for alignment said the inner tread was down to the replace
>> mark, while the outer tread was still OK, barely.  He said the wheels had a
>> slight camber outward, which he said was probably for better cornering.  He
>> said it wasn't significant, but if I were going to drive to San Diego, I
>> should replace the tires before I left.
>>
>> Based on all the comments, especially the part about not mixing tire
>> brands, I think I'm going with the Toyos.
>>
>> Thanks everyone!
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Chris
>>
>> ________________________________
>> From: MikeLDrew at aol.com
>> Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2014 16:06:48 -0500
>> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Tire advice
>> To: chrisvkimball at msn.com; michael at michaelshortt.com
>> CC: detomaso at poca.com
>>
>>
>> In a message dated 2/14/14 7 18 3, chrisvkimball at msn.com writes:
>>
>>
>> When all four tires wear out next time, my sons will be out of college, so
>> I'll just buy a whole set of the Pirelli P-zeros.  They are rated to almost
>> 200 mph.
>>
>>
>>
>> >>>No, you won't.  They don't make any tires in the appropriate size for
>> >>> the rear of your car.  They haven't made them in anything approaching that
>> >>> size for more than 20 years.  So don't tell people that you are going to
>> >>> 'just buy a set of Pirellis', because they will suggest that you do just
>> >>> that.  I might suggest it too, if you could, but you can't.
>>
>> Beware of listening to advice from people who don't know what kind of car
>> you have, and are simply assuming that you have a GT5 or GT5-S.  (He is
>> running 225/50 front and 295/50 rear Toyos on 15x8 and 15x10 wheels, on a
>> stock-body Pantera).
>>
>> Your only practical choice is to buy new front tires to match your rears
>> as closely as possible.
>>
>> FWIW my H/V rated (rear/front) BFG tires are 20 years old and have been
>> subjected to a fair amount of racetrack use (but less road miles than
>> yours).  They still have more than half their (tread) life left, although
>> they are rather hard and slippery (they weren't much better when new!).
>> Take care to align your car and you should get plenty of years out of your
>> tires too.
>>
>> When your front and rear tires wear out, chances are you will be able to
>> find a full set of S-rated BFG tires in the appropriate sizes, but that's
>> about it.
>>
>> Mike (with a set of Toyos on the shelf, ready to go on, perhaps later this
>> year?)
>>
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-- 
Sean Korb spkorb at spkorb.org http://www.spkorb.org
'65,'68 Mustangs,'68 Cougar,'78 R100/7,'60 Metro,'59 A35,'71 Pantera #1382
"The more you drive, the less intelligent you get" --Miller
"Computers are useless.  They can only give you answers." -P. Picasso




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