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New tires for the 73' Roadrunner, am I missing any good ones.

Builderguy

Builderguy

Builderguy
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About to order up some tires for the project '73 Roadrunner. At this point I have narrowed it down to 3 choices: BFG Radial TA's, Cooper Cobra, and Goodyear
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The BFG's and the Cooper's are about the same price while the Goodyear is 2X the $$$
Is there any other tire that you guys/gals have had good luck with. Just don't want to leave a really good tire out because I got too focused. Thanks
 
Since it appears you are only interested in raised white letter.... there is also mastercraft avenger gt, and mickey thompson sportsman s/t.
I havent used any of the rwl tires, but i love the made-in-america coopers on my truck, and m/t makes some great racing tires. I would feel good about either choice, but lean toward the coopers for street use. (If you can ignore the "cobra" connotation on the sidewall, lol)
 
I am now running Cooper Cobra and these tires feel really good and living here in Washington State it tends to rain often. One of my personal must have for tires is wet weather performance and the Cooper tire has exceeded my expectations.

I have 255/70R/15 all around on A/R 15x8 polished aluminum wheels. The price is decent and I have the white crap turned inside because the white lettering doesn’t do it for me.

10E66559-62A8-4B4D-A81F-F82BD54DB938.jpeg 931CF91B-11EF-417B-8D71-C5F4A2A762E0.jpeg
 
Another vote for the Cooper Cobras. I've got them on my '93 Dakota, and have no issues of the truck wanting to swap ends in the rain (like the previous old, rock hard goodyears).

I plan to run a set on my wagon when it comes time.

I have no first had experience with BFG's but have read in numerous places how they are a 'hard' tire and don't perform well. Most people buy them for the traditional look.
 
I have Cooper Cobras (first set) all around un my 95 Dakota. They are a bargain for what you get & they withstand MANY burn-outs too. I will buy them again.
 
I haven't run the m/t tires but people on moparts have recommended them.
The BFG's I have are junk imo, hard.
 
By the numbers, the Coopers (and the Mastercraft) are technically better tires than the Coker made BFG.

Are those GY Polyglass actually bias ply?

(shudder)
 
As the commercial says: "I'm your uncle Cooper"! :lol: No more BFG for me!
 
Come to think of it, Mickey Thompson tires are made by cooper too. (Or, at least, m/t is a subsidiary of Cooper tires)
There are also Hankook ventus, and milestar streetsteel.
Ive used hankooks, not the rwl, and mine were good tires. Dont know if you want HANKOOK in white letters on a old mopar.
 
Last edited:
Just ordered up the Cooper Cobras. Thanks everyone for your input.
 
Will do 33IMP Just an FYI they were $487.60 OTD for the set
 
YY1 said:
By the numbers, the Coopers (and the Mastercraft) are technically better tires than the Coker made BFG.
Are those GY Polyglass actually bias ply?
(shudder)
Click to expand...
A slight correction - Michelin North America., Inc., makes B.F. Goodrich tires.
 
moparedtn said:
A slight correction - Michelin North America., Inc., makes B.F. Goodrich tires.
Click to expand...
I think (very willing to be proved wrong!) that the new tires marketed under BFG label, are made by michelin. I think the "classic" BFG tires, radial t/a, silvertowns, wide whites and red lines are manufactured by coker.
 
33 IMP said:
I think (very willing to be proved wrong!) that the new tires marketed under BFG label, are made by michelin. I think the "classic" BFG tires, radial t/a, silvertowns, wide whites and red lines are manufactured by coker.
Click to expand...
You're partially correct....and partially not so much. :)
Ok, after WAY too much time spent on this (because hey, whaddaya know - none of the players are real
forthright on such matters, at least in their literature), here's what my digging turned up...

I present the evidence gathered, thus:
1. Michelin owns the name brand "BF Goodrich".

2. Coker Tire's website uses the evasive word "provides" in reference to the T/A tires...
as in, "we are providers of BFG Radial T/A's". Notice they don't say "manufacture", like they readily do
with the BFG Silvertowns (which they DO manufacture), for example.

3. Tire Rack indicates the T/A's are manufactured in Mexico. Michelin has facilities down there....
Coker, not so much.

4. Jeg's sells T/A's - but interestingly, they show a listing both for "BF Goodrich Radial T/A" AND
"Coker Brand BFG Radial T/A" - so naturally, in the Q & A section, they were specifically asked about
the possible differences between the two listings...
Jeg's own response was that their own research found that Coker was a provider of the tires, which they
then resell - but that Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin SCA (simply translated to
"Michelin of France" - Michelin for short) was the actual manufacturer.
End result? Jegs sells the same damn tire, as supplied from two different sources (and yes, there IS a
price difference in their catalog)!

5. And perhaps the most damning of all evidence is found by doing some SERIOUS digging on the Coker
website itself. Under the Q & A section of the BFG T/A listing on their site, I found this...
bfgta.png


So, I'm ready believe that Michelin manufactures the damn things and Coker distributes ("provides") them,
amongst others.
I'm exhausted....
 
Thanks Ed! That's a LOT more work than i was willing to put into it.
Now i just wonder who makes tires for my 33 that will last as long as the ones on it. (Lucas, at least 30 years old).
And coker must have politicians working on their website. Talk about evading the question.....?
 
Last edited:
33 IMP said:
Thanks Ed! That's a LOT more work than i was willing to put into it.
Now i just wonder who makes tires for my 33 that will last as long as the ones on it. (Lucas, at least 30 years old).
And coker must have politicians working on their website. Talk about evading the question.....?
Click to expand...
Yeah, Coker is owned by a conglomerate anymore (Corky sold out 6 years ago) and their stuff reflects
corporate-speak bigtime for sure.
I'm not happy with the whole "browning" of the white letters on BFG's for sure...
but I've also had some rotten damn luck with Cooper quality over the years also.

Ed story time:
The last set of Coopers I bought were new replacements for our '04 Ram, which were bought to replace
those awful Goodyear Wrangler HP's it came with. This was around 10 years ago...
I had arranged for a big regional tire chain store near her work to install them, then she'd
drive home with the new tires...except on that particular cold, dark rainy night, on a country
two-lane highway, the sidewall blew out on one of them without warning.
We're talking less than 15 miles driven at that point; no evidence could be found of any punctures
or other explanation for the blowout, either by the police or myself.

The tire damn near killed her...and they were NOT cheap tires, by any stretch.

Needless to say, I wasn't happy - and when both Cooper AND the reseller gave me static about
replacement under warranty (they're lucky we weren't going after them for a LOT more than that),
well...the war was on.
End result - Ed lawyered up, one of the VERY few times I ever have.
I had me some tasty tire dealer *** over that one ($$$) and those Coopers were gone before they
even had a chance to break in.
Since I'd had issues with other Coopers in prior years (yep, the old Cobras), that was the last straw
for me with that brand. I don't care if they make the greatest tire known to man, I won't own it.
That's not how you do business, simply put.

The Ram has been on freakin' HIGH dollar Michelins ever since - and good Lord, those things are
not only the best driving, safest tires made - but they last forever, too.
Everything I've owned since (except the GTX, since they don't make tires in those sizes) has been
on Michelins, damn the price.
I'm "tired" of taking chances with cheaper stuff and I'll never risk my wife's life with anything else.
 
moparedtn said:
Yeah, Coker is owned by a conglomerate anymore (Corky sold out 6 years ago) and their stuff reflects
corporate-speak bigtime for sure.
I'm not happy with the whole "browning" of the white letters on BFG's for sure...
but I've also had some rotten damn luck with Cooper quality over the years also.

Ed story time:
The last set of Coopers I bought were new replacements for our '04 Ram, which were bought to replace
those awful Goodyear Wrangler HP's it came with. This was around 10 years ago...
I had arranged for a big regional tire chain store near her work to install them, then she'd
drive home with the new tires...except on that particular cold, dark rainy night, on a country
two-lane highway, the sidewall blew out on one of them without warning.
We're talking less than 15 miles driven at that point; no evidence could be found of any punctures
or other explanation for the blowout, either by the police or myself.

The tire damn near killed her...and they were NOT cheap tires, by any stretch.

Needless to say, I wasn't happy - and when both Cooper AND the reseller gave me static about
replacement under warranty (they're lucky we weren't going after them for a LOT more than that),
well...the war was on.
End result - Ed lawyered up, one of the VERY few times I ever have.
I had me some tasty tire dealer *** over that one ($$$) and those Coopers were gone before they
even had a chance to break in.
Since I'd had issues with other Coopers in prior years (yep, the old Cobras), that was the last straw
for me with that brand. I don't care if they make the greatest tire known to man, I won't own it.
That's not how you do business, simply put.

The Ram has been on freakin' HIGH dollar Michelins ever since - and good Lord, those things are
not only the best driving, safest tires made - but they last forever, too.
Everything I've owned since (except the GTX, since they don't make tires in those sizes) has been
on Michelins, damn the price.
I'm "tired" of taking chances with cheaper stuff and I'll never risk my wife's life with anything else.
Click to expand...
So what are you running on your GTX?

I'm frustrated with the whole wheel/tire thing. I cannot find any repro Rallye wheels to buy. Coker and Wheel Vintiques have none available in 15x7 (Rallye or steel wheels). Polished or brushed trim rings are not available, only cheap, cheap chome plated rings.

I'm having trouble finding a set of 4 vintage wheels that don't have damage or worn out lug holes. The local "Wheel Repair" shops I've contact say they DO NOT fix steel wheels, they only can fix dents in Alloy/Aluminum wheels..

I'm coming to the conclusion that I should get Kelsey Repro Goodyear Polyglas to put on my existing 14x6 Rallye wheels (with their dented wheel center holes) or just get rid of the car.. ****, I can't even find new direct fit Cragar S/S to buy!!
 
MoparGuy68 said:
So what are you running on your GTX?

I'm frustrated with the whole wheel/tire thing. I cannot find any repro Rallye wheels to buy. Coker and Wheel Vintiques have none available in 15x7 (Rallye or steel wheels). Polished or brushed trim rings are not available, only cheap, cheap chome plated rings.

I'm having trouble finding a set of 4 vintage wheels that don't have damage or worn out lug holes. The local "Wheel Repair" shops I've contact say they DO NOT fix steel wheels, they only can fix dents in Alloy/Aluminum wheels..

I'm coming to the conclusion that I should get Kelsey Repro Goodyear Polyglas to put on my existing 14x6 Rallye wheels (with their dented wheel center holes) or just get rid of the car.. ****, I can't even find new direct fit Cragar S/S to buy!!
Click to expand...
I have 15" Magnum 500's on BFG's; I bought the car with those on Fred a decade ago.
I need to replace the tires simply because of age, but they don't even have 1000 miles on 'em...

Everyone and their brother sells the repro chrome steel Magnums - a quick Google search will show you that.
Jegs, Classic Industries, Summit, Year One - tons of sources out there and since ours is the same bolt pattern
as the Fords, you see the rims on some of their suppliers' sites also.
Others know more about this than me, but apparently there's actually two different "batches" of these rims -
one higher priced and higher quality, the other a bit cheaper.
Mine must be a set of the cheaper ones - I have to stay after them, as they do tend to oxidize quickly without
a good working over with Mothers every other month.

The tire situation is pretty dire for me, though. Since I don't and won't do Cooper, not much else is available in
the 15" sizes I want - and I REFUSE to do the hoopty Hot Wheels oversize rim/rubber band tires route.
Nope. Not gonna do it.
 
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