Tire Help

[Parrothead]

As some of you may know, i inherited my grandfathers truck several years back. It was in decent shape at the time but i have been working on it over the last couple years. I simply love working on the truck. It brings back memories of riding around with him.

Anyway, it is time for tires--not due to miles but dry rot. He simply never drove it and the tires are 10-12 years old. I have added Belltech shackles on the back. The tires on it now look very undersized to me. I would like to go with something that will give it a sporty, aggressive look. Probably going to go with the B/F radials unless someone has a better suggestions. I'm thinking 275/60/15 but i am really wanting some feedback.

Keep these things in mind;
It's not a daily driver
It will probably never see rain/snow
I would guess less than 5,000 miles per year
I'm not going to be towing or hauling with this truck
It won't be going over 80mph
I will be leaving the SS wheels on it so 15's will be there to stay.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[Dustbuster]

I use discount tire stores good prices

[NextExit]

I bought new tires for my SUV a few months ago. For me, Pep Boys had the best deal (buy 3, get the 4th free). Bought Cooper Adventurer A/T. Nice looking tire and quiet... compared to the Good Year Wranglers I had. YMMV.

[Trekbike]

Over the years I've switched to Michelin's exclusively on all of my vehicles and have been very satisfied. Recently put a second set of their LTX M/S on an Explorer. Edited February 25, 2015 by Trekbike

[10-Ring]

I use discount tire stores good prices

Ive purchased half a dozen or so sets from them.  Prices are hard to beat.  Customer service will not be beat.  Those guys rock!

[musicman]

Over the years I've switched to Michelin's exclusively and have been very satisfied. Recently put a second set of their LTX M/S on an Explorer.

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

And there it is. That is THE tire for trucks, period. Plus, with the white lettering out they just look right on that truck.

My Dad has bought a new Chevy truck every three years. They usually come with Goodyears or something on them. He has the same ritual every time. Buy truck. Drive to Shell station across street and use voucher from dealership to fill gas tank, then drive directly to Tire Kingdom (in Miami, FL, we don't have them here) where the factory tires are replaced with Michelin LTX M/S tires.

He works construction and is always abusing the trucks and driving through terrible worksites, often towing ridiculous things as necessary. Once, when our pull truck broke down he had to tow the pull truck... and the two story historic home it was towing down A1A in Ft Lauderdale another half mile to its destination. He did the drive in reverse, as he wanted the tow hooks to share the burden. The transmission got a little warm, but that's about it. A testament to that bulletproof 350 and the rest of the package that is the Chevy Tahoe. This was in the late 90s, so it was probably a 95 or a 97 short wheelbase, 2 door Tahoe. I can't remember when they quit making that configuration.

Sorry... way too much info... I get misty eyed thinking about Dad's work trucks and his love for Michelin!

[1fast4by]

That size..Its a bit limitted in options, even though its stock C1500 SS.. Ive always been a big fan of the BFG radial. another good classic is the Firestone Indy 500.

 

I ran that size on an S-10 in the rear years ago.. but I was running MT e/t streets

[Murgatroy]

Based on what you say you use the truck for, I would go with cheaper tires. You won't go off road or racing, so you don't need a specialty tire. I would go with the cheapest white letter tire you can find installed and call it a day.

[Dolomite_supafly]

To figure out the width in inches take the first number and divide by 25.4 and that will give you the size in inches. The second number is the percentage of the width of the tire. Say a tire is 10" wide and the second number is 60 that means the side wall is 6" tall.

 

So your 275/60/15 tires will have a tire width of 10.8" and on a 15" rim the height of the tire will be 28". That way you can find a much wider tire that is the same height as the factory tires so you do not have speedometer issues.

 

Pretty sure you can also get some wheels with more backspacing to get a wider tire in there as well. It is a really popular body style so I am sure you could do some googling and see what would fit. A good friend has one with some decent sized tires on his. If you want I can ask him what he is running.

 

A 300/55/15 is the same height as 275/60/55 but the tread is actually an inch wider at 11.8" wide.

 

A cheap way to figure out what size you want is to go to a used tire shop and see what they have. I bet they would mount some for a lot less than buying them to see if they will fit. Even if you have to buy some used tires they are generally less than $30 a piece for useable tires.

[Monkeyman2500]

Absolutely beautiful older chevy! Looks like about a 98 model? Wish I could find my grand dads old Plymouth. I like the stock look with the letters in like it has. Great truck!

[Murgatroy]

To figure out the width in inches take the first number and divide by 25.4 and that will give you the size in inches. The second number is the percentage of the width of the tire. Say a tire is 10" wide and the second number is 60 that means the side wall is 6" tall.

 

So your 275/60/15 tires will have a tire width of 10.8" and on a 15" rim the height of the tire will be 28". That way you can find a much wider tire that is the same height as the factory tires so you do not have speedometer issues.

 

Pretty sure you can also get some wheels with more backspacing to get a wider tire in there as well. It is a really popular body style so I am sure you could do some googling and see what would fit. A good friend has one with some decent sized tires on his. If you want I can ask him what he is running.

 

A 300/55/15 is the same height as 275/60/55 but the tread is actually an inch wider at 11.8" wide.

 

A cheap way to figure out what size you want is to go to a used tire shop and see what they have. I bet they would mount some for a lot less than buying them to see if they will fit. Even if you have to buy some used tires they are generally less than $30 a piece for useable tires.

[url=http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-Size-Calculator]This calculator[/url] gets a lot of use in the automotive forums. It is an invaluable tool in calculating appropriate tires sizes. There is one for Backspacing as well, but as the OP doesn't want to change wheels, we don't have to go there.

Edited February 25, 2015 by Murgatroy

[Sam1]

Ive purchased half a dozen or so sets from them.  Prices are hard to beat.  Customer service will not be beat.  Those guys rock!

 

Same here, they are awesome to deal with.  Looks like they have a set of coopers for $499 out the door list price.  If you go into one of the shops, they will usually knock $5 or $10 per tire off, then it looks like they are doing $30 off for the set if you use their little in store credit card.  We don't like those in-store cards, but we have one for discount tire because they've always got some deal with $25 or $50 off a set.  They we just pay the bill in full.

 

Heck, we got a set of 80,000 mile goodyears for the mercedes for under $300 installed because of the rebates from the card and some close out a few years back.

 

<edit> here is a tire size calculator that is really handy - you can play around with the sizing and see if their is anything similar to what you want, but possibly more common and cheaper.  http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalcold.html

Edited February 25, 2015 by Sam1

[DaveTN]

Years ago I switched from Firestone and Goodyear to Coopers. Their ride and performance is as good as those costing much more. My last set I bought at Sears; they ran a sale that was less than the discount tire stores.

[nightrunner]

On that truck it's as much about the look as it is performance. Unless you really get into needing more traction, either the BFG radials or Firestone Indy 500 is what you want. Your tire size is what you are going to find in that type tire and that diameter, sidewall, and wheel diameter.

[Parrothead]

Went with a set of 275/60/15 made by Hankook. About $200 cheaper than the BFG's but for my use, i think these will work out great. i do like the look......

 

[Sam1]

You have are now the proud owner of 4 Korea(s) :)

[Fourtyfive]

Very nice truck !

[Parrothead]

You have are now the proud owner of 4 Korea(s) :)

Yea I thought about that. Then I realized, I could go drop the extra $200 on ammo or add some cash and buy a 1911. After these thought, I felt very American again haha.

[smithra89]

that's a good lookin truck

[Sam1]

Yea I thought about that. Then I realized, I could go drop the extra $200 on ammo or add some cash and buy a 1911. After these thought, I felt very American again haha.

Great choice!

[hipower]

I know you've already bought tires, and I hear decent to great commentary on the Hankook tires.

I did and have run the Firestone Indy 500 tires on my 88 SWB since getting it in '91. Good, long wearing tires, a little bouncy if the truck isn't loaded, but for the price they are good tires.

Like yours, my truck sees maybe 3000 miles or less per year, and they do dry rot before wearing out. I also purchased the lifetime alignment warranty from Firestone when I got the truck.

I align it every oil change and any service trip. Best 69 bucks I've ever spent. lol