I'm sorry for the lame question, but I have inherited my grandfathers 69 Olds Delta 88. The tires on it now are a beefy P225/75/15 SUV tire. As I recall, the Olds was on its way across country when it had two blowouts. Grandpa was stuck getting what was available. I don't want the beef, but would like to know what was original on it.

Sorry, I just noticed there was a tire/wheel section. Please, disregard this thread.

 

Just for that I am going to disregard this thread...

 

Heh.

It would originally have had 8.55-15 or H78-15 tires, which in modern radial sizes convert to 215/75R15 or 225/75R15.

It is no longer easy to find a good passenger car tire in those sizes. They're everywhere for light trucks and SUVs, but who wants a chunky tire like that on a vintage car? That's why yer grandpa had to put those tires on- he needed tires, and that's all the tire dealer had. A lot of big-name tire comapnies don't even MAKE these tires any more.

I ran into the same thing last year trying to find 225/75R15 for my Custom Cruiser wagon. The kid at Sears kept pushing me to the SUV tire till I finally asked him "Can you get me the tire I want for this car or not?" He dropped his head and said "No."

Firestone's FR380 is a good tire for that car and it comes in whitewall. Only thing is some of them may already be a couple years old on the shelf, and there was a recall on some 235/75R15 that were made in South America.

http://www.experttire.com/catalog/pr...ction?id=25108

 

My Custom Cruiser came stock with 225/75-15s. I replaced them with BFG 235/70-15 T/As, which are about the same outside diameter and slightly wider. They are also readily available.

 

I believe that Michelin makes a 3/8-1/4" whitewall in this size, if not, the regular whitewall should be available.

 

I realized that it has been awhile since I checked for whitewalls of any kind, so I did a quick search at the Tire Rack and Discount Tire, this is the only whitewall that I could come up with in your size that wasn't for an suv or truck.Solus KR21(Standard Touring All-Season)


Sidewall Style: White Stripe .5-1.0


Click thumbnails to view above. Most approximate photos shown View Full Screen Photo.

• Size: 225/75R15
  Sidewall Style: White Stripe .5-1.0
  Serv. Desc: 102T Load Index 102 = 1874lbs (850kg) per tire
  Speed Rating “T” = 118mph (190kph)
  UTQG: Treadwear: 640
  Traction: A
  Temperature: B640 A B
• Price: $68.00 (each)
  Estimated Availability: In Stock
• Qty:
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Set of 4: $272.00

 

Funny you should mention Sears, that is exactly where grandpa had to stop to get the tires...there was really nothing else around. And yes, they are some beefy SUV's. They would look pretty good on my Bronco!!

 

I've also been contemplating tires for my 71 98. I checked at Sam's Club and the only tire they have that comes close is this one:

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/pr...034&navAction=

IMHO, it would be better to put a blackwall tire on a full-sized car unless you are willing to spend the extra money and get wide whitewalls from Diamondback.

 

a friend of mine just put a set of goodyears on his 85 Eldorado - I got lucky with 235 75R 15s on all 3 of mine, 2 were Uniroyal Tigerpaw HD sidewalls, the wagon got matrix by Cooper $330 for 5 installed

 

Another thing to think about is what kind of tire do you want on your car. Alot of guy won't even consider putting Kumho, Pirelli, Michelin, etc. on their car. I guess they want to stay with "domestic" manufacturers. Then again, that is harder and harder to do now-a-days.

If you really wanted to be authentic I guess you would put bias ply tires on an older car. To each his own though.

 

http://store.cokertire.com/catalogse...&q=225%2F75R15

 

The only tire brands I absolutely stay away from are Goodyear and stuff like Primewell or or other Chinese-made tires.

I have never gotten good service from Goodyears, and I'm just plumb leery of Chinese-made tires- especially on cars as heavy as an Oldsmobile. I'm told that a lot of Coker's repro tires are made in Mexico, and I know a couple folks who have had issues with those too. Thing is, I don't see any difference in Coker's prices now compared to when their repros were all made in USA.

Used to be freaky about Kumho and Hankook brands, but I've known lotta people who got excellent service from them so now I wouldn't hesitate to use them if they had the size tire I needed. Trucking industry loves Kumhos almost as much as Michelins.

 

Count me as one of those people. I also was skeptical of Kumhos, but the reviews were glowing and the price was unbelievably low, from Tire Rack, so I put a set on the Allante. I was very pleased with them. Tires were quieter and wet traction was much better than with the Michelins that were on it before.

 

Try Diamondback Tires. I have had great luck with their tires and they carry several sizes and styles. http://www.dbtires.com/tires.html.

Their service and shipping are also great

 

The tires on my daily driver are so very noisy. I expected a little more noise from higher mileage tires but these things sing, especially on concrete roads, but not as badly on blacktop. They are Goodyear all season tires, don't remember the name.