TROOP

I need to replace the tires. Currently 225-75-r15's are on the car. The only tires I can find in this size are trailer and truck tires? Any suggestions out there?

radioburningchrome

Just type your size in any internet search bar and see what comes up!

This is what I found:



http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...75&diameter=15

1969w3155

Kumho: 225-75r15 white walls #1908013

jaunty75

I have a '73 Custom Cruiser which takes a slightly larger tire. Last summer I put on a set of Mastercraft A/S IV WS 105 in size 235/75R15. They have the narrow white stripe and look great and very period-correct on the car. I got them through a local independent tire shop.

The originally-specified tire size for a '73 Delta 88 was H78 x 15 with J78 x 15 optional. These translate to 215/75R15 and 225/75R15, respectively.


The website radioburningchrome gives shows lots of tires available for your car. Another source is to go to the Firestone website (www.firestone.com) and search for tires by size. Several will pop up, including their very consumer-oriented FR-380. I put a set of those in 14-inch size on my '67 Delta 88, and they look great, too, as they also have the narrow white stripe.

Here's the Mastercraft tire:



http://www.mastercrafttires.com/html...&artw=75&rd=15


Here's my Delta with the Firestone FR-380 tires on it:





Here's my wagon with the Mastercrafts on it.




In my opinion, you can never go wrong with that original look!

TROOP

Thanks everyone! Beautiful cars Jaunty75!!

Danny Boy

TROOP,

Did you ever buy tires? If you are interested, here is info on 235/75R15 tires.

I bought these tires from Jegs a few months ago...same tires you can get from Coker but you don't pay for shipping:

http://www.jegs.com/i/Coker+Tire/257/700219/10002/-1

The only thing is that you need to take them somewhere to get them installed on your rims.

I liked the 1.6" white walls I had on the car (Firestone 721...I still remember the commercials) finding white wall tires wider than 3/4" to 1" is getting difficult.

jaunty75

That's a very nice tire, but at $149 each, that's about double what I paid for the Mastercrafts on my wagon shown above. I dug out the receipt, and I paid $79.54 per tire, and that included the installation, something that would be an additional expense if you get the Jegs tires. With a per-wheel charge of $7.00 for balancing, $1.00 for "state of Ohio EPA tire fee," $1.50 for a valve, and $1.50 for old tire disposal, with tax, the out the door price was $386.61. They also did an alignment as well for another $49.95 plus tax. With the alignment, I was still out of there for well under $500.

If he gets the Jegs tires, that's $600 for the tires alone. I don't know what state he's in, but figure the sales tax is a generous 6%. That makes the cost $636. Add in maybe $10 per tire for all those little fees, balancing, and a valve, and that's $40, which you pay tax on. Installation cost? I don't know. $20 per tire? $80 more total?

Altogether, before tax, that's $720. With the hypothetical 6% sales tax, that's just over $763, which is just about double what the Mastercrafts cost.

As I said, those are nice looking tires, but are they double-the-price nicer? What are you getting besides a thicker white sidewall? Is an extra half-inch of sidewall on each tire worth $360?

Questions to ask yourself!

oldcutlass

Here's a tire size chart that may help you out also!

http://www.turbinecar.com/tires.htm

jaunty75

This is a good point. My car is a wagon, and the owner's manual calls for the equivalent of a 235 tire. The manual says L78x15 for the Custom Cruiser.

The standard tire on the Delta 88 was two steps smaller at H78x15, which I think is equivalent of a 215/75R15 size. The "optional" tire for the Delta 88 is J78x15, which was the standard size on the 98, and, I think, is equivalent to the 225/75R15 size.

oldcutlass

You are correct! However there is a limited availability to sizes with whitewalls.

MDchanic

Here's some more information to confuse you from a similar thread a few months ago.

For whatever it's worth, I worked out the Delta tire equivalent as 235/75 or 235/70.
The 235/75s I bought look right on the car, and the speedometer is dead accurate.

I don't have enough experience with them yet to offer an intelligent review, except that one of the four developed a bubble within 20 mile that could have killed me if I'd been driving on the highway (rather than under the car installing springs) when it happened.

- Eric

jaunty75

The speedometer wouldn't be affected by the tire's width, which is what 235, 225, etc. refers to. These are all 15 inch tires with a "75" aspect ratio, so the speedometer should read the same with any of them.

MDchanic

Au contraire.

The tire size is computed thusly:

You've got your rim diameter (15"), which gives you the center of the circle, then
You've got your tread width (235), which is, as it says, the tire's width, then
You've got your aspect ratio (75), which is the percentage of the width that is the height.

So, you figure 235mm wide x 0.75 = 17.625cm x 2 + 38.1cm (which is 15") = 73.35cm = 28.90" tall
28.90 ÷ 2 x 2∏ = 45.396" circumference (distance traveled per revolution)

Or, 225mm x 0.75 = 16.875cm x2 + 38.1cm = 71.85cm = 28.29" tall
28.29 ÷ 2 x 2∏ = 44.438" circumference

44.438 / 45.396 = 0.978, or a 2.2% difference, equal to almost 1½ MPH speedo error at 60 MPH.

Not a huge difference, but a difference, and it would be larger between the 235 and 215 sizes.

Of course, actual tires won't necessarily measure out according to calculations, but the proportional difference should be about the same.

- Eric

TROOP

Hey guys, I ended up getting the Mastercraft 225-75-R15's. $434.48 out the door. So far I am happy with them. I have not driven far, but the ride is great. 95% difference than the real old tires that were on the.

jaunty75

Sorry. I was wrong.