MDchanic

Been looking for whitewall tires for my '73 Delta (235/70 or /75R15).

Amazing how few companies make whitewalls anymore.
Seems my tires are now "truck tires."

My local, independent tire guy (and I try hard to give my business to local people first, all the time) is pushing El Dorado and Cordovan on me, $100 a skin, mounted and balanced.

I've also found some Coopers (Trendsetters, if I recall), which were not well reviewed, and some Kumhos (KR21 Solus) and Toyos (Extensa AS), both of which seem, on the whole, to be reviewed well.

Now, as much as I prefer to buy American, I will not buy American if it's $h|+, unless I'm buying manure.

So, does anyone out there have an opinion?
I'm not looking for racing tires here - this is a huge barge. I do , however have a big sway bar on it, and will be putting in a set of Bilsteins, and would like tires that run quiet, aren't too rough, don't slide in the rain (won't have it out in the snow), and don't handle like a set of piggies.

Thanks in advance...

- Eric

MDchanic

So NOBODY has had ANY experience with ANY of these tires in ANY size on ANY car they've EVER owned, or has heard ANY vile rumors or gossip about them?

Jeez, what's the internet coming to?

- Eric

Jamesbo

Sorry,

I've have no experience with them. But Thanks for all you contribute to CO.

I guess if you got desperate, You could always go to ROP and ask Badd Andy.

Oldsmaniac

Around here they push Mastercraft which I think is a goodyear manufacture....235 70 15 I used on my Custom Cruiser and 96 Fleetwood. Hold up as good as any....not a lot of brands to choose from. have used Coopers too...nothing bad to say about em.

MDchanic

Thanks, Joe, and thanks, James.

I just turned up a few more names that come in whitewall.

All together, I've found:

Cordovan Grand Spirit Touring SH
ElDorado Golden Fury GFT
Delta Majestic
Delta Custom Cruiser
Dean Alpha 365
Kelly Explorer AS,

... none of which had any meaningful reviews,

Firestone FR380
Republic Ensign

... both of which had scanty but negative reviews,

Kelly Navigator Gold

... which had scanty good reviews, and,

Kumho Solus KR21 and
Toyo Extensa

... both of which have extensive reviews, which are all over the place from good to bad, but which seem to be most credible on the good side.

I'm leaning toward the Kumhos, the Toyos, or maybe the Kelly Navigators at this point, but, man, is it hard to get solid, reliable information about these things.

- Eric

vette442

I've been running a set of 225/70/15 Cooper Lifeliner whitewalls (blackwall out) for over 5 years - I swap them between my SX and Supreme. They're nice riding tires and I've had them on some pretty long highway trips. I've have very good luck with Coopers (Cobras and Lifeliners) over the past 15 years on several of my daily drivers too - I put 40,000+ miles on each set.
Terry

MDchanic

Hmmmmm...

The Cooper site does not show a whitewall option for the Lifeliners.

Since you bought them five years ago, I wonder whether they still make them.
I'll check when I call around.

- Eric

vette442

My bad! They're Trendsetters SE's. Just went down to the garage and looked.

442much

Cooper is a British tire (tyre), last I heard. Then again Rolls-Royce is German. Have you tried Coker? They have whitewalls although they might be pretty pricey.

MDchanic

Coker prices are through the roof. I want to drive the car, not gold plate it .

And, Terry, I'm interested in your experience with the Trendsetters - there are a number of very negative reviews of them out there - wet traction and going out of round seem to be the issues - and more information from someone with experience like yours would definitely be helpful.

Thanks,

- Eric

GAOldsman

MD if this helps any I have all good things to say about Cooper and Goodyear, no help with whitewalls since I don't own a land yacht. I don't care for the flimsy side walled Michelin's though, too bouncy for my taste. American Classic's seem like a well established whitewall in the H.A.M.B. community.
Scot

becken63

I found a website that has original size whitewalls. cokertire.com has them. Ken

MDchanic

I decided to go with the Cooper ElDorados.

$430 including tax and disposal, and they're on the car, and seem okay.

I've got a few more things to do to the suspension before I can make any sort of a judgement on them, and then I plan to take 'er on a bit of a trip, so I'll post my impressions when that's all over.

Seeing as how it's getting harder and harder to find the right tires for some of our cars (whitewalls, 14"ers, etc.), I wonder whether the mods should create a sticky for tire impressions, where members could go to see others' experiences before buying...

- Eric

OLD SKL 69

I will be interested to hear what you think about the Cooper Eldorados. I have Cooper trendsetters on one of my cars and are very happy with them.

vistacruiser1971

I have a set of Trendsetters and have been very happy with them. 225 R14 is a hard size to find now and not sure how many are out there. Bought a new set of Coopers 4 months ago, whitewalls and they are fine so far (about $340). Let us kow how you like yours.

MDchanic

Not much to report so far (other than a blowout), as I have probably 100 miles on the tires - I thought new tires and shocks would fix that nasty vibration I had (the old tires were REALLY bad), but it didn't. As I went through more things, the driveshaft seemed a likely culprit, so I pulled it, and found it had been cut 1½" short and welded back together out of alignment, by a small child or a monkey that had wandered into the shop. Now that I've got a replacement shaft, I find that I've got a problem with my slip yoke vent, and probably ned to take the tail housing off the transmission to replace the output shaft O-ring. Meanwhile, since the car wasn't moving, I removed all the trim and lights and started painting it...

So, I'll report back when I can .

Oh, and that blowout... At about 15 miles after I got the new tires, I was working under the car and heard a sudden, extremely loud hiss. I searched around, and finally found that the left rear tire had developed a softball-sized bubble on the inner sidewall, extending to the bead, which had simply popped off the rim. Would have been UGLY if the car had been moving.
Needless to say, the shop replaced the tire without an argument, but I don't have enough miles on it to know for sure whether there will be any more problems, or whether that was a fluke.

- Eric

CQR

I used to sell the Eldorado and road king brands. They are a decent tire for the most part. they do have an 'economy' line of tires within the brand, and they are just that cheap. But you get what you pay for.

vistacruiser1971

That softball problem sounds bad. I guess any tire can have a problem. Hope nothing else like you will have to report. My Trendsetters have been great. I bent driveshaft can give a horrible ride. I had to have a whole new tube made for my Dodge Van years ago, but it really smoothed out the van. Regards

Allan R

MDchanic

You better believe it, baby!

The last pink Olds convertible I had was in college - total chick magnet.

Of course, this one I'm building for my wife ...

- Eric

Allan R

Ah, so she can go out cruising to pick up more chicks for ya??

rocketraider

I've had all brands of tires on vehicles over the years. The only tire brand I absolutely will not put on any car I own are Goodyears. I have had serious issues with them enough times that I'm not going to pay their inflated prices for a mediocre quality tire.

Had very good service from Cooper, Kelly, Firestone, Uniroyal and BFG. Dunlops seem to dry-rot quickly compared to other brands. Michelins are excellent tires but rot before they wear out unless you put 25k miles a year on a vehicle.

I had Firestone FR380 on the wagon when they got slashed back in June. 30k miles, about 2/3 worn out and performed well for that car. It now has Kumho Solus which I have no real beef with other than they are noisier than the Firestones were. My only absolute requirement was that it had to be a North American made tire, and Kumho now has an American manufacturing plant in GA. Lot of tire shops here try to push those Chinese-made PrimeWell tires on folks who need larger size tires.

MDchanic

Good to know, as I would have thought the opposite from on-line reviews.

Very good to know - that was one of the reasons I didn't buy the Kumhos (they had been at the top of my list).

Thanks.

- Eric