I am turning to the experts here for advice on new tires....

I am installing new rims this spring on my 86 GT and am putting new tires on. I think I have the size nailed down to 215/50/15 on fronts and 235/50/15 on rears (unless someone has a reason not to do this) The rims I bought are Enkei gold lace rims, btw.

My question is I am leaning towards white lettered tires to replicate the original look of the
Goodyear Eagle GT's (moment of silence). Is any one aware of performance tires that have the raised white lettering? Price is an issue........The tire budget isn't as high as I like it to be.. I do have other issues I'd like to tackle this spring as well.

Thanks for your help!

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Member NIFE
1986 Gold Fiero GT --"GoldRush"

For all-season tires, I love my Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's. Certain sizes have white letters. Nt sure if they're available in those sizes, though.

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1984 Fiero SE

50's on a 15" wheel? I hope you have it lowered already. Those are short tires and will leave a huge gap.

And, I would recommend BFGoodrich Traction T/A's. Maybe even Cooper's? I doubt you'll find the white letters on a 50 profile tire tho.

Sorry, I thought I had change that. I am actually looking at 60's or 65's.
From my search, it looks like it will be between the FireHawk Indy 500's and the Radial T/A's.

The reviews I have read, rate the FireHawks much higher than the Radial T/A's. Winter conditions won't be a factor since my Fiero won't see the snow.

Thanks for your input!

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Member NIFE
1986 Gold Fiero GT --"GoldRush"

I like the T/A's but they do pick up rocks and that's annoying and puts chips in the paint.

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85 GT 3.4
14.9 @ 90 1.9 60' Old TH125/3.06
Unknown New 4T60/3.42

I have Falken Ziex 512s on my stock lace wheels in stock size. No complaints. Im not a tire expert, nor do I do any high performance driving, just commuting. Had them for over a year now with good tread wear. They have a nice looking tread pattern. No white letters available though. Price is very reasonable at around 43 per tire from www.edgeracing.com . shipping is about 11 per tire.

quote Originally posted by AquaHusky: 50's on a 15" wheel? I hope you have it lowered already. Those are short tires and will leave a huge gap. And, I would recommend BFGoodrich Traction T/A's. Maybe even Cooper's? I doubt you'll find the white letters on a 50 profile tire tho.

The series, 70, 60, 50, 55, etc, etc, is the aspect ratio, a wider 50 series tire will not nessecarily have a shorter sidewall than a thinner 60 series tire.
I'm running 245/50 15's and they are just a hair shorter overall than the stock size 215/60 15's. My front 225/50 15's show a more noticeable difference in the sidewall.


edited to add:
For some comparisons of tire sizes try http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
as an example of sidewall size put 215/60 15 in one side and 275/50 15 in the other, you'll see that the 50 series tire actually has a taller sidewall (5.4 inch) than the 60 series (5.1 inch).

edited again to add:
I like um, others might have differring opinions but for the price I like the Dunlop GT Qualifier and the Dunlop SP Sport A2 +.
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Don't take life too seriously -- you'll never get out if it alive.

[This message has been edited by DRA (edited 02-24-2007).]

I dig tire rack, but be sure you will have a shop willing to install teh tires for you. I have worked part time at a tire store chain for 7 years and have had MANY people come in with tires they ordered qwith no means to put them on. Also, with shipping and a typically higher install fee you rarely save any money. As far as brands go, the new(er) fuxion Hri and Zri tires are made by bridgestone and are UNI-T technology tires, meaning they are MUCH less likely to dry rot than traditional compound tires are better in the rain and maintain teh "new" tire ride quality throughout the life of the tire. .02

Thanks for all of the imput.

I was using Tire rack as a reference and will probably buy the tires locally. Once I decide on the style and size, I'll call around to all of the suppliers in the area. I found when buy tires for my truck, most of the suppliers (Just Tires for example) are willing to meet or beat your best quooted deal if you tell them their price is higher than another place you called. They sometime waive the mounting fees to get your business.

I guess the issue is do I go with the 215/60 or 215/65 in the front
and use the 225/70 in the rear or use the 70's all the way around? Is the 70's going to clear the wheel well in harder turns? I would think a wider tire in the front would affect the steering negatively, making it tougher to steer at lower speeds, or will the change be minor enough not to notice??

As you can see this is the first time I had to deal with the tire issue on a Fiero!

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Member NIFE
1986 Gold Fiero GT --"GoldRush"

quote Originally posted by FieroBoy13: Thanks for all of the imput. II guess the issue is do I go with the 215/60 or 215/65 in the front and use the 225/70 in the rear or use the 70's all the way around? Is the 70's going to clear the wheel well in harder turns? I would think a wider tire in the front would affect the steering negatively, making it tougher to steer at lower speeds, or will the change be minor enough not to notice?? As you can see this is the first time I had to deal with the tire issue on a Fiero!

The 225/70-15 on the rear is going to throw the speedo off considerably, about 5mph at 60mph, so when your running 65 your speedo is going to show 60.
Running a wider tire in the front will increase steering effort at low speed (parking mainly) but if you go with a 215/70 or 215/60 your not really going much wider than stock, you may not notice any difference at all.

I'm curious why you would want a tire so much taller?

Tall tires are so fugly. My main concern is racing so I run a 205/50/15 Yeah my speedo is off...and? I suggest you get Falken Ziex 512s. They are ultra high performance all season tires or UHPAS. They cost me 250.00 with lifetime warranties. They are rated #1 for their price, quality and performance. Wider taller tires hurt performance severely.

quote Originally posted by goatnipples2002: Tall tires are so fugly. My main concern is racing so I run a 205/50/15 Yeah my speedo is off...and?

and.....a cop is driving behind you at 2 am just looking for a reason to pull someone over.....is that and enough? yes, tall tires look dumb......but so do low profile tires on stock 15" wheels and stock suspentions.

quote Originally posted by FieroBoy13: The 70 series would match but is that too big a tire? Has anyone used a 215/70 and 235/70 combo? What would you do?

Yep I tried that once, you can barley get 2 fingers around the rear wheel wells , just roll one up against it, you`ll see what I mean, I went with 225/15`s on rear and 215/15`s up front, and it looks like a late 60`s early 70`s muscle car....but does fill wheel well space pretty good.

I'm not looking to over do it on the tire size, I just want them to be beefy enough to give it a nice look.

Because I was leaning toward raised white letters, I don't have alot of choices. That is why I was asking for recommendations on what other people have used that worked.

Looking at Tire Rack's selection and the FireHawk Indy 500 (which would fit nicely on the pace car, wouldn't it?)
for 15" tires I have these to choose from..

215/65SR 15
215/70SR 15
225/70SR 15
235/60SR 15

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Member NIFE
1986 Gold Fiero GT --"GoldRush"

can you put different width tires on the stock 85 rims? If so, what is the best size for rear and front tires?

Acesurfer, have a look here http://www.tirerack.com/tir...ar=1985&autoModClar=

quote Originally posted by Mike OHIO: and.....a cop is driving behind you at 2 am just looking for a reason to pull someone over.....is that and enough? yes, tall tires look dumb......but so do low profile tires on stock 15" wheels and stock suspentions.

My speedo says I am going 60 but I am going 55. So that helps.

Get the Bridgestone Potenza 960AS Pole Positions. They are amazing i have them on my formula and the increase in handling is unbelievable.

quote Originally posted by FieroBoy13: I'm not looking to over do it on the tire size, I just want them to be beefy enough to give it a nice look. Because I was leaning toward raised white letters, I don't have alot of choices. That is why I was asking for recommendations on what other people have used that worked.

Beefy is not a nice look on a Fiero, in my opinion, unless you're talking width. And since this is the stock 15s you're using, you can't go real wide. If you're set on getting white letter tires, you could always get the tires you really want, then "paint" the letters white (there are products made just for this purpose).

quote Looking at Tire Rack's selection and the FireHawk Indy 500 (which would fit nicely on the pace car, wouldn't it?) for 15" tires I have these to choose from.. 215/65SR 15 215/70SR 15 225/70SR 15 235/60SR 15

Although the first and last tire size you listed are around 26" in diameter, the other two are definately too big. I have 225/70/15, and they fit great....on my S10 pickup. A 70 series is not even a consideration on the Fiero, unless you have smaller wheels. But we're talking about 15 inch wheels.

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[This message has been edited by Fiero_Adam (edited 02-25-2007).]

Thanks Fiero Adam!

I did see the paint pens for the tires and it is an option.

Since 215/65sr15 are the smallest available in white lettering, it looks like I'll have to seach some more. Maybe I'll take your advice and keep it on the smaller side.

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Member NIFE
1986 Gold Fiero GT --"GoldRush"