Hi guys...i've been shoppping over the past week for some white letter tires for my 87GT. I found that BF Goodrich still makes them with the raised white lettering. However, the lettering on these tires seem to be a little smaller than what I would like. Does anyone have any suggestions of a tire with raised white lettering that would fit on a stock 87GT 15" rim? These tires are getting harder and harder to find these days...thanks

Cooper Cobras

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/...ame=All%20Tiresmv=rr

quote Originally posted by Biggs3000: Cooper Cobras http://www.sears.com/shc/s/...ame=All%20Tiresmv=rr

That's more like what i'm looking for....would a 235/60R15 fit the front and rear of an 87GT using the stock rim?

You know if you are dead set on raised white lettering you could just get a white paint markerfor metal or a lumber crayon and do your own. Yeah it takes a few coats but if you take your time it will look good or atleast I had good results for my motorcycle last year.. just a thought and its cheap

quote Originally posted by labbe001: That's more like what i'm looking for....would a 235/60R15 fit the front and rear of an 87GT using the stock rim?

To give you a warm and fuzzy, the Goodyear website states the approved rim width for their 235/60 profile tires is from 6.5" to 8.5". Since the stock 15" '87 GT wheels are 7" wide, you should be OK.

I had a customer recently who wanted the 60's look with the taller profile tires & White lettering.

Ended up with the T/A's.



You used to be able to find White Letter tires on every street corner.

Not any more.

Archie

quote Originally posted by labbe001: These tires are getting harder and harder to find these days...thanks

From what I understand, the actual "white" used in white letter tires is actually of a different compound than the rubber used in the tire. It is molded this way because if it were simply painted on, then it would likely wear off within short order (maybe not instantly, but within a year or so you would likely see serious degradation of the color if it were simply painted from usage). Because vehicles are all about safety nowadays, tire manufacturers do not want to take any serious chances on having issues with such tires.

Another thing to simply realize as well is that the current style is going away from anything colored on tires. It's just how the modern styling works.

As far as any other potential choices, the last vehicle I had with white letter tires had Uniroyal Tiger Paw Tourings on it. I believe you can still get them, but they can come in various styles (such as white outlined letters or full white letters). It's likely going to depend on what a Uniroyal dealer can actually get their hands on as well.

quote Originally posted by labbe001: That's more like what i'm looking for....would a 235/60R15 fit the front and rear of an 87GT using the stock rim?

If you're using the stock 87GT rims, I can tell you from personal experience that anything larger than 215/60R15 will scrub on stock suspension when maneuvering into a parking space or for instance, turning into a driveway where it transitions up from the street level. The rear will accept a 245/60R15 with just enough clearance to not be an issue.

Try TireRack.Com and do a search for white letter or outline white letter tires in the size you want. It should give you an idea of who makes them and you can view the tire. Also a good source to buy tires.

[This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 03-08-2013).]

I remember auto parts stores actually selling a white grease-pencil sort of stick (about 1/4" in diameter, wrapped in paper like a large crayon) specifically for whitening the raised letters on blackball tires. It was used both to re-whiten raised white letters and to whiten raised black letters. Seems like it lasted a pretty good while but needed to be reapplied/touched up once in a while. I don't remember it being much of a hassle.

------------------
Patrick W. Heinske -- LZeitgeist@aol.com

1988 Fiero Formula - Automoda convertible
repainted PPG Ferrari 'Giallo Modena' yellow

This site offers kits to turn any tire into Raised white letter tires. I have tried them on a couple of my cars and the kits are made of real rubber. You can scrub them just like a real raised white letter and they are permanent once applied. They can either do something custom or make inserts to fit on the black letters of your tire. My experience with tire paint pens has not been positive.

www.tredwearletters.com

Coker Tire only deals in vintage looking tires. Doesn't matter if you own a 60s muscle car, 50s classic, or even a fully restored 100 year old Model T with wood spoke rims. They may be a little on the pricey side, but they are the only place I know of where I can get white letter tires for my '66 Mustang. I stuck with radials, but I think Coker can do Polyglas or at least a Polyglas look if you wanted to go that far.

BFgoodritch, Michelin, Kelley, Primewell all make white letter car tires.

Coker also makes their radials that 'look' like bias ply tires. They also do blue streak and redlines, along with TBird red/w white stripe and gold for 60s vettes.
Some auto parts stores like Jegs have a 'crayon' to mark your own letters for a few dollars.

My ' GT40' has real old school white outline Goodyears, letters were like 1 1/2" high.

Goin' off-topic here-

Dad had this car in dark blue when I was a kid (minus the cool wheels and tires)

[This message has been edited by tesmith66 (edited 03-08-2013).]

Ive had custom sidewalls done by a company called Razorback Tires, I believe in Georgia. They could do sidewalls any way you wanted on any brand tire, but couldnt do letters. I had them make redlines for my Magnum on Bridgestone 18" tires. People really liked them on it with my old school custom touches.

quote Originally posted by Archie: I had a customer recently who wanted the 60's look with the taller profile tires & White lettering. Ended up with the T/A's. You used to be able to find White Letter tires on every street corner. Not any more. Archie

Archie,
What is the size of these tires?

I think i've decided on the BF Goodrich T/A's with 215/60's on the front and 225/60's on the rear. These will be a little lager than stock which is what i would like but would allow me to still lower my car a bit with rubbing. Hopefully they will not look too monsterous on the car.

[This message has been edited by labbe001 (edited 03-21-2013).]

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: Coker also makes their radials that 'look' like bias ply tires. They also do blue streak and redlines, along with TBird red/w white stripe and gold for 60s vettes. Some auto parts stores like Jegs have a 'crayon' to mark your own letters for a few dollars. My ' GT40' has real old school white outline Goodyears, letters were like 1 1/2" high.

Where's these tires you're speaking of? I don't see any!

quote Originally posted by labbe001: That's more like what i'm looking for....would a 235/60R15 fit the front and rear of an 87GT using the stock rim?

235/60s are going to be massive for the front.

I have 235/60/15s (stock Fiero GT) wheels on the back wheels, and they stick out ever so slightly... but they look really good.

But for the front, I ended up going with 215/60/15s.

Does anyone else run a 235/60 on a stock rim and can post a pic for me? Plleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaase