New tires: Firestone or Maxxis?

[Schröder.453]

Hello,

My new T-Bird should have new tires, the current ones are more than 12 years old. For size 215/75 R15 I can find two options:

Firestone FR-380
Maxxis MA-1

Thank you in advance for any information. I really do not know which ones are better for my bird.

Regards, Guenther

[paulr]

One more: Hankook has a 1" whitewall in that size. They have been excellent for my HT driver 3 years now.

[mainstreetprod]

For lots of other options, Google "215 75R15" and then click on the "Shopping" tab.

[Randy Mattson]

My '65 got Hankook Optimas a month ago for the same reason as you...the old tires were 14 years old.
My son (the mechanic) had difficulty locating whitewalls.
After driving to the KC convention (about 800 miles round trip) I'm happy with them.
Randy Mattson

[Schröder.453]

@Paul and Randy
Thank you, unfortunally this Hankook type is not available in Germany. I will keep on searching for this one. Hankook has a very close relationship to Michelin, so the quality should be ok.

@mainstreetprod
In know google and there really are displayed lots of tires. But most of them are engineered tof SUV 4x4 cars and I don´t want to buy tires with SUV profile for my Bird. I made this mistake one year ago. I bought the General Grabber for my Corvette C3 and now I go crazy every time I see my poor Vette.

I am also a bit scared of the Maxxis, because they were produced in China and chinese tires in general a much worse in comparison with western tires. This was the reason for my question.

[Richard]

I found Cooper tires with whitewalls for my 65..

[Schröder.453]

The Cooper with whitewalls is called "Trendsetter". I found it at the webshop of summit..., but in Germany Cooper tires are only offered for SUVs and light trucks. Probably I will buy the Maxxis.

[66_Charly]

Hi Guenther, I have used Maxxis MA1 on my cars here in Germany since 2008 and they are quite good. The only problem is the white stripe, which sometimes gets discolored and won't clean up, but I found a way to paint them with white rubberized paint which works well.

[Schröder.453]

Hi David,

Good news, so I will buy the MA-1.

Regards, Guenther

[rzcrisis]

Sorry I don't have any additional info about the Firestone or Maxxis tires other than they don't seem to have the whitewall width I am looking for. I currently have Goodyear Polysteel Radials P215/75R/15 tires with a 1.3" WW on my 64 HT that I really like and have had a lot of good comments on. I do not want a thinner or thicker WW. I have no idea how old these tires are as they were on the car when I bought it. There is some uneven wear from prior to front end refurb and alignment so I too am looking for replacements. I have been looking on the web and found a radial with 1.3" WW by American Classic (widewhitetires.com). Anyone know of these or have purchased? Quality? I am in Canada so have not yet explored purchase and import to Canada from the US. Any info is much appreciated.

Thanks
Randy

[mnpetri]

I'm watching this thread with interest, as I'll be looking for T-bird tires in the Spring. Thanks to all for posting

FWIW, I have a set of [Chinese] "Federal" brand [ultra high performance] tires on the Tiger, they look good and have performed well so far (6 or 8 autocross runs last year at one event - on a high 80 degree day- did not faze them at all).

[60fore]

Sorry I don't have any additional info about the Firestone or Maxxis tires other than they don't seem to have the whitewall width I am looking for. I currently have Goodyear Polysteel Radials P215/75R/15 tires with a 1.3" WW on my 64 HT that I really like and have had a lot of good comments on. I do not want a thinner or thicker WW. I have no idea how old these tires are as they were on the car when I bought it. There is some uneven wear from prior to front end refurb and alignment so I too am looking for replacements. I have been looking on the web and found a radial with 1.3" WW by American Classic (widewhitetires.com). Anyone know of these or have purchased? Quality? I am in Canada so have not yet explored purchase and import to Canada from the US. Any info is much appreciated.

Thanks
Randy

Randy I used the American Classics on my '64 for about five years until I sold the car, no complaints. I ordered mine from Coker Tire. The whitewall held up well and was easy to clean.