I'm getting some 14s soon to use for the street only. Meanwhile I'll be slapping some sumitomos on my 13s and going to keep those for the track. I want something 195/60 to keep the speedo the same. I'm specifically looking for a tire I can white letter. I dig the look and think it suits our cars. Something like 'sumitomo' just wouldn't look good white lettered ya know?

Right now I'm thinking of the BFgoodrich Traction T/As, but I'd to hear more opinions before I drop the coin. The falken 912 and 512s sound good too, but I'm not sure how good they would look white lettered. Keep in mind here that I'm not looking for the best, stickiest tire. I'm mainly concerned with getting a cheap, long lasting tire that looks good. Traction is desired, but since I'm not going to be racing with these it is not the primary concern. If I want to throw traction out in the wind I may just get the Cooper Cobras again, but damn those thing don't hookup at all.

 

okay first off the falken 512s are no longer available mainly because they were crap.. only lasted people about 20000 miles and that was without gettin on the gas. the 912s seem to be better but i would definately take the traction t/a over the 912s. but finding the t/a in a 14 size is getting alot harder to do. and lastly why the hell would you color the letters white on a tire that doesnt do it for you. this isnt the 60s and you dont have a muscle car. but its your style . but yeah BF goodrich would look alot better in white letters. in fact they have their radial t/as with white letters from the factory.

 

You can still get the bfgoodrich radial t/a in RWL in size 14 and up. I know because I was looking to do the same but with 13s and I ended up using the coopers.

These cars came from the factory with RWL bridgestones. It has nothing to do with 60s muscle cars. The bfgoodrich are a great substitute.

Go RWL!

 

This. I think it looks cool. This may not be the style of today but our cars aren't from today. I love the look. I wasn't aware the 512s were no more but you can still buy them.

So I think it comes down to the T/As v Cooper Cobras again. I can get the T/As for about $65 a tire and the Cooper Cobras @ like $54. Anybody familar with the T/As? Are they a long lasting tire? Sticky? Otherwise I may just get the Cobras again, even though the grip isn't the best I love sliding the rear end around and they are the cheaper of the two.

 

Back in the day TAs were the tires to buy, but I think that was mostly due to the marketing campaign. That's what I have on the Epsilons now but they came with the wheels when I bought the car. Become an informed tire buyer. Every tire has as a rating that relates to traction, treadwear, load rating and seasonal use. All of the online tire sellers have primers that explain the ratings and how to read them. It's then up to you to decide which factors/ratings are more important in choosing a tire.

If you don't drive in the winter, get a 3 season tire. If you want more traction, that usually leads to a lower tread wear rating.

Fwiw, my TAs are blackwalls and I prefer them that way.

 

How do you like your TAs trochoid? Going by the wall ratings alot they seem good, treadware is over 400 traction is AA (alot higher than I see in most tires, especially all seasons) and temp is A. If the wall ratings can really be looked at as gospel they crush the cobras, at only $10 more a tire. Same treadware, better grip and better temp. How long are yours lasting?

I don't drive in the winter, this is MN and I prefer my car without rust, lol. FWIW I don't do much driving in slippery conditions, so I think I could live with a summer tire, but all the high performance summer tires are pricey. Plus these are just going to be my street tires, I don't need too much grip, especially when if it comprimises the life.

 

I gotta believe the T/A s are better than the Coopers. The Coopers look fine and its all I could get RWL wise in a 13 but if I had a choice I'd go with the T/.As.

 

Unfortunatly at this point you have to decide if you want a summer tire with good grip without the RWL, or a decent all season with RWL. I have been running Sumitomo HTR 200s for 2 seasons and love them. I still have the first pair on the front but had to replace the rears due to a few fun smokey burnouts and a screw that one picked up. Replaced the rears with a set of 205's and now the car is more eager to turn. A little darty but in a fun way. The HTR's are also dirt cheap. When I first got the car it came with Kumho all seasons and they were decent for getting around, but pointless for hard driving.

Good luck

 

Oh I do plan on gripping. I'm getting 205 or 215 Sumis for my 13" stockers, which I'll stick to using at the track.

 

Can't say for sure on the TAs. They're old, getting hard and the sidewalls are showing spider cracking. I have no problem breaking the 245/50/15s loose from a standing start.

 

get Falken Azenis RT-615 in 195/60/14