fmtx83

I just purchased a set of new 15x7 wheels for my 83 S. Any suggestions on moderately priced ($50-$80) performance tires to put on these rims? I'm in Dallas so I'm not necessarily looking for an all season tire. I've read that 205/50-15 is about as big as I should go on an otherwise stock 83. True? TIA.

Black91n/a

What are you looking for in a tire? Max performance and tread wear be damned, or are you wanting a more balanced mix of performance and life? How important is noise? Ride? Be more specific.

For max performance the usual suspects are Falken Azenis, Kumho MX, and Hankook RS-2. For lesser performance with more life the Kumho SPT is a good choice (I had them and liked them), or the Fuzion ZRi, the BFG g-Force Sport, Dunlop Direzza DZ101. Look at Tire Rack, they've got tests, user reviews and user ratings to judge a tire by, but they don't carry everything, some notable brands they lack are Falken, Toyo, and Hankook.

fmtx83

Thanks for the info blk91na. I'll head over to tirerack to check those models out. To answer your questions:

1) I'm looking for something like 15-20k miles out of the tires. My 16 year old son drives the car and I want the tires to stick, rain or shine. I've got too much invested in him to get really cheap tires.
2) tire noise only adds to the symphony of sounds.
3) don't give a damn about ride quality

Black91n/a

Well with that sort of milage wanted you can forget about the first three tires I mentionned. The others might not last that long, depending on the driver.

RoughRex

I've got Continental ContiExtreme Contact's on my wife's VW and they perform GREAT for us. We originally bought them because they had the best reviews in their class on tire rack. We have since bought more and their rating has remained very good as the number of reviews has gone up (over 2500 reviews). The smallest I think you can get this tire is 205/55/15 though...

aznpoopy

falken ziex

awesome in dry, great in wet and decent in snow, not that you need it. good treadwear rating and excellent grip. best daily duty tire available, imo. more than enough grip to have a little fun on a twisty road.