15" tires with a v speed rating

Looking for something to put on a hemi challenger clone other than t/a they are speed rated to 112 I'm looking for a bit more wheels are 15x7 ralley something like a 255 60?

forget the 15s and put 17x9 " ralley's from year 1 , then you can put 275 40 17 in lots of choices.There are no good 15" size tires any more.

tirerack.com shows two choices in 255/60R15

neither is V rated.

If you step up to 255/65R15 then you have a V rated option, one option.

$500.00

each

About the only choice left out there in 15", is the Pirelli P Zero tires...

Maxxis Marauder and Mickey Thompson SR (NOT the ST) are both H speed rated (130 vs the V at 149) and reasonably priced and available in a variety of 15" sizes through a variety of outlets.

Z rated tires are available in the Avon CR6, but they are not cheap and their d.o.t. approval is marginal. These are race tires parading as a street tire for vintage race cars.

Used to be a lot of choices but I think those days are gone. I had one a nice set of Goodyear Gatorbacks on my '65 Coronet back in the 80's. Those were some cool tires and they would be perfect for your car if they still existed. I think I was running a 225/55-15 on 15x7. Looked great, handled great. Kind of a perfect setup back in the day but I don't think that stuff is made anymore.

Actually, it does look like Goodyear is reproducing the original Mustang Gatorback but they are charging a fortune for them. 225/60-15 with the V rating is available but they are $300 each.

You have a clone, why stay with a 15" tire? There are better choices in 17" and 18" tire. They are also a more modern tire that drive better. Some things should be left in the past.Tires that I thought were good in the 80's I would think that they are bad now. As we went through this putting tires on the wife's Dakota R/T. We get use to the modern tire on DD. We upgrade the shocks and motor but put on a 70's technology tire and that makes no sense to me unless you are going for concourse show winner and trailer the car every where. Go to Tire Rack and look under there surveys under one of the summer tires category and see what is rated well.
Sorry if I came on a little strong, this is a pet peeve of mine.

They still make good tires in 15" size, just at unreasonable prices.

The Gatorback is a really good high performance tire. If I had a set of 15 inch rims that I liked then I'd probably pay the $1200 for a set of Gatorbacks that fit.

I suppose it would be possible to find a set of 17x7 rims complete with tires for $1200 too, but the look might not be correct.

I used to make a kit to put the 17 inch Mustang Bullit rims on a Mopar. I really liked the look of those wheels but a lot of people thought it was a sin to put 17 inch rims on a Mopar so I didn't sell very many of the kits.

I put 17 inch rims on my early B body back in the 90's and most people back then thought I was a fruit cake. These days there are more people in the Mopar hobby that can handle seeing 17 inch rims on an early B body. The last car show I went to I didn't have any negative comments on the rims. Most people thought they looked good and only a few people even noticed what size they were.

Those wheels do look good on your 65 Andy.

I'm in the same boat as Sandy...looking for a decent set of 15" tires for my 64 or go 17 or 18" rims/tires. I'm leaning towards the latter.

Really like the wheels on Ray Evernham's 64 Plymouth.

I was one of those back in the 90's that larger wheels and tires looked wrong. Then I drove one with larger wheels and tires and I said wow this is nice. What was I thinking before, are tires for looks or for driving experience. I have never looked back.

IMO, the problem with 17"-18" etc is the short sidewall... intended for better cornering/steering/handling response. Cars with monster BB engines -- especially a heavy Hemi -- need more sidewall to carry the weight, as well as through the corners. Short sidewall tires are not forgiving to the weight demands of a front-end heavy BB car.

You could consider a 16" and run 255-50-16 tires an minimum 8" rims.

The 17x8 or 17x9 YearOne replica Mopar rims do look pretty good. You could run 275-40-17 up front (preferably on the 9" rim), as well as a 305 or 315 on the rear ( a little pinched but will fir.. I've seen it). the YearOne rims have the correct backspacing to fit front and rear... I suggest staying with their 9" rims front and rear.

As everyone knows, the choices of 15" are so limited. I run BFG T/A 255-60-15 front, 275-60-15 rear, both on 15x8 vintage minilite road race rims... these are my cruising tires... rides/handles just fine.

I also run BFG Comp 255-50-16 on vintage minilite road race rims, 16x8 front and rear... for track lapping events... handles fine.

Eventually, I'll be getting 18x10 (or 10.5-11 wide) rims and run 275-35-18 200 compound tires for track events.

Unless you're running track events, the choices of 15" tires are OK for cruising... even at 245-60-15 fronts as the smallest you'd want to go.

Problem we all share!
My take is that few of the cars are daily drivers anymore, therefore a set of tires that used to be replaced at 3-4 years, now last decades, or till they are unsafe and come apart!
I'd like to see a comparison test of the remaining affordable 14 and 15 inch tires.
Maybe people could chime in with some of the regional brands they come across.
I think Mastercraft still has a few sizes, Cooper, and BFG, anyone else?
Maybe restricted to under $200/tire?
Anyone know if BFG would shave a set of T/As, most of us will never wear them out in normal driving, might improve the performance of an average tire.

Mastercraft tires are crap.

These are all the 15" tires sizes Tire Rack lists as currently available. All the data you need to evaluate them is at Tirerack.com. Price, reviews. specs,, etc. Enjoy.

115/70-15
125/70-15
125/80-15
135/80-15
145/65-15
155-15
155/60-15
155/80-15
165-15
165/60-15
165/65-15
165/80-15
175/55-15
175/60-15
175/65-15
175/70-15
185-15
185/55-15
185/60-15
185/65-15
185/70-15
195/45-15
195/50-15
195/55-15
195/60-15
195/65-15
195/70-15
205/50-15
205/55-15
205/60-15
205/65-15
205/70-15
205/75-15
215/60-15
215/65-15
215/70-15
215/75-15
225/45-15
225/50-15
225/60-15
225/70-15
225/75-15
235/50-15
235/60-15
235/70-15
235/75-15
245/40-15
245/50-15
245/60-15
255/60-15
255/65-15
255/70-15
265/50-15
265/70-15
275/60-15
295/35-15
295/50-15
295/55-15
30X9.5-15
31X10.5-15
32X11.5-15
33X10.5-15
33X12.5-15
345/35-15
35X12.5-15
7R15LT

Nearly every 15" street tire out there is marketed as a cosmetic performance tire. IE, they look really good on a classic, have an S or T speed rating for casual driving, and tread depth that will outlast their sidewall life because of their 400+ treadwear rating. However, most of these are under $200 for even the widest sizes.

There also are a host of racing tires in 15" due to many sanctioning body's requirements to stick with 15" diameters as a cost saving measure, despite being $200+ per tire. Some of these have d.o.t. approval as a means to met certain rules requirements but they aren't necessarily street tires because of significantly reduced tread depth and ultra soft compounds. However, if you don't mind paying twice as much for a tire who's tread life is a better match to actual usage and proves really good grip (200 tw rating or less), then some of these may work.

There isn't a lot of middle ground any more. Maxxis and Mickey Thompson are the only two that could fall into this category these days with their carcass design and speed ratings but the Maxxis has a pretty high tread wear rating, so it isn't the stickiest thing out there. MT does not provide tread wear ratings, but claims 15-20k is possible with their SR series, so it obviously is on the softer side. BTW, neither of these is available with a raised white letter sidewall either, a primary consideration for a large number of tire buyers in these forums.

Depending on the actual 15" tire you are thinking of there is decent middle ground.

Some examples.

195/45R15
205/50R15
225/45R15
245/40R15

not gonna find a 60 or 70 aspect ratio in a high performance tire though.

NITTO and others have XL rated tires if you are worried about load ratings.
I run 255 45 17 on the front and 255 50 17 on rear of my 69 Bee and it drives great . Rims are 17x9 all around.

Wow....Sandy disappeared as if he knew we had no more beer.

How is that relevant to the OP's question?

Replied to Mopar Mitch

I tried a few different 17 inch tire combos and came to the conclusion that 235/55-17 is almost perfect for muscle cars. That size is tall enough to fill up the wheel wheels, it has a good combination of ride and handling and it is an easy size to find.

That looks good Andy!

I don't think you're wrong on anything you've said here but I'd like to offer a couple of (hopefully helpful) counter points.

1) as for big block cars needing the extra sidewall...I get your point but the question comes down to the goals of the driver. Sidewall flex isn't always the preferred way to manage suspension compliance, especially in cornering as any sidewall deflection will come at the cost of contact patch. Yeah, the extra sidewall usually gives a more comfortable ride but it's very seldom going to help any car get through corners. Before buying tires/wheels, we need to check the load rating...then tune the rest of the suspension to taste.

2) I'd say NO to 16" wheels...they're a good compromise for looks and more modern sizes but they're also pretty un-loved in the performance car world. They were probably "in style" for an even shorter amount of time so market support for 16" wheels may not be as good as 15" just a few years from now.

3)YearOne replica Mopar rims- ehh...100% personal taste but they do not look great to me. I really wanted to like them but after seeing them in person, they were just "ok" IMO if you squint. Lots of folks do like them but I'd strongly urge the OP to see them in person before buying.

As for your choice of 15" Minilites on the 'Cuda... flawless taste, sir. If I had the money, that's exactly the route I'd go.

I don't know anyone in the US of A who is running these but they look AMAZING. Vintage style, sticky compound, street legal tires...slightly limited in sizes but they do offer some 60 series choices that could work (245/60/15)...yeah, 80 treadwear rating...but still

http://www.avonmotorsport.com/historic/historic/cr6zz

That looks perfect, IMO. I like that they're not trying to look vintage to hide the fact that they're a modern size...yet they're super clean looking.

What make/model are they?

Those are the unreasonably priced tires I mentioned above. $400 each in the size you mention.

Ouch. I figured they'd be pricey but that's just painful for a tire that will probably only last a few thousand street miles.

I wonder how much of that is import costs.

The tires? I don't know, some random tire I picked up at the local tire store. That is the nice thing about the 235/55-17 tire size. They are so common that you can get a speed rated tire for discount prices.

Oh, I actually meant the wheels!

The wheels are a different issue. Those are custom built Fikse rims. They cost a small fortune....

That is because these are the Z rated racing tires that just happen to have a d.o.t. rating that I mentioned earlier.

They are popular for the kit Cobra crowd for period correct look and ultimate grip. You can find them state side at Roger Kraus Enterprises on the west coast or Frisby Preformance Tire in the mid west.

While that’s a bit disappointing, I’m glad that it looks like you got what you paid for. They’re probably the best looking 17” wheels I’ve ever seen on a Mopar!

At least it will be extremely unlikely that anyone will be able to copy you.

Fikse strong, light and a work of art. you see them on high dollar cars. $1200 to $2000 each, do I need to say more but I want a set.

Fikse FM5 wheels. Kind of a classic wheel design. I bought these back in the early 90's so they are about 25 years old.

Just been busy enough to read not reply . The Hemi challenger isn’t mine it a project I have been working on for a few years . Things change in the original build but one thing I bought early on were 4 no’s 15x7 ralley wheels and although we upgraded the brakes to larger frt and rear disk they fit the 15 Ralleys .

I don’t care so much about white letters but the car owner has some strange ideas about top speed runs .... I just want the car to somewhat safe at speed . It has dynoed at 750 hp and is an all aluminum fho hemi 727 with a gear vendors and 3:23 gears it is still a 70 challenger but the real top end will be limited to the driver . If it was my car I’d go to the 17” ralleys

I duuno if I'd call an all weather tire a "racing tire that just happen to have a d.o.t. rating" but whatever. thing is, it is there and if someone wants to do stupid speeds with a 15" tire well, you gotta pay the man.

In triple digits speeds these things get to be a handful for any sustained amount time. A 150 blast down a strip is for a few seconds at top speed is entirely different than 120 for 5 minutes. I would think that H rated tires may be fine. SAE speed rating tests the tire at the target speed for an hour at 100*. That's more than I'd imagine the driver, and the car, would be up to. Maxxis, MT SR, and Hoosier Pro Street can do this. If skinnier tires are okay, the V rated ones higher up in the thread may be okay. The Avons can take him into Z rated territory. He also could look at Hoosier Circuit Racing wet tires that have a street appearing tread. However, these may not have a d.o.t. stamp which could be a problem if he has street inspections to meet. IMO, if he has sprung for a 750 hp Hemi, then $400 each for Z rated tires is chump change. Tires and brakes are consumables. He can't cheap out on them because they are.



If you read into the description far enough to see that they call this an "all weather" tire than you also read that they are a "road legal competition" tire and that they use "competition compounds". You may have also noticed that these tires are listed as an "approved 1B permitted race" tire in the UK, which means it is the equivilent of a Hoosier d.o.t. compliant SCCA competition tire. Maybe your cherry picking your points, maybe you're just a lazy reader and stopped once you found your point, but, as you say...whatever.

Pot kettle

If I was only reading enough to prove my point I would have read that is it not DOT compliant. The equivalent is not the same as having DOT compliance on the sidewall.

Point I was trying to make, which I apparently didn't make to you, was that if you want to run stupid speeds with a 255/60R15ish tire this is what you have to pay and what you have to run.

If you are a bit more flexible in your sizing you can get more reasonably priced tires that meets the speed rating and are genuine street tires not pseudo ones.

Great reading!
Anyone admit to running 15" hoosier DOT marked tires on the street?
I'm thinking of the autocross, and road race tires, but I think there are oval-track DOTs also.
Many racing slicks don't hold air for long periods, do these?
I know we don't plan to drive our classics in the rain, but stuff happens!
So how are the hoosiers?
Any greater tendency to pick up road debris that can cause punctures?

Geo --I've run Hoosier DOT A6 radial tires 275-45-16 f/r on my 16x10 rims for may past years.. but they are not easy to drive on "streets".. better on highways... they will find and follow the grooves in the roadways, and because they are so sticky (40 TW) they do pickup lots of debris. BUT.. they stick like glue when autocrossing or on road race tracks (HSAX/HPDE).

The Hoosier DOT R6 simply takes longer to heat up.. better for HPDE events and longer life.

And now, Hoosier has made further improved versions.. A7 and R7.

I've also run Hoosier "Street TD" DOT bias ply tires 245-60-15 f/r on my factory Mopar 15x7 rally rims... again, a bit squirmish on streets, better on highways... and they stick great for competition events.

I have been running the maxis Marauder tires with no complaints.
Side wall much stiffer then a regular S or T rated radial.
Too bad there are not many distributors for them.
The balanced well on new rims and have been smooth.
good in hard corners with little complaining.
I would buy again.

In reverse order.
All R-comps will pick up extra everything from the road. Pebbles to glass,you name it, it will stick on especially once they get a little heat in 'em.

I ran Hoosier Street TDs for autocrossing. 245/45-15 bias ply on Circle Racing spun aluminum rims. Very fun and forgiving of overdriving. That also makes them difficult to drive to their max potential as its hard to detect he best slip angle. Dave Mapes and I ran them back to back against a set of Toyo RA1s in the same size and rim. We both ran better times on the Toyos.

Only had the Hoosiers on public roads once, for a couple miles or so, may be less. The sidewall is thin and the tires are very light. Unless the paving you'll be on is in top condition, these tires are really not appropriate for public roads.

I've driven other DOT R comp tires to and from events - ones that are heavier constructed. Definately some do have more of a tendency to follow road surface than a street tire - especially if there is some toe out in the alignment. My Yok 008s used to drive me nuts on the NJTPK, but in retrospect part of that was the alignment.
Toyos RA1s are decent in the rain. The 888 which I switched to recently isn't supposed to be quite as good in that respect. But the 888 is available in 235/50 and requires less negative camber.

Okay, i dont get in here much these days, i play in the general section as this one is just too goddamn depressing for me. But this is an area where i have spent some time... a LOT ov time...

(enough time to know to just bite the bullet, toast the passing ov the retro look, and go 18", but i still know 15" stuff)

Firstly, Mitch is always on about the 16" options, but i dont see it as a viable one, not anymore. There was a time when 16" worked, it was a short window ov about 2 1/2 months somewhere in the late 80's, but 17" became the game pretty much instantly. There IS one really good excuse to go 16" though, and thats if you still wanna fool people that its stock. Its not hard to concoct a 16" 'stock' rim, and honestly, VERY few guys will notice its not 15". I've seen this time and time again. Hell, i've seen staggered fittings (16" front, 15" rear), where no one noticed. The only way they'll notice is because even a 255/50-16 looks really short on a big car. Very expensive route, but if you got the coin and REALLY need that stock look...

Tom, i know you and i have been over this a hundred times, but its been so long i forget. Have you actually run the Maxxis tires? I have not heard a single good thing about them from a user yet, except from SUV people who dont drive their rigs. They're supposedly (despite ratings) hard and noisy. Oh, and heavy.

On actual 15". Check out Kumho. Ov all the places after years and years ov search, it was my local tire guy that found these. Kumho makes a V-rated 295/50-15 (and maybe other sizes too?). Its an Ecsta, and it looked a lot better than the Maxxis for performance use. Price was reasonable too. Thats as good as its going to get on a 'public' tire. If you try, you can fit a 295 all the way around on an E-body, and certainly many B-bodies. Even if not, it might be worth some minor mods, as it will look MEAN. Like, vintage stock-car mean. This is where i was going with my last Challenger... at least until i could afford the Forgelines and 335's...

And then i found (sorry, forget who linked it to me) there is a whole WORLD ov performance 15" racing tires. There is one Tire store/chain/dealer (again, forget), out ov California i think, that has a solid handful ov options for 15" racing tires. Yeah, you'll have to drive illegally, technically, but whats worth more, breaking some stupid law... one that likely no cop is going to call you on, or saving your car, or life? EASY decision. Also, most ov these options will be bias ply. Not as good an option, but still... guys race expensive cars on these things. How bad could it be? I remember Goodyear had a few racing options, Hoosier had a few good ones, there were more common brands and also some i've never heard ov.

I want to clarify that the above options were all treaded tires, so to the casual observer or cop, they're a legal tire.

I've also now (finally) seen the Mickey Thompson 15" tires on an autocross car... a particularly nasty looking road race 67 Camaro. He said so far, in and around town they felt good, but had not yet raced on them. He has since, but i've not run into him to ask.


So... there are quite a few more options in a HP 15" tire than most people think exist. Enough to let you keep those widened rallyes or Super Coupe rims on the ol' girl. Dig... and ye shall find.

There was positive discussion at MCACN with the vintage tire guy for an H or V rated G60-15

I hope so it is a badly needed item!

Here is an older thread where we beat up the 15" tire subject way back in 2013. Some things have changed a bit, but much less than it did from 2008 to 2013 when it was previously beat up. Since the forum won't allow searches older than 10 years, the early 2008 threads have disappeared.
https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbt...tml#Post1519474

There are high speed and high traction 15" options out there. However, either prepare to pay a lot for them, or run them as an outlaw race item on a street car. If someone is preparing to make a V rated G60-15 that appears to be period correct in Polyglas or Wide Oval livery, your gonna pay for them. Upside is their life cycle and wear resistance (bias plys won't tolerate the alignment angles a radial will so their wear will be accelerated) will probably be so short that you'll still replace them regularly despite the low mileage of a collector car. No chance to dry rot em.

These guys offer a wide variety of vintage, historic, race, street, custom treaded slicks and TA style wheels. This is their price list sheet, so click through each tire name to see different offerings. some have pictures, some just size and prices. Want VR rated 15" tires, $500+ and most sizes are limited to 205-255 section widths. https://rogerkrausracing.com/index.php/race-tire-pricing/

These guys used to be know as McCreary. As a race tire manufacturer, they have a whole lot of selection in 15" to includes slicks, treaded, and d.o.t. carcass designs. Most are bis play, but there are some radials mixed in there too. 13"-15" sizes are their specialty.
https://americanraceronline.com/

Of course Hoosier is well known and prolific with their race tires. Bias and radial, slicks to wets, d.o.t. and more. They have some discontinued 27x8x15, four groove asphalt slicks in there for $50 each. Want an inexpensive G60 bias ply race tire with tread that looks street legal and grips like mad, how about the IMCA spec tires for under $125 each. Hoosier has em.
Main Hoosier site: http://www.hoosiertire.com/
IMCA G60s: http://hoosiertirewest.com/g60-15-imca/

A lesser known provider outside of outlaw bullrings, these guys have been making racing tires and retread racers for decades. Don't shake your head at the retread part. I've abused their retread designs in racing environments for years without a separation. How about a tire with 3* of camber built into the tread face? These guys make em. They also make vintage pie crust slicks for the drag racing guys.
https://www.towelcityracingtires.com/