[FC] Help choosing tires -

[Dale Dewald]

Hello Jeff,

At 17:22 10/23/2009 -0500, you wrote:
>Folks - I'm getting ready to put some tires on my '64 Greenbrier. I'm using
>stock rims.
>
>1) What sizes have others had good experiences with?

I and many others have used P205/75R14 tires on stock rims and they have 
worked okay, but these are not the best fit for the rather narrow 5" wide 
stock rim.  Make sure to check the manufacturer specified rim widths before 
purchasing them.  Some other people have used P195/75R14 but I worry that 
these do not have an adequate load rating to support a fully loaded or, 
quite frequently, overloaded FC.

The 1964 Shop Manual Supplement pg 3-6 lists the types of 7.00-14 tires and 
inflation pressures for the Corvair 95-1200 series.  It is interesting to 
note that the standard tire, 7.00-14 4-ply SP (special purpose) [35psi 
max?] is not a standard load passenger car tire, but a reinforced sidewall 
(special purpose) tire.  A 6-ply SP tire was optional [39psi max?] as were 
LT (light truck) 6-ply [50psi max] and 8-ply [65psi max] tires.

Tim Schwartz of NJ has been extremely satisfied with the 185R14 and 195R14 
sizes designed for European minivans; e.g. VW Vanagon, Eurovan, Renault 
Espace, etc. I think these are about as close as you can get to the OEM 
optional tires with respect to size, construction and load capacity.

Check this link for the Continental Vanco 2, a load range D tire (8-ply LT) 
designed for 65psi max inflation:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.jsp?make=Continental&model=Vanco%202&partnum=8QR4V2&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes 


or the Yokohama Y356, a load range C tire 6-ply LT) designed for 50psi max 
inflation:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.jsp?make=Yokohama&model=Y356&partnum=8R43566&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes 


A very excellent tire discussion is contained on this VW Bus site:
http://www.ratwell.com/technical/Tires.html

I have searched a lot of tire company web sites but have not come up with 
true replacement for the original 7.00-14 SP 4-ply tire standard equipment 
OEM tire.  I imagine that the modern designation for such a tire would be 
something like P195/80R14ref 97T.

>2) For future reference will 15 inch rims fit?

I have a set of 15X6 reproduction Corvette rally wheels on our '65 
Greenbrier.  Most GM RWD 15X6 wheels will fit and some 15X7 wheels will 
fit, but they must have the correct back spacing.  Other people could 
supply more specific recommendations.

The 15X6 wheels on our Greenbrier are fitted with P215/65R15 (96 load 
rating) tires which have a slightly higher load capacity than the 
P205/75R14.  I have been fairly happy with them and with the size which is 
very near the stock 7.00-14 for rev/mile (about 800).  It is now time to 
replace them, so I plan to follow Mr Schwatz's example and mount 
215/65R15XL (100 load rating) or 205/70R15 (104 load rating) tires, which 
are sizes also used on European vans.  I am considering either the Nokian H 
or WR C Van.

>3) I haven't see much as far as recommended tire pressures for the vans,
>could someone fill me in.

Your tire pressures should follow the recommendation of GM, but take into 
account modern tire construction and the maximum inflation pressure for the 
tire at rated load.

The Vanco2 and Yokohama tires mentioned above are load range D (8-ply) and 
C (6-ply) LT type tires. I think you could safely use the original GM 
specified pressures and adjust them slightly to meet your driving 
conditions. Tire manufacturers make a limited selection of REF (reinforced) 
and XL (extra load) tires in 15" and 16" sizes that I think correspond to 
4- and 6-ply SP tires originally specified for the FC.  I think these could 
be used in similar fashion.

What about using standard load passenger car tires?  When I ran 
P205/75R14's on our Greenbrier I set the cold pressures at 31/35 F/R to 
compensate for softer sidewalls and marginal load capacity of these 
passenger car tires.  The P215/65R15 tires were V-rated with a maximum 
inflation rating at 51psi, so I ran them at 44/48psi F/R.  A lot of newer 
tires are rated for 44psi at maximum load--you will have to check the 
sidewall. If these are standard load rated, I would run them near their 
maximum pressure; 38/42psi F/R.

I'm sorry to not give you a more simple answer.

Dale Dewald
Hancock, MI