<VV> Stock wheels or not???

[Kirby Smith]

In the late 60s, driving my 1966 Corvair, two people on different 
occasions walking in the middle of the r.h. lane at night were saved by 
my using rain race tires instead of OEM tires, because I could maneuver 
abruptly.  Whether suicidal or drunk, the saved pedestrians may have 
been short lived, but I didn't have to tangle with the consequences of 
hitting them.

Considering the number of vehicles these days that flip, or otherwise 
demonstrate incompetent maneuverability, I would recommend the best 
tires you can get.  And that excludes long life tires, as they use hard 
rubber and provide poor traction, expecially when wet.  Tires based on 
race designs, but with rubber having a lower glass transition 
temperature, are preferred.  And the tread should be designed to provide 
the best possible high speed performance in standing water by throwing 
the water to the sides.  Go to the Tire Rack web site and look up 
Bridgestone SO-2s, if they still have them listed, for an example, or 
one of the other so-called maximum performance tires.

The 60s version of Firestone rain race tires, with only 5/32 tread when 
new, lasted as long (12 kmiles) to 2/32 as the Firestone Wide Ovals I 
tried replacing the OEM tires with, even though the Wide Ovals started 
with 11/32.  This was due to minimal tread squirm.  The stiff sidewalls 
and reverse moulding made the tires move with the wheels, instead of in 
some offset plane that the 700-13s managed.  And they were always better 
than either in the rain!  I even tested one to blowout, and due to the 
stiff sidewall and reverse moulding the event was uneventful.

I appreciate the desire to have authenticity, and parade in OEM form, 
but if you want to drive with spirit, or even safely at the higher end 
of the speed limit environments, get the best tires you can, with the 
improved sidewall stiffness that results from using low profile tires.

kirby


Ron wrote:
> I'll stick to my point with saying that with legal and sane driving on 
> public roads, you'll never get any value out of "performance" tires.  
> The rally and econorun at Portland stressed the cars about as much as 
> anyone would ever want to and yet touring tires were surely adequate at 
> all times.
> RonH
>