blue_74

I've been looking for a set of tires to go on my project '84. Right now, it has 4 Goodyears in the stock 255/50-16 size. I should mention that I'm a mechanic, and that we sell tires also. I've come up with virtually nothing from all of our tire suppliers. One supplier listed Toyo tires in that size, but only had two. Another supplier listed B.F. Goodrich tires in that size, but did not list any in stock in the entire U.S.!

What am I missing here? Are you guys still running the original/stock tire size, or is there something else that's superceded it? Surely it can't be that hard to find tires for a C4, especially when we're a tire store! I feel like I'm overlooking something.

oldalaskaman

upgrade wheels?

NBM LS1 M6

You need to move up to 17" wheels. There are very few good choices in 16" wheels for Corvettes and F-Body cars. Consider seriously moving to 275-40-17 tires.

Frizlefrak

I bought Kumhos for my 84 from Tire Rack back in 2004, and the selection was getting thin then. I can't imagine now. Like the others said, great chance to move up to 17" wheel and tire combo.

ConnecticutJunkman

Mirada Sport GTX was the only tires i could find in that size..
Its like a store brand.

I almost ended up going with 245/50 16's. Only 1cm less wide and a little shorter.

blue_74

I really want to stay with the original wheels. I did a little more digging, and I came up with several pretty decent options:

http://www.mamotorworks.com/corvette-tires-1-297.html

http://www.corvette-wheels.com/tires...1984-1987.html

I'm looking pretty seriously at the Falken tires or the B.F. Goodrich g-Force sport tires. I like the BF Goodrich sidewall design a little better than the Falken's, and there's not a lot of price difference.

Frizlefrak

At least there are still a couple of options. I agree on the BFG's....

1986-z51

I put a pair of the BF,s on my 86 z51. Good tire did loose a inch in width compared to my compT/A. Had them on the rear an you are putting any kind of power down they go up in smoke,wound up putting them on front an getting the toyo proxey tq for the rear..Try [tiresdirect.net] for the toyos.

Alan777

Bf goodrichs from tire rack

ConnecticutJunkman

Tirerack doesn't have them.

They arn't being made. My dealer called BFG and they said they arnt officially discontinued but they arn't being made. They didn't know if they would ever be made again or what.

I called Tirerack and they said they had no idea if/when they would get them in and they still have people waiting with orders unfilled.

Hot Rod Roy

I've had two sets of Falkens on my '84, and they've been fine. Haven't gotten as many miles out of them as BFG's, but that might be my fault! They wear evenly and seem to stick good! I run them at 35 psi front and 32 psi rear. Got them from discounttiredirect.com

1SICLT4

Good Year eagle F1 DOT3 is the only tires i will continue to buy for my sports cars, i have been buying them since high school and will continue to infinity and beyond

kimmer

Damm! tire price's sure shot up recently.

prinzSD455

I got a price quote from Les Swhaub for tires for my 86. The only thing available in my 16" size were BFG g-force tires and those were limited to what ever stock was available in warehouses. Fewer and fewer manufactures are making that size. Still have not pulled the trigger but on the other hand I don't want to spend a fortune in upgrading to 17" tires and wheels as well. In the short term I probably will get the 16" g-force and maybe later upgrade to the 17' a molds.

ken1950

You got me to thinkin. I just bought my 1st. vette. 87C4. I went to see what tires are on it. There 255/50/16. so i googled the size and about 6 different sites came up with this size tire. My car came with 4 new ones on it so i'm good for a while--try googling the size

blue_74

Thanks for the idea. I've found several sets of tires, but they're always backordered. I've found BF Goodrich's and Falkens, both of which are never in stock. I'd really love to find a set of the BF Goodrich's.

You're lucky that your car came with new tires. Mine literally has to have tires before I can even drive it. The back are worn down the treads, and the fronts are dry rotting.

1985 C4 in progress

I've got the same problem, almost exactly (I can't drive it until I get the tires). It looks like the last option in a 16" might be a 245/50-16 from what I'm gathering.

Can anyone tell me if it would be safe to move to a 245/50-16 and what impact it might have on the performance? It looks like my only option unless I move up to a 17".

ken1950

255/50/16 BFG is advertised at SEARS. If they advertise it they should make good on their advertisement

blue_74

I called and talked with a really nice representative. She talked to BFG while I was on hold, and confirmed that those tires are on national backorder with no estimated ETA of restarting production. She said they're not actually discontinued yet, they're just not producing any more.

I went ahead and got a set of 245/50R16's from one of our tire suppliers. They had several brands listed in that size, and said that the size difference is negligible between it and a 255.

Churchkey

Try cokertire.com

They have a listing for the size you require.