Coker redline tires...is there any point?

[street carp]

Aside from getting the retro look is there any point to keeping these new Coker tires on my '69? The reason I ask is that the last owner has 215/75R15's on it which is really too tall. From what I've discovered 215/70R15 is closer to the original size and I am all about keeping the car as original as possible.

And the truth is the majority of '69s came with white stripes anyway. If I choose to replace the tires to get a 215/70R15 am I doing anything positive for the car's value by staying with the Coker white or red stripes (or Firestone Wide Ovals) or should I just go with a modern blackwall H rated tire and actually improve the handling in the process?

[sharkcar71]

I think the red stripes look great with your blue paint.I dont think a choice of tire can have hurt the value of a car unless you have the originals.Check and see if Coker makes a 245/60/15 in the red stripe and get the best of both worlds.Just my $0.02 worth(as always)

[davec0_17]

A good tire can only improve the value of the car. I vote for a good radial, I would go with a summer tire, instead of an all season. The ride improvment will be very noticable.

[street carp]

And there's the dilemma...the red stripe may look better than blackwall or white stripe, but for driving and handling purposes there are better modern choices in blackwall and RWL's. I should probably put this question in the NCRS sub-forum here because I may ultimately get my Corvette judged.

And sharkcar71, Coker's choices are limited. The closest to stock size that they have (height-wise) would be a P205/75R15, which is really too narrow. However, the original size, F70-15 can be still be had with the Firestone Wide Ovals , but these look like non-radials.

In addition there is also a Bridgestone Redline tire a little cheaper and in the closer to the original size at P215/70R15.

Thanks for the help.

[JohnZ]

Check with Diamondback - they'll put any kind of white/gold/red wall on brand-new high-volume production passenger car radials that are round, and will balance. http://www.dbtires.com .