tire and wheels shortages and Rant

[joeb73]

well after owning my 1969 GTX for about 6 months and driving it on 22 year old BFG's, i thought i better get new rubber do to age and flat spots. So last December i started looking for new tires. I found BFG and cooper no longer make the T/A or Cobra's in 16's. so i did what the rest of you do, start looking on here to see what everyone else is using. after reading a bunch of post's i thought this would be a good excuse to but a tire and wheel package. I settled on magnum 500's with BFG's to make it look more stock. i placed the order being told i would have them by April. they never shown up, so i called them. i was informed "do to back orders" i wouldnt get them until last week of May or first week in June. just called them again and was told possible 4 more months. Now i'm stuck trying to figure out what to do. i have a set of torque thrust D's that i cann't get tires for and a set of 14 inch date coded steel wheels with bis ply tires that are also 20+ years old (dont care for the look).
any suggestions?

 

[RemCharger]

Craigslist?

 

[VANDAN]

Are all your wheels 16" ? I've seen plenty of 15" available, have you considered these, with stock rims ?

 

[joeb73]

the torque trust D's are all 16's P245/50r16, the factory date coded steel wheels are F70-14. i was trying to buy 15x7 and 15 x8 magnum 500's

 

[33 IMP]

Do they have to be white letter? I bought Falken 245/50x16 recently from Walmart, oem on my Z28.
But agree, 16s are disappearing fast.
If they have to be white letter, maybe Google white letter tires in the size you want. There are at least five other makes of white letter tires. I have no idea if any of them still make 16s.

 

[tmaleck]

Tire Rack shows a variety of tires in this size.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=245%2F&ratio=50&diameter=16&startIndex=0&search=true&pagelen=20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&RunFlat=All

I have run Hankook and Khumo on several vehicles with good results. Tirebuyer.com is usually less expensive.

 

[#41]

Yeah, disappointed that BFG stopped making the 16-inch BFG competition street tires. 255/50/16 is an older stock Vette size, so I thought they'd make them forever. Very few options now that are not autocross/full race.

But.... there's a problem with 15's? Bought a full set of Cooper Cobras 295/50/15 245/60/15, two BFG's 275/60/15, and two Mickey Thompsen SS Street/Race 275/60/15 from Discount Tire last month. The Mickey's took 5 days. The rest were next day service. Discount Tire will ship a tire from it's stock across the country if it means making a sale.

 

[Darter6]

I had a tough time finding the tires I wanted for my Suzuki Burgman 200 scooter.
Every place I clicked said out of stock. I settled on a set of Michelin's
Guess where they are made ? Siberia,Russia.......

Hercules is a division of Cooper and has several tires in the 16''
Also 15'' they have a H/P 4000 white letter in a 235/70/15
I have been running Hercules on several cars for price point and sizes in 14,15,16 and truck tires too.

 

[super-bee_ski]

Cooper Cobras got the NOD from Muscle Car review
Better quality than BFGs
I have Cooper Cobras on a couple of cars
My SC/Rambler has the Coker "original style"
But pricey
I love the Cooper Cobras
And yes, everyone is making Low Profile tires now

 

[wagonman]

Took 6 months to get 2 American Racing 15x8 4.5 BS slots. Seems to be the norm now.

 

[Darter6]

They said aluminum has gone up 125% in the past year.

 

[VANDAN]

They said aluminum has gone up 125% in the past year.

Cheaper than the gas costs, Up 150% !!!

 

[joeb73]

if i can find some 15x8 and 15x7 oem looking steel wheels would any one if the hub caps from small 14 inch hubcaps fit? i have a feeling the price will be about the same as the magnum 500's after i get them painted body color.

 

[topside]

What Wheel Vintiques told me was that the 7x15 & 8x15 barrels are on BO. I call every month or so, last I heard was "due in August".
At this point I'm open to steelies or Magnums, but neither is likely to happen until Fall, I guess.
My local tire shop has no problem getting Coopers, or their Mastercraft line.

 

[33 IMP]

if i can find some 15x8 and 15x7 oem looking steel wheels would any one if the hub caps from small 14 inch hubcaps fit? i have a feeling the price will be about the same as the magnum 500's after i get them painted body color.

I have big pattern steelies on my 62, with small pattern 67 barracuda caps from 14x5 wheels on em. I know the fronts are factory 15x6, I think the rears are 15x8 ramcharger rims.