[traveler]

I know 15" choices are slim. I used to like BFG Radial T/A's but they really should now be advertised "BFG Raised BROWN Letter" tires. I just called BFG/Michelin customer service yesterday and a 'Cameron' said he knew nothing of the extremely well known Radial T/A letter browning problem. He must have been instructed to say that if he wants a paycheck.

I am looking for RWL tires in P245/60R15 and maybe P255 for the back. If you have bought such tires in the last couple years and after having them for at least 6 months can truthfully say they still look and ride well please let me know.

My understanding is that the same tire compound additive that decreases age cracking migrates to the white letters and turns them brown. About the only thing that gets rid of some of the brown is lacquer thinner. Scrubbing with any ordinary cleaner is useless.

It's an unfortunate fact that tires are not made entirely out of rubber. The compound is apparently some concoction of rubber and petroleum distillates. I'm guessing manufacturers stretch the scarce real rubber further by putting more petroleum and less rubber in their tires. Then they try to make up for the premature cracking caused by too much petroleum with additives that turn white letters brown. Just a theory.

 

[69SS454]

Have you tried a white tire paint pen? I have not tried one. I liked RWL back in the day too, but I think I would just get a black wall tire. There are still a lot of RWL tires out there but I would not want to advertise for all of these newer foreign brands.

 

[72soft-top]

Very interested in these replies. I have the BFG brown white letters. I may just purchase the custom white letter decal kit for them? The acetone scrubbing doesn’t last long at all.

 

[Droptop72]

I have purchased two sets of RWL Radial T/As in the last four years, and I have had more trouble getting the blue protective coat off of them then I have with letters turning brown, but it DOES seem almost impossible now to keep them BRIGHT white any more. I have used acetone on mine too, but if you have a wheel finish that can be affected by acetone or any other harsh cleaner , do yourself a favor and turn the letters you want to clean to the BOTTOM of the wheel, so any stray acetone only touches the tire and the ground. Don't ask me how I know this...... The OTHER big problem with BFG and perhaps other brands too, is the constant culling of tire sizes. I would say there are probably less than half the sizes available in Radial T/As than there was twenty years ago. I had to abandoned the 265/50s I was running for years and go to 255/60, and I I am NOT happy about it. On paper, they seemed ALMOST, identical, but when you look at the car you can see a HUGE difference.

 

[hydro462]

Best bet is to buy the Cooper Cobra and have Diamond back remove all the side wall markings so they look like the old bias plys. A guy at the local car cruses did this. They looked fantastic and he said they didn't require hardly any weights and they ride as smooth as silk. He thinks Diamond Back checks each tire out to make sure it is not defective before doing all that work on them..

I know another guy who put the H78-14 on his 65 Pontiac 2+2 with 8 lugs wheels. They look fantastic. He said he didn't need any balancing..

Diamond Back also sells a real good tire called the Auburn radial in the H78-r14

Shop Diamond Back Classic Tires - White Walls, Redlines, Goldlines : (dbtires.com)

 

[blue_69_malibu]

Firehawk Indy 500?

https://simpletire.com/paid?v=1&tireSize=p275-60r15&mpn=118125&brand=firestone&productLine=firehawk-indy-500-disc&itemId=13233&region_id=5000059999&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=G_Shopping_Region_05&utm_content=Profit-Bucket_Passenger_Competitive_HighProfit_RAD&utm_term=&utm_creative=383435609279&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIidOG1oHC7gIVUODACh2l0wYKEAQYASABEgIR_fD_BwE

 

[hydro462]

I miss those Firestone PV-41 tires. They came in 225/70r15 235/70r15 and 255/60r15.. They are also Z rated.. they were designed for state police cars.. Cruse all day at 120 in them..

 

[billdini]

I have to tell you guys a little story first before answering your question. It was back in 88 and I was driving my 87 Tbird Turbo coupe that I really liked. It had those big VR225/60/16 that cost over $200 each back then. Must be a great tire huh. Well I was driving down the highway and the sidewall just let go. So I put on the space saver and could hardly get the car to go straight and pulled in to a local Goodyear dealer and dropped over $200 smackers for one. Later that year I needed new tires (worked in field service) and went to Tire Warehouse and the guy that I dealt with all the time said "Bill go with these, they are really a great tire". They were Coopers and only like $65 on special and I said no way I want good tires. Well after the guy convinced me to give them a try I was totally amazed how well the car handled compared to my expensive originals. So today my 68 Chevelle and my 71 Camaro wear 235/60/15 white letter tires and of course they are made by Cooper. These guys have been around forever and make a great product. The trick to keeping the white letters clean is to wipe the letters down with Simplegreen or other cleaner after you do the sidewalls. Stay white longer and still look great even after two years

 

[weidhopper]

I have M/T ST's on my car and have been very happy with them. I have not had a problem with the letters browning, I do use Westley's Bleach White on them though occasionally

 

[DZAUTO]

I have 255/60 15 EL DORADO LEGEND GT tires on 15x8 Ralleys on the 70 conv. They have been nice and white for several years. I do not know what size options are available, but the tire store I use has not had any difficulty getting these.
Hercules and Cooper also make this size and other sizes.

 

[Alwhite00]

Aren’t the only 2 real white letter tires BFG & Cooper Cobras? That outline white letter crap looks like $hit if you ask me.

 

[Kirk's67SS]

BFG Radial T/As are Junk
If I was to buy White Letter Tires again I would buy M/T S/Ts like # 9 Post says

 

[shovelrick]

Cooper Cobras! I ran 2 sets of RWL on my 76 TA in the 80's over a 7 year period and a lot of miles of trips back and forth from Fl. to Mi., rode excellent, handled fantastic but I can't remember the size other than 15" but they were fairly wide and same size all around for rotating

 

[NickeyChevelle]

The next time I have to buy tires for the 'Bu I'm thinking about buying a pair of reproduction white letter "GOODYEAR POLYGLAS" RADIAL tires (FR70/14) for up front while using a pair of high quality blackwall DOT approved Drag Radial tires on the rear, but only after sticking custom self-stick vinyl white letters on them (using lettering that matches the GoodYear lettering on the front tires).

Performance Tire Lettering | Custom Tire Decals | TIREGRAFICX
Create Your Own Tire Stickers | TIRE STICKERS

 

[-SS454-]

another vote for M/T Sportsman ST's. My white lettering stayed pretty white, but I think any white wall that is driven will eventually brown/yellow. Mine are tough to keep white because of the brake dust haha.

 

[shelteredv]

Coker Whitewall Tires | Coker Classic Tires

Coker whitewall tires available in sizes to fit hundreds of popular restored cars, trucks & custom builds. See vintage bias ply, classic radials online now!

www.cokertire.com

 

[Autoengineer_]

I have BFG's in the front and have the exact same browning problem. In fact, there's a thread I started on the subject on this site a couple years ago. I had the Mickey Thomp[sons ST's on the back and the rubber on those was so hard I had almost zero traction. Replaced those with the 295/50R15 Cooper Cobras and I'm very happy. Much Much better traction and the letters have stayed white. I'll be replacing those fronts this next spring with the Coopers and its a shame because there are maybe only a 1000 miles on those BFG's. But they just look terrible.

 

[123pugsy]

Love my Cobra's.

 

[traveler]

Wow, there is already a lot of good information here!
@69SS454, no I haven't tried the white pen option. I did read where it'll take $everal pens to get the job done. I have considered it but decided it would be tedious and likely not be especially durable.
@blue_69_malibu, I saw the Firehawk Indys but it looked like they were being discontinued.
@Autoengineer, you're the second person who said the MT's are too slippery... on the back especially.
I'm beginning to lean toward the Coopers. They have been around a long time and still have most of the sizes we need. Thanks a bunch for all the good comments!

 

[suntreemcanic]

I have a set of BFG All Terrain white letter tires on my work truck. 2,000 miles and six months later, never been washed, they see a lot of mud and now snow and they are perfectly white. No explanation.