Help! My Corvette Needs New Shoes!

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My 1966 Corvette threw a shoe last week and I need your help. And I am willing to pay for some advice. Think you can help? Please read on… I was on a cruise a couple of weeks ago and did my normal “south county” route that takes me on some nice two lane roads away from the City of Tampa and through southern Hillsborough County. On my last few drives I’ve noticed a bit of shimmy between 45-60 mph. Over and under that speed the car drives very nice. About halfway through my cruise, the shimmy was much more pronounced and I was feeling it slightly now even above the 60 mph. I had written it off to the thought that I needed an alignment, something the Corvette hasn’t had in years. As I was nearing home, traveling about 60 mph on the local toll road, I heard a loud pop and I felt that backend really wanting to sway side to side. I slowed to 30 mph and since the Corvette was drivable at that speed, I limped on home. After I got home, I crawled under the back of the Corvette and immediately saw the problem. My tread on the right rear tire had separated and some the belts were showing. I could see one or two of the belts actually broken, but the tire was still holding air. I’ve had these same tires on my ’66 for years now. When you only drive a car a couple times a month, it’s not so much the mileage, but the age of the rubber. And while I’ve been wanting to upgrade my wheels from the standard hubcaps to some reproduction knock-off wheels, finances won’t allow me to do that right now, so I’ll skip the KO’s for now and just go with a new set of tires.

1966 Corvette Tire 1966 Corvette
Currently, I have a set of Dunlop G/T Qualifiers. They have been great tires and I like the look of the white lettering more than a white wall. I am probably going to move to a set of BF Goodrich Radial T/A’s. However, I am open to some suggestions. My current tires are 215/70R/15’s and I am wanting to stay with that size because they are a bit beefier and as such, put more rubber on the road. Also, at that size there is no clearance issues with the fiberglass. So here is the deal. First, sign up for the email newsletter. Then comment here on what kind of tire (make and model) you would recommend. If I like your suggestion, I will send you a free Corvette Price Guide – a $15 dollar value. I am really open to some suggestions and would love some recommendations.
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2 COMMENTS

  1. Tires, ah yes. Wal Mart sells tires at low prices in those sizes. Michelin, Good Year, ect. AND, they don’t do anything else, so you don’t have to worry about getting a hose cut, or trying to sell you brake job. I went to Tire America, and they tried to sell me new brakes. I drove the car another 20k miles without problems. Wal Mart is cheap too. Good luck. D Kalvin

  2. David:

    Thanks for the comment. About a month ago I got 4 BF Goodrich Radial T/A’s from Tire’s Plus. They let me drive in and out the bay and didn’t mind me hovering over them while they worked. I also got an alignment, but that still hasn’t stopped the little shimmy I have around 55 mph.

    Thanks Again!

    Keith

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