Best handling tires for 15" rims

[cuda346pk]

Well, I had a flat tonight on a test run after tweaking carbs some more. Thought "dang this thing is pulling to the left awful bad". Then as I slowed a little more, it really started to pull, of course was not anywhere I could immediately pull off and within less than 100 yards or so it went real flat quickly so the sidewall got chewed up. Turns out the valve stem tore at some point right at the rim and decided tonight to let loose at about 80 mph. Of course I couldn't feel it till I slowed down some. So now I have to replace at least the one tire. I was hoping to make it until I was ready to go with 17" rims but no such luck. It has the BF Goodrich Radial T/A's that it came with and I am not real interested in replacing with those since they are all worn over halfway. Now I need to decide what to run that will give better handling since I just got done upsizing torsion bars and sway bars and lowering her a little bit. I am running 235/60R15 front and 255/60R15 rear and pretty much need to stick with the same size for clearance. Anyone have any suggestions or experience finding some decent tires for stock rims?

[cdawg]

I have MT tires over a year and love how quiet and smooth my car rides. Has good cornering on 235/60 on 15x7 Front and 255/60 on 15x8 Rear no rubbing at all. MT. are Mickey Thompson tires.

[cuda346pk]

I have MT tires over a year and love how quiet and smooth my car rides. Has good cornering on 235/60 on 15x7 Front and 255/60 on 15x8 Rear no rubbing at all. MT. are Mickey Thompson tires.

Which series MT's are you running?

[cdawg]

Oh Sorry  I have the MT  Sportsman S/T Radials Tires.

[HP2]

Selection in 15" is getting real limited and most will be S or T rated cruiser style radials.  For a bit of a step up in performance handling  there are a couple of chocies in the MT SR, https://www.mickeythompsontires.com/street.php?item=SportsmanSR , and the Maxxis Marauder MA-S1, http://www.maxxis.com/catalog/tire-8-104-marauder-ma-s1.  Both are modern carcass designs with directional treads and H speed rating. Certanly not UHP rubber that you will find in 17" or 18" sizes, but decent.

[Surfmichaels]

Does anyone ever use nitto or toyo tires? When I raced my miata there was a lot of options in the 15 inch size with the toyo r888 being very popular. Maybe they don't fit mopar style rims, wrong side wall ratios? Always confused me that I  never hear those options come up. I'll looking to buy rims soon so tire options are of big interest to me.... Thanks

[dodj]

Does anyone ever use nitto or toyo tires? When I raced my miata there was a lot of options in the 15 inch size with the toyo r888 being very popular. Maybe they don't fit mopar style rims, wrong side wall ratios? Always confused me that I  never hear those options come up. I'll looking to buy rims soon so tire options are of big interest to me.... Thanks

I use Nitto NT05's and love'em. But they are 17" tires. IMO there is nothing in 14" or 15" worth putting on a car unless you are just a cruiser and don't push your car. I like to go around corners with the tires 'almost' losing traction. 
Well, maybe losing a little traction....

[SBDave]

I'm running Toyo R888's size 255/50R16 on 16x8 wheels front and back.  I love it.  I was also looking at running 15" wheels with Mickey Thompson tires (Sportsman S/R or Sportsman S/T) but a number of factors lead me to the 16's w/ Toyo's.

Dave

[72bluNblu]

The problem with 15's is the availability of anything worthwhile in something wider than a 225. They just aren't out there. I looked for awhile for something I could run on the cop rims I had on my Duster, and ended up just doing 225/60/15's all around. Wider than that and your only options are BFG T/A's and the MT's. Of the two the MT's have to be better, but compared to your options when you get up to 17" rims it's pretty sad.

If you really want good handling performance tires in muscle car sizes (that are street legal) you pretty much have to go to a 17 or 18" rim. I love the Toyo Proxes 4's I have on my Challenger, but again, those are on 17" rims.

I think the best option for good handling tires on stock looking rims are the 17" rallye and magnum rim designs from Year One. Still keeps with some of the original styling, but lets you really upgrade your tire options and handling.

[Surfmichaels]

Not a popular opinion, but why not get really good rubber at 225? Since I'm just on the street and track but not competing for time I'm more concerned with good balance. Anyone else running in that vein? It's only a 340 so i won't have as much traction issues as some....

[72bluNblu]

Not a popular opinion, but why not get really good rubber at 225? Since I'm just on the street and track but not competing for time I'm more concerned with good balance. Anyone else running in that vein? It's only a 340 so i won't have as much traction issues as some....

I suppose you could. But even in a 225/60/15 I wouldn't say there's "really good" options. There's a couple of Kumho's and Falken's available in that size. I had Falken zeix 912's in 225/60/15 on my Duster before I upgraded, and they did ok. But the difference between those and the 275/35/18 and 295/35/18 BFG KDW2's is almost night and day. With no other changes the car handles MUCH better. Of course, you can argue that the 1.12" torsion bars I have on my Duster are geared to more traction than the 225/60/15's have, so its not an ideal set up with those tires. But with the 225's I was running without sway bars, and now with the 18's I can definitely see how I can use them. With the 15's I basically had no body roll with my suspension set up without sway bars, with the 18's I'm getting body roll again (at a higher speed of course) so I can add the sway bars in.

I'm not saying you can't enjoy your car and have fun with the 225's, you absolutely can. And honestly depending on how much you're driving the car on the track it might be a pretty good option. But there are much better performing options out there.

[Surfmichaels]

Thanks, this helps by putting the full suspension package back in the picture. So really traction is the key element that will help determine requirements of the rest of the setup.... Or at least allow you to use any stiffness you've built in...

[brads70]

Sort of.... but good tires can temporarily cure ( or hide) some handing woes.  I decided to go the other way, make the chassis as good as it could be ( with my budget ) then step up to good tires.
My  if your at all looking for modern or good handling, don't waist your money on 15" rims. You can't  get there from here. They do not make good tires in 15"  Best bang for the buck IMO is those year one 17" rims. They look great and you can still get good rubber in 17" ( more in 18")  I REALLY like/love my 15" minilite style rims but I had to face facts in regards to tire availability . 

[HP2]

Well, there isn't any good handling 15" rubber that doesn't cost a small fortune or is d.o.t. accepted.  You can run d.o.t. rated race tires, but they cost twice as much and last half as long. Grooved race rubber obviously isn't legal for on road use but will grip like no ones business.