14" tires are hard to find these days

[mikefam]

I've been searching for a set of raised white letter tires for my 14x6 rally wheels and I'm not having much luck. It looks like all roads lead to BF Goodrich T/A radials. I found that Cooper makes a tire in this size and that's about it.

So does anyone here know of any other 14" rwl tires that I can look at?

TIA, Mike.

[KevinW]

Mike, I agree. While you can find smaller 14" like 195s, the wider 14s (215/70R14 fits a 14x6 real nice!) seem to be BFG TAs or Cooper Cobra GT (RWL) or Kumho (blackwall).  I have BFGs on my 14x6 rims,  plan to mount some repro bias plys on steelies for the 2nd set.

[Kelley W King]

I 69 I use to have had Kelly,s on it I think

[69Z28-RS]

They still sell BFG RAdial TAs in many sizes for one reason; they are VERY popular as most of us think there's not better 'era relevant' tire to run on a muscle car..

[HawkX66]

They still sell BFG RAdial TAs in many sizes for one reason; they are VERY popular as most of us think there's not better 'era relevant' tire to run on a muscle car..

I like my new Cooper Cobras. I think they have the right "look." I've always loved Cooper Tires. They perform excellently and they are reasonably priced. They'll be on it tonight finally.

[mikefam]

Has anyone tried 225/70r14 TA's? Do they rub?

Mike.

[jeff68]

I had the 225/70-14 BFG Radial TAs on my 68 Convertible with 14x6 XG code rally wheels.  I would get a very slight rub on the fronts, but I think this was due to using the XG wheels (offset for front disc cars) with my drum brakes.

Now I'm running GoodYear Polyglas F70-14s and never looking back!

[mikefam]

I have the same xg code rims.

How does the car drive with the bias ply tires compared to the Goodrich radials? I would go with the Goodyears or Firestone wide ovals but I don't think that I will like the bias ply squealing around all the turns.

Mike.

[jeff68]

I think the TAs rode just a tad softer (nothing significant), and I'm sure they would ultimately corner better at high speed, but my days of really pushing the Camaro's limits are behind me. 

Now, I absolutely love the Polyglas tires.  They look awesome, handle very well, and they seem to grip like crazy in the rear.  I do have my alignment set up per factory specs for bias ply tires, so maybe that helps.  Also, I run the correct tire pressure for these tires (IIRC it is 24 psi cold).  I initially had them at 30 and they were very stiff.  I was apprehensive about the Polyglas tires at first, but I seem to notice none of the 'bad' things that some people say about them.  Most of my driving is on twisty/turny back roads (sometimes at a pretty good clip), and I've never heard a peep from the tires.

If you can get over the price, give them a try.

[X33RS]

I am of the same opinion as Jeff.  I tend to believe the bias plys are made better than they were 45 years ago.  They sure do drive pretty good compared to what I remember anyway.  Alignments do play a roll, there are different specs for bias vs radial tires.
   I drive on the bias pretty frequently around town, mountain roads etc....and I don't notice any of the unstable or twitchy driving I used to remember with these things.  They actually drive nice.  They also grip much better than they used to.  I've gone 1.8x 60 foot times on an F70-14 with nothing but a few simple suspension tricks, and no traction aids. 
   I also run BFG radials on a couple of cars, fine tire, no complaints.  But on a correct looking restoration nothing looks better in my opinion than the original bias ply tires.   

[adjudimo]

I have 225 70R 14 Uniroyal Tiger Paw GTS radials (Rallye Edition) raised solid white letters on 14" rallys. Sorry, don't remember if their 6 or 7 inches wide. But the tires will rub if you turn it all the way to lock on both the front and rear side on the inner fender/frame. It really never happens though, how often do we actually turn this tight of radius? I just checked it out sometime in the past for the heck of it. I still have a spare 14 rally in storage that I can measure if needed.

[wtexz10]

My 14" Goodyear GTII's are over 15 years old now and I'm just nervous about driving them on the highway for any amount of time. So,I just bought a set of 17" rally's and mounted them with my derby caps.  These are Firestone Firehawk Indy 500.  Now I'm debating weather to paint the letters on the sidewalls.   

I'll now be able to use the Goodyears exclusively for shows.

[wtexz10]

Front view

[wtexz10]

Rear view

[wtexz10]

Close up of front