I agree. It seems a little silly not to have at least one performance 15" tire in profiles we need. But you can see that the tire companies think the Cooper Cobra and BFG T/As are the most marketable options. I hope that changes.

 

Sales volume drives manufacturing. So I went with 18s.

 

Yep! The 15" good news is BFG T/A's are good for smokey burnouts on anything over 95 hp!

 

I’d love it if someone re-popped the Yoko AVS Intermediate.

 

Here's close to what you seek.

http://www.vitourtires.com/index.php/home/english/proview/id/129.html

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

Here's close to what you seek.

http://www.vitourtires.com/index.php/home/english/proview/id/135.html

We had a member run these on an open track and the report was lukewarm.

Plus supply chain, no one has them.

 

Bring back the 80's BFG Comp T/A. It's not like BFG doesn't have the molds or who knows, maybe they tossed them in the ocean with John DeLoreans stuff

 

I had a set of them on my 68, loved the handling and the look.

 

Avon makes some high performance 15 inch street tires. They are radials that look a bit like bias.
There is also the Hoosier option. The vintage race tires are dot approved. Hoosier does not recommend them for highway use. I use mine on the street. They are fine for what limited use my classic mustang gets.
That said. I would love a good 200 tread wear tire in 15 inch sizes. I will likely go 17 or even 18 inch since that is where the supply is at.

 

The Firestone SZ50EP was a great tire in our size, WAS.

 

There's only a few semi performances touring tires available in black wall only, but I'm just glad they are still made. I don't know why no tire company makes anything else since it would sell.

The only thing high performance would be something like Hoosier or Avon track tires or Pirelli P6000 at 350-400 bucks each.

I refuse to switch to 17 inch wheels, ain't happening on my car.

Maybe we need to start a new petition on change.org.

 

Unfortunately I think outside of drag radials there is a very small market for high performance 15” tires.

The trend is bigger and bigger wheels. Look at any high end build. If it is a high end resto then it likely has bias tires any way. We are a minority that think tires with sidewalls look good.

 

I have uniroyal tiger paws 225-60-15 they have been good so far

 

Yup....all four of mine are Uniroyal Tiger Paws 225-60-15 and they fit quite well with no mods.

 

Always wondered about them.

 

I don't know how well they are for gripping around sharp curves and corners at speed, but I generally don't drive like that. They are H speed rated for up to 130 mph.

 

I went up to 225/50/16. They did rub everywhere with the required 16x8 4.5" BS wheels. Nothing some fender rolling wouldn't cure. I felt it was the best compromise of tire selection and tire profile. I'd definitely prefer they were 15s, but you can't argue with the selection of performance tires.

 

There's also this thread about 15 inch tires that covers some of the good ones that are currently available. I'm running 215 60 16 Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring and really like them, but they are now discontinued. Also like my old Yokohama YK520 but they are also discontinued. Right now if I needed tires I'd look at General Altimax but I like the nice clean looks of the Uniroyal Tiger Paw. There's also a few from Yokohama Falken and Hankook I think that would probably be good, but nothing too exciting about them.

The 15" Tire "What is left that's...

 

Guys, the OP specified a size 275/50/15 and I doubt that General, Uniroyal, Cooper, Yokohama, Falken or any of the other companies mentioned are going to have anything even close to that size.

 

All I saw was 225 60 15 and thought the second one said 235. Guess thats what happens when using the phone and not the laptop.

In that case I don't really know anyone running a tire that wide on the rear of one of these cars except a few guys with mini tubs at the drag strip.

 

If you are going to run a split where you can't rotate your tires anyways I would think you can find a rear drag radial in that size. The handling should be consistent with a radial although the wear is much less. The front may be more difficult.

 

Here's a Vitour Galaxy R1 in size 265/50-15:

VITOUR Galaxy R1 G/T 265/50R15 99H RWL (Quantity of 2) | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for VITOUR Galaxy R1 G/T 265/50R15 99H RWL (Quantity of 2) at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

And a size 275/60-15:

Vitour+Galaxy+R1+275%2F60r15+107v+RWL+%28%29 for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vitour+Galaxy+R1+275%2F60r15+107v+RWL+%28%29 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Neither is exactly what he wants but pretty close.

 

My buddy in high school had the BFG Comp TA in 225 60 15 I think it was on his 70 and they were good tires. I also wouldn't mind if Goodyear still had the Eagle GT +4 that I had back then, those were what were on a lot of the Interceptor Crown Vics.

 

The problem is that a TON of tire technology has been put into the tread. The BFG is a super old tread design. I'd take a modern 500-600 UTQG all season tire over the BFG in the same size, any day. Ideally though, we'd have more 15" tires in the 200-400 UTQG range. It's not A LOT to ask. Or maybe it is.

 

It's a catch 22 situation. Due to the limited size of the market the tire manufacturer would have to charge more per tire to cover the costs. And then the potential buyer will decide to go to larger diameter wheels, eroding the size of the market farther. I will never put 17" or larger wheels on my '65. I grew up with these cars and I refuse to put clown wheels on it.

 

I liked my Vredestein Sportrac 5s. But I do not think they are available any longer. Those were probably the best 15" tire you could get in profiles that work for us when they were around.

 

I get the fact that our vintage Mustangs look better with some sidewall. How many here would spend $250 each for a real performance 15" tire with a short life span? Not many I suspect. Manufacturers are dropping 17" tire sizes at an alarming rate in performance tires in favor of 18". You can't make your own tires...

 

How many here would spend $250 each for a real performance 15" tire with a short life span? Not many I suspect.

One for the price of four 😉 225/60 VR 15 Avon CR6ZZ (longstonetyres.co.uk)

 

At that rate we will need new fenders and quarters . early cars can only really use a 25.5 inch tire.

 

The BRZ is still selling new with a 215/45/17 24.7" tire , so they will be around for a while. 🤷‍♂️ A forum member and friend in the tire business has replied frequently in these threads so I won't ask him to chime in again. To summarize what his will thought out response would be.... You are SOL!

 

I hope 225/50/16 stays around awhile.

I don't mind 17s on Vintage Mustangs. Going to depend on the wheel and the ride height. But it's still a last resort for me personally.