What tire?

[FlyingRN]

Hello everyone! I building a "starter" pro-touring truck, a '71 C-10. Currently has a 350/350 plan on LS swapping in the future. Question I have is I dropped it with a Bell-Tech 4/6 kit (2" spring and 2" spindle in the front, coil springs in the rear), I just got my US Mags 18x9.5 Wheels, does anyone recommend a good size tire to run? I'm actually going to be driving it daily and will use it as a very light duty truck. I was thinking a 275/45 18 or maybe 285/40 18, think they'll fit? What brand and style would you recommend? Thanks!

[Cshenker1121]

A lot of pro touring builds on that size as far as I’ve seen use 275/30-18’s because of the wide selection of tires choices (Rivals, Potenzas etc). But I currently use 275/40-18 on my c10 with 18x9’s and the side wall bulges just a bit. Just enough where it looks good to me.

Depending on where you live (like dry and hot weather or cold and wet) will kind of decide what tire you use.

[FlyingRN]

Thanks! Love to see a picture of your tire/wheel selection. I live in Florida, so a "summer" tire will be the obvious choice for me. I will be taking this on Hot Rod power tour this year (taking my dad), so so sort of ride comfort would be nice.

[Cshenker1121]

Thanks! Love to see a picture of your tire/wheel selection. I live in Florida, so a "summer" tire will be the obvious choice for me. I will be taking this on Hot Rod power tour this year (taking my dad), so so sort of ride comfort would be nice.

189575

I run pilot a/s4’s up front and I run a sticky sumner tire out back.

The original summer tires up front were tearing the paint off of everything under my truck so I switched them out to pilot all seasons. And they are a fantastic tire. I’m half tempted to try a set on the back to see how they hold up. my truck makes 640whp so I kind of have to run something sticky on the back though.

[FlyingRN]

Thanks for the picture! I believe I've seen your build, great engineering! I'm jealous! What suspension are you running? Any issues with rubbing? Do you think you could fit a 285 if you wanted to?

[Dodge383fi]

I’m running the same wheel in back (but black) and a 295/45-18 Nitto NT555 G2. Don’t know how they are yet since my truck’s not running. Don’t pay attention to the front, that’s the other back wheel. The front wheel will be 18 x 8 w/ 255/45-18. Front will also be 1 - 1 1/2 inches lower w/ engine and trans. I didn’t want to go shorter than a 45 series so the options are more limited. Good luck with your truck. Oh, and it’s also a Dodge. ��

189576

[Cshenker1121]

Thanks for the picture! I believe I've seen your build, great engineering! I'm jealous! What suspension are you running? Any issues with rubbing? Do you think you could fit a 285 if you wanted to?

Thank you! It’s been a lot of work. It’s a Hotchkis TVS kit. No rubbing issues. My rear is tubbed because I wanted to eventually have a 17x10 or 17x12 wheel with a drag radial for the strip but I haven’t gotten to do that yet, my rears if I’m not dumping the clutch from a dig actually hook very well.

[Lonnies Performance]

I have good results with a Nitto 555 G2... decent tread wear (300) & reasonable cost. The Mickey Thompson Street Comps are also decent.

You can get a better performing tire such as a Michelin Pilot or even a NT02 Nitto, but at a much higher price & reduced life span.
Not necessary unless you plan on corner carving on a regular basis.

[Cshenker1121]

I have good results with a Nitto 555 G2... decent tread wear (300) & reasonable cost. The Mickey Thompson Street Comps are also decent.

You can get a better performing tire such as a Michelin Pilot or even a NT02 Nitto, but at a much higher price & reduced life span.
Not necessary unless you plan on corner carving on a regular basis.

Were you getting good mileage out of the G2’s? I was hearing the lifespan wasn’t all that great, 10,000-12,000 miles. We have them on a couple turbo street trucks but they don’t do any corner carving.

I would say pilot super sports get 30,000 miles, as long as his truck isn’t at -3* camber and he’s not burning them off at every stop light.

[rchaskin]

See Matt's thread.

https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/119946-Slick-s-got-new-shoes!!!

[FlyingRN]

Sweet truck Dodge383fi Thanks for the info! Good luck with the build.

[FlyingRN]

I have good results with a Nitto 555 G2... decent tread wear (300) & reasonable cost. The Mickey Thompson Street Comps are also decent.

You can get a better performing tire such as a Michelin Pilot or even a NT02 Nitto, but at a much higher price & reduced life span.
Not necessary unless you plan on corner carving on a regular basis.

Thanks for the info!

[FlyingRN]

See Matt's thread.

https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/119946-Slick-s-got-new-shoes!!!

This is exactly what I'm looking for! I tried reaching out to him on http://67-72chevytrucks.com but somethings wrong with their site. Thanks for sending me that link!

[Lonnies Performance]

Were you getting good mileage out of the G2’s? I was hearing the lifespan wasn’t all that great, 10,000-12,000 miles. We have them on a couple turbo street trucks but they don’t do any corner carving.

I would say pilot super sports get 30,000 miles, as long as his truck isn’t at -3* camber and he’s not burning them off at every stop light.

I cannot elaborate on mileage.... I buy performance tires to abuse them.

My recommendations were performance based & a compromise in relation to a 100-200 tread wear Ultra Performance tire that lasts maybe 5,000mi.
I just assumed that anyone lowering a vehicle & putting big tires on was trying to increase performance.

If not, maybe a harder all season tire is more appropriate.
Personally on the terrible PA roads I travel, I barely get over 25,000mi. with a 500+ tread wear tire on my daily driver, including Cooper, Michelin & Continentals.

I never tried the Michelin SS (30,000 mi warranty) but I have also never got near the mileage warranty they claim (usually half) on any tire I buy.... It is nice getting a discount on the next set though.
I basically buy good tires with warranty, get the mileage adjustment & end up paying the same as cheap tires with no warranty.

[Cshenker1121]

I cannot elaborate on mileage.... I buy performance tires to abuse them.

My recommendations were performance based & a compromise in relation to a 100-200 tread wear Ultra Performance tire that lasts maybe 5,000mi.
I just assumed that anyone lowering a vehicle & putting big tires on was trying to increase performance.

If not, maybe a harder all season tire is more appropriate.
Personally on the terrible PA roads I travel, I barely get over 25,000mi. with a 500+ tread wear tire on my daily driver, including Cooper, Michelin & Continentals.

I never tried the Michelin SS (30,000 mi warranty) but I have also never got near the mileage warranty they claim (usually half) on any tire I buy.... It is nice getting a discount on the next set though.
I basically buy good tires with warranty, get the mileage adjustment & end up paying the same as cheap tires with no warranty.

I don’t think a pick up truck with a bell tech drop and a 350 small block is really going to push the limits/ abuse most or any performance tires lol 5000 miles out of a tire on a truck lightly modified like that seems a bit overkill. Might as well get something safe to drive in most weather conditions that still grips well.

Thanks for the input though Lonnie

[Lonnies Performance]

I never recommended a 5,000 mi. tire... that would be a NT05.
I have these on the rear of my S10 & they come with only 7/32" tread & are real close to the wear bars after a little over 1000mi.

I suggested a NT555 which is a 15,000-30,000 +/- tire (depending on your driving habits) that works in all weather conditions except for snow.

Also it doesn't take a lot of HP or a performance car to go around turns.... Any vehicle & a general lack of fear and/or common sense, is a recipe for an exciting cornering experience.

[Cshenker1121]

I never recommended a 5,000 mi. tire... that would be a NT05.
I have these on the rear of my S10 & they come with only 7/32" tread & are real close to the wear bars after a little over 1000mi.

I suggested a NT555 which is a 15,000-30,000 +/- tire (depending on your driving habits) that works in all weather conditions except for snow.

Also it doesn't take a lot of HP or a performance car to go around turns.... Any vehicle & a general lack of fear and/or common sense, is a recipe for an exciting cornering experience.

Oh no I wasn’t asking what you had. I was just trying to give this fella the best all around option in my opinion For a daily driver/spirited driving truck. Although I never personally used any nittos, I’ve see too many mixed reviews on them. I decided to fork out the money for pilots.

And absolutely not, it doesn’t take a lot of horsepower to go around turns, but pushing a performance tire to its limits typically (99% of the time) takes performance and/or horsepower.

[Lonnies Performance]

Honestly liked the Pilots, but at $280 for a NT555 vs $360 for the Michelin (305/30-19), I saved a quite a few $$ for a comparable tread wear rating.
Time will tell how they last.

[Cshenker1121]

Honestly liked the Pilots, but at $280 for a NT555 vs $360 for the Michelin (305/30-19), I saved a quite a few $$ for a comparable tread wear rating.
Time will tell how they last.

At that size, I can see where I’d wanna save the money too.

[68Formula]

Supposedly those things will take a 295 up front with the right offset. It's pretty shallow IIRC.

This might help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLEdSPmbaIk
He mentions the rim width and backspace I think in the video, which you can then use to calculate the offset and compare to yours. You may have to go to a 275 if yours has too much.

[FlyingRN]

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and ideas. So I did the right thing and just picked the biggest stickest tire I could fit in my budget ( IOW, I simply copied exactly what Slick68 did) 😃 285/40 18 Nitto NT 555 G2 😀👍

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[Cshenker1121]

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and ideas. So I did the right thing and just picked the biggest stickest tire I could fit in my budget ( IOW, I simply copied exactly what Slick68 did) [emoji2] 285/40 18 Nitto NT 555 G2 [emoji3][emoji106]

189613189614189615189616

That looks awesome

[FlyingRN]

Thanks! I think so too!

[Dodge383fi]

Looks great. Let us know how they perform.

[FlyingRN]

Sure will! As soon as I get my other 3 wheels! The company I bought them from sent me one wheel with a 5x5 bolt pattern and the rest were 5x4.75..... Really screwed up my weekend plans! :crying: