Army Tires

[My wife said no FJ!]

What do you guys think of those old army tires?

I've seen old FJ ads with these tires on, but admittedly I've never driven on them...what are their pros and cons?

Thanks,
Dean

 

[HOGWILD]

Tube Type, really good in Sand!

 

[JohnnyC]

Cons:
bias ply...wear out fast

bias ply...get flat spots when sitting too long

Army tires usually have great sidewall...which means it takes a beatting...but...it doesnt flex all that well unless aired down ALOT.

Suck wet

Pros:

Usually cheaper than Radials

good on sand, dry pavement, and gravel

Great sidewall strength

Tube tires you can air down ALOT

Repairs on the trail

They look COOL


GREAT write-up:
http://www.garbee.net/~cabell/tirechoices.htm

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

I was going to run the non-directionals on mine.... but did some reading and it seems they work very poorly in wet and snowy conditions on the road; atleast that was my findings

I ended up going with the 32x9.50 TSLs they actually ride great on the highway and are unstopable in the wet and muddy conditions we have here in the south

 

[Cruiser_Nerd]

The bar tread military would probably be my last choice in a tire, for the reasons Johnny listed. They do work good though, Fox has them on his 25. He also had a set of military Michelin XL's for sale which has a better tread and is a radial.

I really love the tire I have, the Michelin XZL, it's a radial, decent tread, a little taller than stock and skinny! . The Michelins are take-offs from the Canadian Iltis and trailers so you should be able to find a set close to home.

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

This is pretty much what I had heard. Now I don't plan on using either Cruiser as a regular daily, so dry black top, and mild off-road won't be too much for them, but I think I will sacrafice the 'look' I am going for, for something a little better suited to today standards.

Besides the Michelins, which do look nice btw, I was looking at some BF MT's, but have not seen any pictures of skinnys...anyone have thin ones? 205 or 225/75/15?

 

[JohnnyC]

there is always the fall back tire:
http://www.coopertire.com/html/products/specs.aspx?page=courser_traction_lt&LanguageId=1

they do have the look

 

[foxfab]

still for sale too

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

To tell the truth, I never had Cooper Tires...how do they rate...or should I not bother due to the limited driving they will be used for?

Also, from the 45 Owners Club, treerootCO mentioned that he had a never used RK3, and I quote "I have a new Dunlop RK3 15" that has never seen the road and has been in a garage it's whole life. Still has the fuzzies on it and is still pliable. We can use it to make a mold it someone knows who to call." merbesfield mentioned Coker Tire......so I sent Coker Tire an e-mail to see what can be done. I like the idea of having the real old look, but over new tech!

I'll post as soon as I here back...or if someone else has info, please post up.

How many owners do you guys think would go for such a repro tire? If not enough, I think I`ll try and find me some Coopers.

Later,
Dean

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

Ya OK, forget new repros!!! I called Coker Tire, and besides the molds and design stuff, they would still need to move several hundred tires, so the guy tells me that we'd be looking at over fifty grand at least

OK, so tell me more about those Cooper Tires http://www.coopertire.com/html/produ...t&LanguageId=1
...anyone here have them? How would you rate them?

Thanks,
Dean

 

[Cruiser_Nerd]

Seems this thread turned to 15" tires................which is OK since that's what I'll be putting on Krusty. Basically it has to be a 700 or 750-15 since I can't have a tire section much over 8".................
So I put this together to see them all side by side. Anyone know of any other real world available tires?


Bias ply:

Military 700-15 NDCC 29.50”OD

Military 7.50-15 NDT 30.4”OD, 700-15 NDT 29.50”OD

Chinese Nanking/Nanco/Whatever 7.00-15 30.0” OD

Mickey Thompson Baja Belted 31x7.50-15 31.0” OD

Mickey Thompson Stonewall 7.50-15 30.0” OD (not DOT)

Yokohama Y720 7.00-15 30.0” ? OD (Available, race tire so not in regular catalog, local dealer is checking availability, he has them in the system at $129)

Co-Op Grip Spur 7.00-15 31.0” OD (Catalog Page 16)(I really like this tire, can’t get it locally though.)

Cooper Courser Traction / Hercules HDT 7.00-15 30.4” OD

TBC – Cordovan (Mullti-Mile) Power King Super Traction (Traxion) 7.00-15 29.7” OD

TBC – Cordovan (Mullti-Mile) Power King Premium Traction 7.00-15 30.2” OD

Radial:

Yokohama Y742S 7R15 29.8” OD

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

Those first Firestone Military 700-15 NDCC 29.50”OD is what I was looking at running on my '64 for that stock look, but after hearing some not so nice things about their wet weather ride, I started thinking about either the Yokohama Y720, BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain, maybe some Goodyear Wrangler GS-A, or finally the Dunlop Radial Rover RVXT...they say they come in narrower selections, but I can't find any photos.

I would prefer the Firestone Military since she won't be a daily, but looks like I may play it safe and run the Yokohama (if I can find them) or the Goodrich...which way you leaning to Jim?

 

[Cruiser_Nerd]

Dean, the radials you listed are all going to be too wide for me (>9") and a little short for what I want. I wanted a radial that I could drive on the street, but something that was pretty aggressive also...................reality is it will be lucky to see 1,000 miles a year. So I'm leaning to the Grip Spur, then the Cooper or the Power King Premium Traction as a compromise.

If I wanted a skinny streetable tire, I would be all over that Yokohama Y742S radial, before they stop making it.

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

I do like the "look" of the Grip Spur, but never heard of CO OP.

I don't like the stud holes on the Yokohama (it is a winter tire...I think), but I love the over all look/value.

I like the look of those military Firestones, but not the wet performace...or lack of.

Seeing as how I put about 5000 miles a year on my daily, I'll be excited if I get to 1000 miles per summer on the '64...so if I can find some skinny, "stock looking" Goodrich, then that may be the best tires for my needs...but I do like those Firestones...really...how bad are they in the rain and snow?

 

[Gold Boy]

thread, my kind of tires....... the yoko's are also extremely hard wearing....

 

[wesintl]

I think at some point I will run the 7x15's ndt on my 64. I do like the cooper course traction too. It looks similar to the dunlop snow cruisers too.

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

OK...so why the NDT's and not the NDCC's?

 

[Cruiser_Nerd]

OK...so why the NDT's and not the NDCC's?

Personal preferance? It did come stock on 25's and non-US 40's. Supposedly the NDCC was developed to be a better all around tire than the NDT. There was also a military directional mud tire, with the same bar tread as the NDT in a chevron pattern, I don't believe anyone is making it now.

 

[foxfab]

NDT's work fine

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

Great answer Jim...did not know that. Thanks!

See, this is why I keep looking into them...they 'look' great! Nice picture Mike!