69 Riviera tire options ?

[TJAH]

Hi everybody.

 

After a long thought I finally got myself a -69 Riviera.

It needs new tires. I believe the wheels are 853 15x6, since the car has the factory discs in the front ?

 

I've been looking at the Cooper Cobra 235/70-15 and  Trendsetter WW 235/75-15 tires.

 

http://us.coopertire.com/tires/cobra-radial-g-t.aspx

http://us.coopertire.com/tires/trendsetter-se.aspx

 

Will these fit without any modifications, since I'm trying not to mess with the original condition car ?

Or should I stay with the 225 wide tires ?

 

Teemu

 

 

[url=https://aijaa.com/88o2Af][img]https://img.aijaa.com/m/00878/14628535.jpg[/img][/url]

 

Edited October 22, 2018 by TJAH
added pic link (see edit history)

[Rivdrivn]

Yes, yes they will

[TJAH]

Thank you Rivdrivn.

 

My follow up on the first question is: Is the 235 a better option than the 225, pros/cons ?

Edited October 22, 2018 by TJAH (see edit history)

[RivNut]

With the wider 235,  you might have some tire rub at a full lock turn.  

[jj5794]

Teemu,

 

Suggest considering Hankook Optimo H724 - Size: P225/75R15 white stripe sidewall.

 

Forum members have indicated this to be a good tire at a fair price.

 

Please note that some do not like the embossing on the black portion of the sidewall.

 

Welcome to the forum!  Recommend joining the ROA if you have not already done so.

 

Jim Vesely

 

ROA # 7437
BCA # 39477

 

[NC1968Riviera]

8 hours ago, jj5794 said:

Teemu,

 

Suggest considering Hankook Optimo H724 - Size: P225/75R15 white stripe sidewall.

 

Forum members have indicated this to be a good tire at a fair price.

 

Please note that some do not like the embossing on the black portion of the sidewall.

 

Welcome to the forum!  Recommend joining the ROA if you have not already done so.

 

Jim Vesely

 

ROA # 7437
BCA # 39477

 

I have run the blackwall Hankook's on some of my vehicles. These are great tires in wet conditions. If you don't mind a Korean-made tire, these are a great choice.

[Seafoam65]

Don't buy the Hankooks...... the sidewalls have ugly black ribs beyond the whitewall with letters that say Hankook that are so big you can read them from fifty yards away. Go online and order some Venezia classic 787 whitewall p225-75 -15s. I bought mine online for 47.00 apiece, and they are the smoothest

 driving tires I've ever owned and they have a beautiful sidewall that looks like a 60's tire. They are made in China, and that might be a good thing. On my

enclosed car trailer, I used to have a lot of blowouts on American made trailer tires like Goodyear. I finally switched to Maxxis made in China and haven't had a failure in ten years of using them.

[NC1968Riviera]

35 minutes ago, Seafoam65 said:

Venezia classic 787 whitewall

I currently have these tires on my 68. While the tire ride is excellent, I cannot keep the whitewalls white. The whitewall starts to turn brown within a week of washing and using Black Magic Bleche‑Wite on them. The comments about the Hankook name and ribs is correct, but I still think they are a great tire.

[TJAH]

Thank you Gents for all the suggestions.

 

Ed, I read on an other thread, that you had slight tire rub on the 1st gen Riv.

What was the tire you were using ?

 

Has anyone here tried the 235s on a 2nd gen Riv ?

 

Hankook makes decent summer tires and on a standard vehicle I would not care about the looks because function overrides form.

Anyhow, with the Riviera, I have to admit that I'm not too keen to have the Hankook name highlighted on the side wall.

 

Any experience on the Cooper products ?

 

 

[epriv]

I have 235's on my 1970. These are American Standard from Coker. There are no fitment issues, even with the skirts.

[jframe]

3 hours ago, epriv said:

I have 235's on my 1970. These are American Standard from Coker. There are no fitment issues, even with the skirts.

Is it American Standard, or American CLASSIC? Planning on going with an American Classic in 225/75-15 on my 65. Seems to have somewhat the correct whitewall width that the original tri white stripe would have had when it was new.

[RivNut]

6 hours ago, TJAH said:

Thank you Gents for all the suggestions.

 

Ed, I read on an other thread, that you had slight tire rub on the 1st gen Riv.

What was the tire you were using ?

 

Has anyone here tried the 235s on a 2nd gen Riv ?

 

Hankook makes decent summer tires and on a standard vehicle I would not care about the looks because function overrides form.

Anyhow, with the Riviera, I have to admit that I'm not too keen to have the Hankook name highlighted on the side wall.

 

Any experience on the Cooper products ?

 

 

I experienced tire rub with the 235/70 series tires.  But only at full lock.  I never experienced it while driving unless it was to pull into a parallel parking spot.  And then it only rubs on the head of a chassis rivet.  I've purchased Hankook tires for the last three vehicles on which I had to replace tires.  I don't remembet them having the name highlighted on the side any more than on any other tire.  The widith of the sidewall is the down factor with most current tires.  For a 1st generation RIviera, a 1-1/4" white side wall is about right.  I think that some out there are 1.3" which is really close.  But personally I'm staying away from Coker tires because you can't tell how old they are when you get them.

 

Nothing on Cooper for me currently.  Back in the late 60's my dad put a set on my '63 Dodge ex-state trooper Dodge.  They were good at 120 mph + (don''t know the + side: the speedometer only went to 120,) and the car would do that in 2nd gear of the Torqueflite transmisson.  Yes, I'm still alive to talk about it but only by the grace of God.  383 cubic inches, 335 (advertised) hp and a 2.79 rear axle.  It would rev to 6K rpm.

[epriv]

American CLASSIC, sorry. American STANDARD make toilets. (literally)

[Rivman]

On ‎10‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 5:10 AM, TJAH said:

Thank you Gents for all the suggestions.

 

Ed, I read on an other thread, that you had slight tire rub on the 1st gen Riv.

What was the tire you were using ?

 

Has anyone here tried the 235s on a 2nd gen Riv ?

 

Hankook makes decent summer tires and on a standard vehicle I would not care about the looks because function overrides form.

Anyhow, with the Riviera, I have to admit that I'm not too keen to have the Hankook name highlighted on the side wall.

 

Any experience on the Cooper products ?

 

 

 

I have Cooper's on my '93, one of my '99s, and on my GMC truck.

 

They are a good riding tire, and have exceeded the mileage rating on the truck, I may never wear them out on the Rivs.

 

One draw back I have heard about is that the whitewall does not stay white. The ones on the '93 will clean-up pretty good, but the outlined white letters on the tires on the truck have cracked some, so they aren't in the best shape. Ride a durability are good, but I have had others say that the WW gets dingy fairly quick.

[Rivdrivn]

I’ve been running BFG 235/70s for many years without much rubbing. 

[Barney Eaton]

Pre-1964	1965-72	80 series metric	Alpha Numeric 78 series	P-Metric 75 series Radial	P-Metric 70 series Radial
5.90-13	600-13	165-13	A78-13	P165/75R13	P175/70R13
6.40-13	650-13	175-13	B78-13	P175/75R13	P185/70R13
7.25-13	700-13	185-13	D78-13	P185/75R13	P205/70R13
5.90-14	645-14	155-14	B78-14	P175/75R14	P185/70R14
6.50-14	695-14	175-14	C78-14	P185/75R14	P195/70R14
7.00-14	735-14	185-14	E78-14	P195/75R14	P205/70R14
7.50-14	775-14	195-14	F78-14	P205/75R14	P215/70R14
8.00-14	825-14	205-14	G78-14	P215/75R14	P225/70R14
8.50-14	855-14	215-14	H78-14	P225/75R14	P235/70R14
5.90-15	600-15	165-15	A78-15	P165/75R15	P175/70R15
6.50-15	685-15	175-15	C78-15	P175/75R15	P185/70R15
6.40-15	735-15	185-15	E78-15	P195/75R15	P205/70R15
6.70-15	775-15	195-15	F78-15	P205/75R15	P215/70R15
7.10-15	825-15	205-15	G78-15	P215/75R15	P225/70R15
7.60-15	855-15	215-15	H78-15	P225/75R15	P235/70R15
8.00-15	885-15	230-15	J78-15	P225/75R15	P235/70R15
8.20-15	900-15	235-15	L78-15	P235/75R15	P255/70R15

Sponsored Links:

Then you can take information like 225/75r15 and 235/70r15 and go to www.powerdog.com   you can then add other sizes for comparison

This chart is from TIRERACK and give you a place to start.   Buick books say they came with 8.55 x 15 when new.

 

Tire Size Conversion Chart

Shop by Size

1949 to 1964	1965 to 1970	1970 to 1980	1960 to Present	1980 to Present
NUMERIC		ALPHA NUMERIC*	EURO-METRIC	P-METRIC	EURO-METRIC or P-METRIC
"90-" to "80"-series		78- to 50-series	"82"-series	80-, 75-series	70-series	65-series	60-series	50-series
5.20-10			145R10		165/70R10
5.20-12			145R12	P145/80R12	165/70R12
5.60-12	6.00-12		155R12	P155/80R12
						165/65R13
			145R13
			155R13	P155/80R13	175/70R13		195/60R13	215/50R13
5.60-13	6.00-13	A	165R13	P165/80R13	185/70R13		205/60R13
	6.50-13	B	175R13	P175/80R13
		C		P185/80R13
	7.00-13	D	185R13
			195R13
5.60-14	6.00-14		145R14			175/65R14
6.00-14	6.45-14		155R14		175/70R14	185/65R14
		B	165R14	P175/75R14	185/70R14	195/65R14	205/60R14
6.50-14	6.95-14	C	175R14	P185/75R14	195/70R14		215/60R14
		D
7.00-14	7.35-14	E	185R14	P195/75R14	205/70R14		225/60R14	245/50R14
7.50-14	7.75-14	F	195R14	P205/75R14	215/70R14		235/60R14
8.00-14	8.25-14	G	205R14	P215/75R14	225/70R14		245/60R14	265/50R14
8.50-14	8.55-14	H	215R14	P225/75R14
9.00-14		J	225R14
9.50-14		L
	5.60-15	A	155R15	P155/80R15		185/65R15	195/60R15
6.00-15		B	165R15	P165/80R15	185/70R15	195/65R15	205/60R15	225/50R15
6.50-15	6.85-15	C	175R15		195/70R15	205/65R15	215/60R15
		D
	7.35-15	E	185R15	P195/75R15	205/70R15	215/65R15	225/60R15
6.70-15	7.75-15	F	195R15	P205/75R15	215/70R15		235/60R15
	8.15-15
7.10-15		G	205R15	P215/75R15	225/70R15	235/65R15	245/60R15	265/50R15
	8.25-15
	8.45-15
7.60-15		H	215R15	P225/75R15	235/70R15		255/60R15	275/50R15
	8.55-15
8.00-15	8.85-15	J	225R15	P225/75R15	235/70R15		265/60R15
8.20-15	9.00-15	K
	9.15-15	L	235R15	P235/75R15	255/70R15		275/60R15	295/50R15
		N
* When replacing Alpha Numeric tires with Euro-metric or P-metric tires, look for the Euro-metric or P-metric size listed in the equivalent aspect ratio. For example, when replacing a FR78-14, you would look up the appropriate 75-series size, the 205/75R14. If replacing a FR70-14, you would look up the appropriate 70-series size, the 215/70R14. If replacing a FR60-14, you would look up the appropriate 60-series size, the 235/60R14.

• Listing in chart does not imply complete interchangeability.
• When changing tire sizes, dimensional clearances must be checked.

[TJAH]

As it so often happens, I went with something else than what I had in mind and what was suggested. 

 

The local PepBoys had the BF Goodrich 235/70-15s on sale and available for $100/tire.

They don't rub at all, at least not at parking lot speed.

The speedometer is showing 5%  fast compared to the GPS.

 

A little worrying is, that they tried to lift the car from the body before I could interrupt them

The next guy knew how to lift the car correctly.

 

Edited November 2, 2018 by TJAH
added speedometer info (see edit history)

[NC1968Riviera]

8 hours ago, TJAH said:

As it so often happens, I went with something else than what I had in mind and what was suggested. 

 

The local PepBoys had the BF Goodrich 235/70-15s on sale and available for $100/tire.

They don't rub at all, at least not at parking lot speed.

The speedometer is showing 5%  fast compared to the GPS.

 

A little worrying is, that they tried to lift the car from the body before I could interrupt them

The next guy knew how to lift the car correctly.

That's a great price for BFG's! Great looking Riv. Hopefully the shop did not do any damage to your car.

[RoadShark]

Mine's definitely not a show car, at least for now, so I put 235/75/15 extra load Firestone Destinations on.  No clearance problems and helps with the road conditions here.

 

 

[NC1968Riviera]

I have opted to put Diamondback Auburn Premium Cadillac-style triple stripe whitewalls in 235/75-15 on my 68.

Picture of the tire from the DB website.

I ordered 4 tires today for about ~$1200 shipped. They say it's a two week turn around for my order.

Edited November 2, 2018 by NC68Riviera (see edit history)

[NC1968Riviera]

The 1969 Buick Prestige car brochure shows the new Riviera's with both a triple stripe whitewall tires and a smaller single strip whitewall tires. See screen captures below. Click on pictures to see larger versions.

The 1968 Riviera brochure also showed that years Riviera's with triple stripe whitewalls.

Edited November 2, 2018 by NC68Riviera (see edit history)

[Pat Curran]

30 minutes ago, NC68Riviera said:

The 1969 Buick Prestige car brochure shows the new Riviera's with both a triple stripe whitewall tires and a smaller single strip whitewall tires. See screen captures below. Click on pictures to see larger versions.

The 1968 Riviera brochure also showed that years Riviera's with triple stripe whitewalls.

Note the 1968 tail light bezels on the 1969 above.  It has been said that some early 1969's had these but I'm not sure how many came off the line this way.