BFG T/A or Cooper Cobra?

[A1971Blazer]

I should get my wheels back from powder coat this week and I'm trying to decide on a tire combination..and brand. for my '67 C10

Going with about a 3/5 front/rear drop and thinking of running a 295/50R15 rear and a 235/60R15 front tire....

Debating between Cooper and BFG....?
Thoughts and/or experiences....thanks!

[Warrens69GMC]

Cooper tends to last a bit longer for me.

[Joyridin]

Did you look at Mickey Thompson tires? I believe Cooper owns the and they seem to be a bit nicer.

[Grumpy old man]

Why the short tires ? What size wheels are you using ? Are you going with white letters out or black wall?

[A1971Blazer]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

Why the short tires ? What size wheels are you using ? Are you going with white letters out or black wall?

Dang Grumpy that's a lot of questions for a Monday morning....
.....I want the width of the 295....and they are 26½" tall
.....Wheels are 15 x 8½....keeping 6 lug
.....and I'm up in the air with the white letters...I thought about 1 side in...other side out....? seriously, undecided...

[72SB]

The BFG's TA RWL (raised white letter) tires of late (last few years) have had issues with the white letters yellowing. They clean up with cleanser and a brush...but will start to yellow again. Have them on my 67 Camaro

I have BFG BSW on the C10

[Palf70Step]

I prefer the Coopers over BFG

[Grumpy old man]

I spent some amount of time before buying what I ended up with this tire /wheel combo, This is what I found . I couldn't find any 29" tires in 60's width , after dropping the truck 3.5/5 down I wanted side wall to help with suspension and fill the wheel wells , My upper rear well measures right at 28" empty . I did not want to have to play games with the speedometer reading right . I did not want to increase rpm's just to run wider tires, Running a 4 speed Muncie also was a consideration , I wanted old school 15" wheels 6 lug and I'm a chrome guy and who doesn't love old school rallye wheels? I didn't want to be constantly polishing aluminum wheels . Even tho I like slots I sold 2 sets on the board to avoid that , I'm running BF Goodrich T/A's 255x70x15's all the way around white letters out because I think it's old school cool , I bought a spare to take along on longer trips and I wanted it to fit any corner , So no staggered tires , I've had the Cooper Cobras before and they're good tires but I think they are a harder compound . I was looking for driveabilty over "the look" . I plan on DRIVING the truck for many years . I've spent years building this truck the way I wanted it and Not trying to follow the herd , But that leads to major project creep .

After it was all said and done I have about $2,000.00 in them for 5 mounted balanced with center caps . Tires are expensive and I wanted to be able to rotate them .

This tire calculator link gives you an idea of the differences .

https://tiresize.com/comparison/

[CAMAROBOY68SS]

Originally Posted by 72SB

The BFG's TA RWL (raised white letter) tires of late (last few years) have had issues with the white letters yellowing. They clean up with cleanser and a brush...but will start to yellow again. Have them on my 67 Camaro

I have BFG BSW on the C10

yep can confirm, BFG white letters yellow almost right after you take the blue off. Another problem Ive had is that they are much hard to get white again like older sets. I have a set of rollers that way old but I was able to get the bright again. The pair that are a year old, they are yellowed for good.

[Grumpy old man]

Westley's Bleche White . Now called Black magic bleche wite used with a soft bristle brush will keep your white letters and white walls brite white . I'm sure they changed the name because everyone's running black walled tires today .

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Black-Mag...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[A1971Blazer]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

I spent some amount of time before buying what I ended up with this tire /wheel combo, This is what I found . I couldn't find any 29" tires in 60's width , after dropping the truck 3.5/5 down I wanted side wall to help with suspension and fill the wheel wells , My upper rear well measures right at 28" empty . I did not want to have to play games with the speedometer reading right . I did not want to increase rpm's just to run wider tires, Running a 4 speed Muncie also was a consideration , I wanted old school 15" wheels 6 lug and I'm a chrome guy and who doesn't love old school rallye wheels? I didn't want to be constantly polishing aluminum wheels . Even tho I like slots I sold 2 sets on the board to avoid that , I'm running BF Goodrich T/A's 255x70x15's all the way around white letters out because I think it's old school cool , I bought a spare to take along on longer trips and I wanted it to fit any corner , So no staggered tires , I've had the Cooper Cobras before and they're good tires but I think they are a harder compound . I was looking for driveabilty over "the look" . I plan on DRIVING the truck for many years . I've spent years building this truck the way I wanted it and Not trying to follow the herd , But that leads to major project creep .

After it was all said and done I have about $2,000.00 in them for 5 mounted balanced with center caps . Tires are expensive and I wanted to be able to rotate them .

This tire calculator link gives you an idea of the differences .

https://tiresize.com/comparison/

Yes sir....I've seen your truck up close and personal a couple of times...the look is outstanding...
I will have the 5.7 LS1/4L60e combo with 3.73 gear...the 4L60 has a 3.06 low gear and with the 3.73 and my heavy foot....I think it gonna want to have a tendancy to have some...let's say...."tire slippage"...
That's why I was leaning toward the 295/50...it's almost 12" wide
I will have aluminum rims but they are getting powder coated to avoid the polishing dilemma...
BTW...here's the cab I got from you.....the one of the roof is the most accurate of the true color

[kwmech]

Years ago when i was selling tires I'd say go with the Coopers, but now I think their quality has gone down in the past 20 years. I ran them on everything I owned and never had any issues with them

[71meangreenc10]

I would go BFG's where I am at now. I have been a Cooper buyer for a while, the last couple of sets average about three years here before the sidewalls start cracking really bad. I have two Cooper tires now that are leaking out of the sidewall (now flat) and the tread looks great. If you can keep them in a garage and out of the UV contact most of the time then the Coopers may work. I have over a bakers dozen worth of trucks and just cannot keep them all inside. Unless it has changed, the 275-60-15 Coopers were made in Mexico(according to Tire Rack SPECS). I would have thought the sidewalls would have been tougher, just hasn't been the case for me. I have done both, cleaned and used tire protection then just washed and still get about the same results.

Up there in TN you may be ok with the Coopers. I spent a lot of time in the Volunteer State during my journeys with the 101st....

Smitty

[71meangreenc10]

Originally Posted by kwmech

Years ago when i was selling tires I'd say go with the Coopers, but now I think their quality has gone down in the past 20 years. I ran them on everything I owned and never had any issues with them

This is what I have experienced in the last couple of sets.....The down hill part...

Smitty

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by A1971Blazer

Yes sir....I've seen your truck up close and personal a couple of times...the look is outstanding...
I will have the 5.7 LS1/4L60e combo with 3.73 gear...the 4L60 has a 3.06 low gear and with the 3.73 and my heavy foot....I think it gonna want to have a tendancy to have some...let's say...."tire slippage"...
That's why I was leaning toward the 295/50...it's almost 12" wide
I will have aluminum rims but they are getting powder coated to avoid the polishing dilemma...
BTW...here's the cab I got from you.....the one of the roof is the most accurate of the true color
Attachment 2241193

Attachment 2241194

Attachment 2241195

Attachment 2241196

It looks GOOD , But I'm thinking it would look a whole lot better still sitting under a pile of parts in the corner of my garage where it sat for years .

[A1971Blazer]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

It looks GOOD , But I'm thinking it would look a whole lot better still sitting under a pile of parts in the corner of my garage where it sat for years .

that made me .....worst part was digging it out huh?
just look at it this way....it gave you room to pile more stuff...
Did you sell off any more of your excess yet?

[Grumpy old man]

Here are a couple pictures of when I found it and when I started stipping the paint off , I'm glad she's going back on the road . With the rear window decals , CHEVROLET RACING AND KILL ALL TIRES !

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by A1971Blazer

that made me .....worst part was digging it out huh?
just look at it this way....it gave you room to pile more stuff...
Did you sell off any more of your excess yet?

Yeah great , more room to pile stuff up , it's already full of seats and parts I need for a "special 67" I have stashed away for years in an old barn , The 67 long bed and short bed parts trucks I have here are going to the farm , They are too good to scrap out given the parts value they still have and titled matching cabs and frames are getting harder to find .

[A1971Blazer]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

Yeah great , more room to pile stuff up , it's already full of seats and parts I need for a "special 67" I have stashed away for years in an old barn , The 67 long bed and short bed parts trucks I have here are going to the farm , They are too good to scrap out given the parts value they still have and titled matching cabs and frames are getting harder to find .

If you need some help....give me a shout my friend....

[truckster]

I've never been disappointed with BF Goodrich. I've tried all kinds of tires, including very expensive Pirellis, but I come back to BFG. The Pirellis would stick to a wall if you wanted to drive up one, but they didn't last worth squat. My Michelins last forever, but I don't like the ride as well. The last set of Coopers I had was several years ago, so I can't say anything about current quality.

[CG]

If you are a white letters out guy I would go with BFG. To me the lettering on them is better than the Coopers. Maybe get a white lettering stick if they tend to yellow these days. As far as which is better if I was going black walls Id get the ones with the best warranty and make sure you keep all the paper work and dont lose it like I always manage to do.

[pjmoreland]

Here are the prices at the local tire store here:

295/50R15:
BFG = $225 ea
Cooper = $210 ea

235/60R15:
BFG = $181 ea
Cooper = $162 ea

4 BFGs = $812
4 Coopers = $744

The BFGs cost 9% more than the Coopers. While that isn't a big difference, it was enough to get me to go with the Coopers. The Coopers have a 40,000mi warranty. I don't see a warranty listed on the BFGs.

I had several sets of Radial T/As a bunch of years ago, and I burned through the rear tires quite quickly, but I can't blame the tires for that. I like how both brands of tire look in terms of the profile of the tread at the shoulder of the tire, and I think they look quite similar to each other.

[HO455]

I've run 275-60-15's for the last 15 or more years on my daily drivers. Cooper last about 8 to 10k miles longer but have poor wet weather traction. The BF Goodrich's have better traction wet and dry but with lower mileage.

I was impressed with the Les Schwab store brand as they wore like the Coopers and had the traction of the BFG's. Unfortunately the customer service at Les Schwabs became so terrible after Les died I gave up on them.

So living in Portland Oregon I opt for the wet traction advantage of the BFG's.

[70cst]

This