[decooney]

For me the choice came down to what "felt" safer when pushing the car in turns and letting it fly once in a while with 15" tires on a back road.

In a 427 Cobra, short wheelbase car, with 500+ horsepower, the generic BF/Goodrich TA Radials and other comparable 15" tires seemed a little risky in my book - when pushing the car on the street. My last car had BFGs, with a little less horsepower, and it was right on the edge for the street. Being an ex-Karter, my tendency was to keep looking for something stickier than regular old 15" street radials. So, I opted for the big Goodyears. They pick up rocks a bit, wander a bit and find grooves, but provide me with a little more assurance that the car is not going to come right out from under me in a brisk turn or under heavy acceleration. I built the 2nd car to drive it, not just look at it and polish it, so the extra benefit of having nice looking tires was cool, but NOT the primary reason I use these tires now instead.

However, are they a safer tire overall? Thin Sidewalls? Poor puncture resistance?, probably not safer in this way, at all! In turns, and under acceleration and braking... yes, to me, its better and much more surefooted. The 15" tire search never ends; and it still comes up at least once a month on ClubCobra.