B.F. Goodrich Radial TA's problems

[BAsque1]

I think this topic has been addressed before, but there are many schools of thought.

Someone actually said " that they will not be accessory to murder" by selling a Cobra with BFG tires.

What is so bad bout these tires (please address the issue, don't bash my question) I am not a tire expert, however, have enough experience to say that I have never had any problems with BFG tires.

I have Cooper Cobras GT on my car now and I am looking to change to BFG or MTs. Any thoughts?
Tks
Basque 1 (Lou)

[madmaxx]

I have them and love them, I love burn outs. I don't track the car and rarely go above 130

[sspano01]

i can tell you this, i had the Cooper Cobra's on my cobra for a little over 1 year. I started doing HPDE/track events with it and ran the Coopers for a few events. They held up nice (I wasnt cornering all that fast though), some timer squeal. I did some 1/8 mile drag racing with them (just test and tune for fun) and they launched nicely. I actually broke the rear diff carrier earlier this summer - guess too many hard launches!

My friend has a 72 supercharged corvette with the T/A's and he cannot hook up at all. They just spin - which is fun if you like smoke - and who doesn't?

Now....if you want to treat yourself....call roger kraus racing and order the 15 inch AVON's. I put the Avon's on my Cobra in July and went back to Watkins Glen. Amazing difference!!! No squeal and all-stick - handled very well. I also did many updates to my car to improve track performance.

I am now the limiting factor for my Cobra's performance - so I am done with upgrades for a bit

I would say
#1) Avons for 15 inch
#2) Cooper Cobra
#10) Radial T/A

I am sure people can provide better options for #2 through #10. I know a guy running 17 inch Toyo's on his 302 cobra and he claims they work well.

I put 17 inch Pirelli's on my 66 Mustang and they are suprisingly sticky and seem to handle well for just some off-the-shelf tire rack items.

[ERA 778]

I'm running the BFG Drag Radials all around. They are another choice in 15 inch. They're just what we used to call "cheater slicks". I NEVER drive it in the rain; I think the tread pattern is actually drawn on the slick with a MagicMarker! They hook up pretty well, but I haven't taken the car to the track yet.

Biggest issue with the BFG T/As is that they're just not high performance tires at all. They're intended to be an all season plain vanilla tire with reasonable tread life. So, they just don't provide adequate traction or handling on a car like the Cobra.

[DanEC]

The main thing that sticks in my mind is that I ran BFG Radial T/A's in the mid-70s on a Trans Am I had at the time. That's almost 37 years ago. I would hope there have been a few updates in that time but I'm not sure of it. Great tire 37 years ago - not so sure about today.

[LoBelly]

Basically the T/A's are Hard Tyres made for heavy cars - making them particularly unsuitable for a Cobra.

That's the short version.

For the long version you need to read up on the UTQG and tyre specs - which is really boring but handy once you get a bit of a grip on it.
>you'll need to read a lot not just the wikipedia entry

LoBelly

[vatdevil]

What's your intended use for the car?

[Silverback51]

The T/A's, like the Goodyear GT II's give very little warning as you approach the limit, and once you exceed it, it's over the river and through the woods backwards.

To me if you enjoy pushing the car in corners, they are dangerous.

[MaSnaka]

I had some older TA's on my car and they slipped and slided with little effort. No sqeal though. I had a couple pucker moments when the rear end came around on me early morning and at night, probably when the street was cold and the rubber was hard. That experience plus what I have heard others say convinced me to upgrade. I tried the Goodyear Billboards and didn't like them at all, then went to the MT ET Radials and like them very much. I have heard the Avons are very good but very pricey.

John

[samadhi]

I can't comment on the BFG's but the cooper and the MT's are the same tire, Cooper makes both.

[Sailfish]

I've had T/A's on my Superformance for 5 years and almost 17,000 miles. They're quite hard, so they're not well suited for track conditions or spirited driving, but they wear well and are inexpensive. I run them with 18 - 20 PSI, which seems to provide a fairly soft ride while providing a fair amount of grip. Note: They tend to perform better in hotter weather. Overall, I'm happy with them.

[Dwight]

I had two set of T/A on a S10 Truck and a 67 Mustang. Bad tires. To hard and in the rain they are dangerous.

I have BFG G-Force tires on my 06 Mustang and my Cobra. Best rain tire I've had in a long time.

Dwight

[Barnsnake]

The T/As on a light car like a Cobra are the equivalent of hard plastic. The good news is they wear well. They'll decompose before they wear out.

[Jaydee]

I had them years ago, and I find they tram track. The side wall to tread edge is to sharp. So when you drive on a road which have some deep worn ruts in them, the car suddenly twitches side to side. And they let go suddenly in the rain. Sworn of them since.
JD

[Mark IV]

Once more I postulate, why put cheap, crappy tires (tyres) on a high-horsepower, lightweight car? Will the money saved pay for the repairs and hospital? Spend $1000 on a the newest, best'est carb for 20 extra scoots, but put 1970s tires on the wheels 'cause the white letters look good!

Coopers are OK, as are the Mickey Thompson S/Ts, the MT S/Rs are better according to some and not so according to others but the Avons get uniform high marks. Cheap? No, but what is your butt worth?

Keep in mind the Goodyear Billboards are a non-radial design and not DOT legal. So what? Do you think your insurance company if they discover that, MIGHT use that as reason to deny the claim? No, an insurance company would NEVER do that!

[sspano01]

avon's were not cheap! and they may only last 4k-5k miles
they were a little swishy, but after 20 laps around watkins, they broke in nicely.

only concern with them I have now is - do they squeal? and when they do - how much do I have left before I slide?

i'll find out more at Pocono and Mosport this month :O

[Dirty Harry]

Just this summer, I changed from T/A's to Mickey's and the MT's seem to have a lot more grip. The T/A's had 12,000 miles on them and still looked new. The rubber compound must really be hard. When I autocross the car, it is sliding virtually the whole time. Fun, but not so great on a timing slip.

[rpatton3]

Who makes the best street 17" Cobra tire? I have the original Goodyears on my Backdraft, but the are supplied with Nitto tires now.

Thanks,

Russell

[mdross1]

Funny how time passes us by.When the T/A's first hit the market they were the cats meow speaking of muscle cars that did not corner well at all.They looked good,made plenty of smoke and wore as good as most tires of the times.My car is shod with a set and know all to well what the limits are.Given my age and needs for the thrill factor will wear these tires out before spending more money on stickier rubber.Besides that even with the 5 point harness pulled tight these tires have enough grip to make hard driving exciting and staying in the seat very difficult in the long left hand sweepers.

[Donunder]

Originally Posted by sspano01

Now....if you want to treat yourself....call roger kraus racing and order the 15 inch AVON's. I put the Avon's on my Cobra in July and went back to Watkins Glen. Amazing difference!!! No squeal and all-stick - handled very well. I also did many updates to my car to improve track performance.

Did you go for the CR6ZZ Avons or the CR500s?

The reason I ask is that while the CR6ZZs have that lovely old-school tread pattern, the CR500s might look the business but they are available only in 245/40 and 195/45 in the 15s which seems on the small side.