Five year old article on the "15 inch tire problem"

autoxcuda said

So you are looking for a specific size.

225/60/15 or 235/60/60 correct ?

They used to make V-rated stuff in those sizes, specifically 225/60/15 for 80’s and early 90’s Police and Highway Patrol car fleets. Diplomat, Mustang, Crown Vic, and Impala’s cop car of that era all used that size.

that’s a lot of fleets, lots of miles, lots of tires.

Now those are hobby cars.

Stock late 80’s Mustang 5.0 and Full size Jag’s come to mind as using 225/60/15. The first tires I bought for my 68 Barracuda with 15x7 cop rims was a used set of Yokohama AVS off a 4-door Jaguar

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Personally? Yes. I am looking for 225-235/60/15 but any non-drag radial with 15” diameter and any kind of performance intentions is very interesting.

In reality, I would love to buy them if they come along. I’ll always hold onto a set of 15 inch wheels for my Dart but I’ve given up and ordered some 17” Torq Thrust wheels that are supposedly on the slow boat from China. Fronts are 17x8 +25, rears are 17x8 +8mm.

Obviously the 8” width isn’t going to allow for maxing out the tire size but they’re cheap, relatively light, replaceable if one gets bent, and I have an idea to make them fit the aesthetic of my car. I think they’ll work out well.

Once I get those in hand, I will probably be ordering Toyo Proxes R1R 245/45/17 front and 275/40/17 rear? Maybe 255s. I’m never going to be crazy about running 17 inch wheels but having a 200 treadwear tire is something that I’ve dreamed about for years.

Anyway, those 15” V rated tires you mentioned would be superb compared to what is out there now. So strange that they’re all gone. Does it mean we’re getting old when all of those cars dont seem all that old?