15” limited choices: Cooper Cobra vs Mastercraft Avenger vs BFG Radial T/A vs ?

Which currently available 15” Non-drag radials would you buy?

  • BF Goodrich Radial T/A

    Votes: 27 29.3%
  • Mastercraft Avenger GT

    Votes: 6 6.5%
  • Cooper Cobra

    Votes: 46 50.0%
  • Other (state in a post)

    Votes: 7 7.6%
  • Drive around on four drag radials

    Votes: 4 4.3%
  • walk instead

    Votes: 2 2.2%

  • Total voters
    92
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MRGTX

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Does anyone have experience comparing these tires? Which is the best of the bunch...or the least terrible of the bunch?

The problem that I’m finding is the lack of tire choices and worse still, a tire that’s available in 225-235/60/15 and 255-275/60/15. I would go with skinnier tires all around if it meant that I could find an actual summer compound tire. Still committed to 15” wheels, still need the rears to be 26” or so.

Any advice would be welcome.
 
I've always had good luck with cooper cobras. Not that the others aren't any good or anything.
 
I came across some hankook kinergy tires on ebay. They are available in 275 60 15 size. I have heard good remarks about this brand. May be another option to consider. 225 65 15 is also available for the fronts.
 
I came across some hankook kinergy tires on ebay. They are available in 275 60 15 size. I have heard good remarks about this brand. May be another option to consider. 225 65 15 is also available for the fronts.

Good call there. This was one of the models suggested by my local tire dealer but it looks like something you might find on a Prius. Has anyone tried out these Kinergy ST?
 
Why so wide on the fronts? What vehicle and what wheels are you running on it?
 
this is for a Dart Sport...
Are 225s wide?
I want as much rubber as possible on each wheel.
They are to me, well at least in the front, anyway. Probably a little too much "all about the go, not about the whoa" mentality on my part. :lol:
 
I have 215 65 15 on my fronts and are not so wide. 26" diameter. Car is a dodge dart sport. 15x6 and 4" backspace rallys.
 
this is for a Dart Sport...
Are 225s wide?
I want as much rubber as possible on each wheel.
Nah, I have 235-60 14's on the front and 245-60 14's on the rear of my 69 cuda. All four wheels are 14x7 Indy slots
 
this is for a Dart Sport...
Are 225s wide?
I want as much rubber as possible on each wheel.

225's are definitely NOT wide. Maybe compared to stock, but not by any modern standard.

When I put tires on the 15x7" cop wheels I had on my Duster for a bit I was able to run 225/60/15's in a Falken Ziex, which were decent. But it looks like even in the few years since I bought those the selection has gotten even worse for 15's.

Out of all of them I like the Cooper Cobra's the best. They all have the same traction rating (A), but the Hankook Kinergy have a temp rating of A while all the other are "B", which means the tire temperatures are capable of 115+ mph. The B rating means 100-115 is all you get before tire temperatures climb outside of best performance temps. The Kinergy have a MUCH higher treadware rating though at 680. That number is a manufacturer supplied number though. The Coopers are a 440 and the T/A's are allegedly a 400, but after a couple years the T/A's are hockey pucks so I wouldn't trust the 400 number much. The T/A's also have a lower speed rating at "S", the Cooper's and Kintergy's are both "T" rated.

You can also get a Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/T a 235/60/15 and either a 255/60/15 or 275/60/15. But it has similar numbers, 440 treadwear, "A" traction and "B" temp ratings.

You can look up the definitions of all the traction, temp and treadwear ratings here too https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=48

I usually go by The highest speed rating first, wear second. I like to be 300 or lower for wear.

Which you can't get in a DOT legal, street going, non-drag radial or tire for a 15" rim anymore. Which is one of the reasons I stopped running 15" rims on the street.
 
Cobras are good. BFG figured out they are one of the last players in these tire sizes and near doubled their prices.
 
I have experience with both, since 2000
On the back;
Early on, I ran some generic 245s in the back, that was just ignorance on my part, I had no idea I was building a 400hp 367. Those went bald PDQ, and next I tried 275/50-15 BFGs, then 275/60-15BFGs , then finally I moved the springs and installed 295/50-15 Cobras. When those went bald, back to the BFGS.
So now, I think the Cobras has slightly better traction in the first summer. During the second they were about same. But by the third summer the BFGs were so hard as to be skateboards, also called "hockey-pucks"; And the Cobras were bald. I ran the BFGs out cuz they were predictable, and sliding was becoming a way of life, and I grew accustomed to it, and liked it. After that, I got more BFGs and then my Tire Shop, seeing how I was killing tires, had brought in another set (I love those guys) in anticipation of my coming around,lol. But I fooled them. I got older, and wasn't cooking them all the time. So the TireShop offered them to me, just to reduce their inventory. Made me a heckuva deal, so I brought them home and they are still in storage, lo these many years later.lol.
IMO, the Coopers look slightly better, and ,size for size,might be slightly better in the second summer;as compared to BFGs. But the Coopers are bald in less than half the time.

As for the 235/60-14 fronts, again the Coopers win for looks and second-summer traction; but the BFGs outlast them ~2:1, but are skating towards the end of the second summer. Which I also found to be fun. I just adjusted my driving style and picked my corners more carefully, often running recon laps.
 
225's are definitely NOT wide. Maybe compared to stock, but not by any modern standard.

I didn’t think so either. I only went that skinny because I made the best out of the wheel I wanted rather than approaching this from a more rational perspective.

FWIW I have 285s on the front of the daily driver and those aren’t even as much as I would prefer.

I had a funny (to me) conversation with the guy at Town Fair Tire (a chain in New England) today. I asked if they carried Avon tires. He proptly said yes, they can get any tire.

I said “great! I would like to order a set of Avon CR6ZZ.” Pause...pause...pause...“we can’t get those.” Lol yeah, of course not.
 
The coopers in that same size is what I'm going with. I'm gonna run 225 -14 on the front tho. Just because I only have 2 15 inch rims
 
I've been a cooper user for years but...

The last pair I bought were terrible to balance.
4oz on a rim that only took .75 with the previous cooper.

The other one took 2.5 on a rim that only needed .25 before.

Coopers and the Avengers have better numbers than the Coker made BFG.

If you don't need RWL, there are dozens if not hundreds more choices.

Hankook has good tires in RWL even.
Kumo has good tires and used to have odd sizes.

Nitto has good performance tires and drag radials, both well respected.
 
I bought Coopers for my 66 and BFG's for my Swinger. 255/60-15 BFG's had discoloring raised white letter issues for a long time. I would hope they got that fixed. Buy your tires from a local dealer in case you need an adjustment. I bought mine from Summit and were told by local dealers to "take them back to where you bought them" when I had a issue.
 
I've mentioned it once I'll mention it again. Make sure that the dot on the tire lines up with the valve stem on the wheel. I learned this while working for Harley many moons ago where a balanced tire is critical. I took the four wheels that I had powder coated and my brand new tires to a "tire and oil change specialist" and had to have them break the bead and spin the tire to line up the dot and valve stem just as they were getting ready to balance the tire. Fact check me.
 
I've always liked the BFG Radial T/As.
I've had good luck with them for years, however, I don't use tires in general to their full potential anyway.........
 
I came across some hankook kinergy tires on ebay. They are available in 275 60 15 size. I have heard good remarks about this brand. May be another option to consider. 225 65 15 is also available for the fronts.

Hankooks are about all we run now on our drivers , no problems , and the ride way better than goodyears that came out on the wifes escape and my 2014 ram .
Also have them on the front of my 68 fastback.
 
The yellowing or browning of BFGs has been a problem for many years. Good old Blechwhite takes care of it temporarily, other than that they are decent tires.
 
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