Radial TA Tires

[Mopar426power]

What year did Mopar start using BF Goodrich Radial TA tires on its cars?

 

[moparleo]

Never, The T/A radial has never been an oe tire for any company.

 

[pschlosser]

AND.... Radial T/As don't stick that great. They're not the ideal tire for a muscle car, in terms of hooking up and accelerating, but okay for handling and making dramatic smoking burnouts. I only learned this "doesn't grip well" point only recently, and thought for many years it was the better muscle car tire.

 

[MoparCarGuy]

And then there is the browning issue with Radial T/As. Annoying, to say the least. I still run them just because we are limited on solid white letter tires in 14" and 15".
Cooper Cobras, Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/Ts, and BF Goodrich Radial T/As are about the only economical tires out there besides buying megabuck reproduction Goodyears and Firestones.
I keep a set of Radial T/As for go and Goodyear Polyglas GTs for show but cleaning those T/As requires an angle grinder with a scouring pad. It comes out of the T/A tire rubber inconsistently from tire to tire as well.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

I will never use BFGarbage tires on my cars , I value the cars too much !

 

[Xcudame]

For years I ran Dunlop tires. Then Goodyear bought them out and phased away most of them. I switched to Cooper tires. Even though Goodyear recently bought Cooper tires, Cooper still makes a lot of decent affordable tires (cars and trucks). The NITTO tires are a good tire. Kind of a joint USA/Japan deal if I remember my history correctly.

 

[Ricks72Chlgr440]

I will never use BFGarbage tires on my cars , I value the cars too much !

Yeah, I too found out those tires are garbage. Expensive lesson.

 

[Stev-o]

Yeah, I too found out those tires are garbage. Expensive lesson.

Just curious, what were the issues with the BFG's? Cooper tires are fairly cheap, I just dont like the look, not "period correct" IMO.

We have Nitto's on the Challenger [great tire] and plan to put the Comp 2's on the Cuda.

Shop G-FORCE™ COMP-2™ A/S PLUS Tires | BFGoodrich Tires

 

[pschlosser]

We want tires that grip and connect well with the pavement. Also, ones that won't tear apart at high speeds. And ones that last a long time. The BF Goodrich "Radial T/A" are nice radials, and offer a cushy ride, but for the muscle car enthusiast, maybe they're not the best tires for acceleration.

Not every tire company produces a consistently superb tire, nor a consistently bad one. Radial T/A's are common, often on sale at Costco, and a "go to" tire for many owners. Myself, included. But BFG is beginning to show quality control problems, and there seems to be more and more negative press and opinion about them.

I wouldn't stress about it, too much. You can pay more for ideal and "best gripping" tire, but in the end, it comes down to time and money.

Are Radial T/As, for example, a horrible tire? Probably not. But in terms of hooking up and gripping the pavement on acceleration, they leave a little to be desired.

Now, seeking a tire that looks period correct, is of high manufacturing standards, grips the pavement wonderfully, and bears an affordable cost, may be a dream we all dare to dream.

IMO, a period correct-looking tire is just for show. For display, and/or car shows. These tires are not cheap, either. When I drive it, I'd rather drive on tires better suited for grip and performance and... dare I say, cost.

 

[Ricks72Chlgr440]

Just curious, what were the issues with the BFG's? Cooper tires are fairly cheap, I just dont like the look, not "period correct" IMO.

We have Nitto's on the Challenger [great tire] and plan to put the Comp 2's on the Cuda.

Shop G-FORCE™ COMP-2™ A/S PLUS Tires | BFGoodrich Tires

The BFG's had horrible traction. I had 275's on my Duster and when I hit the gas going 40 the back end would break loose on most every surface. Scary. Sold that car and am running Nitto's on my Challenger now. They grip some better but wish I could fit wider tires on it. Not the tires fault in this case!

 

[Stev-o]

We want tires that grip and connect well with the pavement. And ones that last a long time.

Asking for too much there.
A soft tire compound [UHP] will grip well but not last.
A hard compound tire will last a long time but not grip well.

I think the BFG TA's are a compromise...

 

[pschlosser]

agreed. it ...

may be a dream we all dare to dream.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

I have witnessed BFG brand new with 3/8" step n the tread , basically out of round causing terrible vibration that has nothing to do with balance
I have seen them last less than 100 miles from brand new with bad belt shift &/or tread separation .
Traction is bad wet or dry
If you lose a tire & damage a fender or 1/4 then a better tire will look cheap .
Nitto / Toyo are great tires , Cooper is better then BFG by far , MT is another option .

 

[Spyder]

I actually really like the look of the Milestar StreetSteel, but they don't make the size combos I want for my car. I've got Milestar Patagonia II's on my old Bronco and they are great.

I'll be putting Coopers on it this winter. The current G-Force drag radial date code is a little old for comfort, even though they still look perfectly fine. That wrecked fender Chryco mentioned is a horrific fear of mine, since I just replaced both of them and painted.

Some point in the future I MAY upgrade to bigger brakes and go with bigger wheels and open up tire options a little more, but I love the steelies look so much I probably never will.

 

[6PKRTSE]

I have Good Year Eagle's on some of my cars and the raised white lettering does the browning over time just like the BFG T/A's do.

 

[Xcudame]

Cooper just replaced their Zeon tires with Cobra Instincts. Just got four for my son's 2015 Challenger Scat Pack. He says there pretty grippy. And they're made in USA!
They won't last long because of the soft compound, but I agree with Chryco Psycho, Micky Thompson tires are called sticky Micky's for good reason and will handle well! 275s on the rear and 255s on the front for road racing!

 

[6PKRTSE]

Cooper just replaced their Zeon tires with Cobra Instincts. Just got four for my son's 2015 Challenger Scat Pack. He says there pretty grippy. And they're made in USA!
They won't last long because of the soft compound, but I agree with Chryco Psycho, Micky Thompson tires are called sticky Micky's for good reason and will handle well! 275s on the rear and 255s on the front for road racing!

Mickey's are sticky. My Brother was following me to one of our local cruise nights. While in front of him. I changed lanes to get over getting ready to turn in up ahead and while changing lanes, my right rear tire peeled the white line right off of the road. It was partially still on my tire after we backed in our parking spots.

 

[bc3j]

I experimented with Vitour Galaxy R1 Radial GT tires. They’re V rated and I use 235/60-15 front and rear. On for three years now and no problems. So far so good. Lettering stays white.