I have a set of the Vintage 50's in the 16 x 8 size for my Clone. I have not as yet purchased rubber for these.

Here are the conditions, I have a 331 stroker that turned 408 HP and 430 # torque on the dyno. I have a rebuilt C4 with the 26 spline shaft, shift kit, upgraded servo, and heavy duty bands and clutches. I have a 8" rear with a Currie built 3.55 traction lock center section.

I do not intend to head to the strip with the car, but I will certainly enjoy the power available. I am looking for advice on which tires will provide reasonable traction and wear. The car will see snow, rain and wet roads only from the safety of my garage, so wet traction is not a big concern.

Thanks in advance for you help, Jeff

 

I am pretty happy with the Goodrich KDWS tires. The are all weather tires. I had the KDW which are higher performance but they tracked too much on the highways. The KDWS are more user friendly if you are mainly driving on the streets.

 

my one, tiny data point is that I have used Kumhos for the past couple of years on my SVT and I have been generally pleased, especially for the price.
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Vapor air one 5.0 reviews

 

I'm running Kumhos on my 96 and I've been very happy with them. 9/10ths the tire that my former set was (Firestone SZ50s) at less than 1/2 the price.

The classic is sporting the venerable BFG Radial T/As. Don't know anyone who hasn't liked them. I have heard great stuff about the KDW.

 

I had KDWs as OEM on my SVT for the first couple of years. Sticky tire, but I had no idea how NOISY they were until I got them off there and put on the Kumhos. I could actually hear my stereo again.....

but thats a great way to put it: 9/10s the tire for 5/10s the cost!
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Laurell

 

Having extremely good traction concerns me. With the horsepower and torque I have and trying to save a few bucks by keeping the 8" rear, I think I would be far better off having the tires break loose than maintain traction and allow the power to transfer thru the drivetrain components.

Or as they say in the Bahamas, am I thinking to deep.

 

Unless you have made major, major upgrades (Currie Alumin8, maybe) I think it's a good bet that the 8" is a goner no matter what tires you have.

 

They KDWS are good tires, but they are loud and tend to pick up, and therefore fling at high velocity, rocks and other paint-chipping projectiles...

How about the new KDW-2's or Bridgestone Potenza line?

 

I run Kumho ECSTA Supra 712 and I am happy with their prformance. However, unless you have modified your car to accept a WIDE tire you are always going to break them loose. I run a 245/45-17 with my 338.9 rwhp and 335.5 rwtq and can toast them at will, in gears 1, 2, or 3. I think with your 408/430 numbers any tire you choose is gonna get worked

 

That is my greatest fear. This caused great anguish in selecting the wheels, I kept thinking that staying with the original styled steel wheels would help to proect the drivetrain with the small contact patch they have. But, the visual and handling advantages of the larger wheels and tires pushed me to choose the 16" wheels.

Time will tell, who knows someday I may post a about a blown rear.

 

Kuhmos worked well for me as well. Ran them on the 94GT after a BAD experience with Bridgestones. I will NEVER own another set of 'stones.

I'm currently running Falken GRB FK-451s, and am very pleased with them as well. Fairly sticky, and seem to be wearing well. Fantastic in the rain too. I'm currently tire-shopping (205/50-16's) for my Fucos, and am leaning toward more Falkens or Pirellis.