Cadillac & LaSalle Club Discussion Forum

Cadillac & LaSalle Club Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: joeinbcs on June 13, 2017, 04:10:46 PM

Title: 1978 Seville Tire Recommendations
Post by: joeinbcs on June 13, 2017, 04:10:46 PM
Thought I would get a little use out of the Vogue tires on my '78 Seville...but, I threw a tread from the passenger front tire on the way back from Austin today.
The tread damaged the long stainless steel rocker panel molding, the molding on the bottom of the front door, and the molding piece on the bottom of the front fender (passenger side).
So, now, in addition to tires, I'm looking for these pieces...in case anyone has them...in like new condition, as this is a perfect, 22K mile car.
Also, looking for tire recommendations.
I know 215/75/15 is the replacement size, but just wondering if anyone has used 225's, and how they look.
The Cokers that Jeggs sells are 1.3 inch white wall on the 215, 1.5/8 on the 225. 
Can anyone tell me the correct white wall size?
Any other tire recommendations?
Thanks, Joe
Title: Re: 1978 Seville Tire Recommendations
Post by: Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621 on June 13, 2017, 05:00:11 PM
Stick with the proper 215-75R-15 tire size. The WW width of 1.3" is about as close as it gets to the original.

Sorry to hear about the damage to your Seville. Vogues disintegrate worse than any other car tire I've ever seen.
Title: Re: 1978 Seville Tire Recommendations
Post by: joeinbcs on June 13, 2017, 05:29:04 PM
Thanks!
Any idea where I can find the three molding pieces (rocker, lower door & lower front fender)?
Title: Re: 1978 Seville Tire Recommendations
Post by: Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621 on June 13, 2017, 05:59:22 PM
You could post in the WTB subforum here and of course, good 'ole eBay. 

Good luck.
Title: Re: 1978 Seville Tire Recommendations
Post by: Carl Fielding on June 13, 2017, 06:01:32 PM
Joe , looks like you enjoy driving your car. Cokers are SHOW tires. Don't jump into the fire.  - Carl
Title: Re: 1978 Seville Tire Recommendations
Post by: joeinbcs on June 13, 2017, 06:08:50 PM
I had Coker's on my '76 Eldorado convertible...I didn't have any trouble with them.
What do you recommend?
Title: Re: 1978 Seville Tire Recommendations
Post by: Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621 on June 13, 2017, 06:12:00 PM
No problems here either with Coker American Classic.  They've been on 4 years now.

Incidentally, these are 215 75R 15 - same as used on Seville.


Title: Re: 1978 Seville Tire Recommendations
Post by: smokuspollutus on June 13, 2017, 06:59:52 PM
Funny you should post this, my buddy just had the same situation happen to him on his 1985 Eldorado. Fortunately his classic insurance is going to step up to the plate.

I am a bit of a Vogue hater. I bought a set to put on my 1984 car in 2015 after purchase to replace the 25 year old Uniroyals. I went for Vogues because I wanted better than a pinstripe whitewall made by a reputable company (read: made here) and Vogue seemed to fit the bill. They ride nice and seem to be wearing well about 6k miles in but I found out that they are now an "imported" product. Since they moved overseas, the tires are all defective in that the black between the yellow and white stripe eventually peels (looks like curb hits). Very upsetting. Then to add insult to injury, someone started making whitewalls that are almost the exact same width as originals for the 70s-mid 80s cars for close to half what the "tyres" cost!

So don't buy another Vogue! Suretrac is the company that I was talking about in the above paragraph with the close to stock whitewall. Ebay has them in a lot of different sizes. Personally I'm not a big fan of the 225 tires on anything but a big RWD car. The Seville already has the wide track stance, I don't think it needs wider tires.
Title: Re: 1978 Seville Tire Recommendations
Post by: Carl Fielding on June 14, 2017, 04:31:04 AM
Hi Joe ! Sure. A good place to shop is Tires-easy.com. I just spent some time looking for a wsw tire for you. Put your tire size in the search box , and check out the HANKOOK Optimo H724. It is a 44 psi @ max load tire. "Kookies" are popular , and good value for the money. I have bought a couple Cads with these tires , and they handle well , and have been very good tires for normal all season use. Very good , predictable easily controlled handling on snowy roads , too. I am not a whitewall fanatic , so I can't comment about the width. Now maybe you can order a set of the bsw tires through Diamond Back , and have them make wsw tires from them to your spec. The bsw worth a good look at , are the 51 psi Goodyear Assurance All Seasons. 51 psi gives you a huge range of tuning options to suit all speeds and conditions. 😎 (These little guys just popped up on me , so here is a happy one for fun in the sun). Uh , yeah. Anyway these are more expensive , but if you don't go for 44 psi tires , go up rather than down. And I am among the no nonsense performance guys who particularly like the bsw look on these Sevilles.

Joe , and all. As Coker has built up the monopoly they now hold , continuous outsourcing to the lowest priced manufacturing locations has led to very poor quality control. One of our members who is an extremely conscientious "Classic" dealer in Ohio , Matt Harwood, has to experience far more tires in a year , than most of us will in a lifetime. On AACA forums , he has vented frequently about the disappointments he has had with their tires , and what passes for tubes. Whitewalls which insist upon turning to brownwalls , poor handling and out of roundness , and far too frequent failure. It seems that an inordinate percentage of dissatisfied customers makes it necessary to comment on this. I have received P.M. Corroboration of this , but not having show cars , I will not need to find this out first hand.

I think I will call it a day now. I am becoming extremely addicted to a cyber life , it is seriously interfering with what I must do.  - Carl
Title: Re: 1978 Seville Tire Recommendations
Post by: joeinbcs on June 14, 2017, 08:10:22 AM
Thanks for all the comments.
I went with the Cokers, having had a decent experience with them in the recent past.  I'm no cheerleader for these tires, but they looked good on my Eldorado, and I had no trouble with them for the brief time I had them on the car before I sold it.
I probably won't be driving the Seville very much, as much of the car's value is in its very low mileage and "as new" condition.
Title: Re: 1978 Seville Tire Recommendations
Post by: Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621 on June 14, 2017, 10:57:27 AM
The reviews of Coker American Classics have been overwhelming positive - FWIW.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cok-579400/reviews/

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cok-700219/reviews/

I haven't experienced any difficulty with keeping the whitewalls white with any Coker product either.