I have to (there's no choice here) buy a set of P215/70R14 tires, with whitewalls. Without even looking, and considering the year I stopped driving this car as a daily driver, I know that the tires that are on the car now are around 20-25 years old, and I'm not even going to attempt driving on them anymore... not even just far enough to get them replaced.
I didn't expect to find a whole lot of choice here, and I was correct. Yes, the tires will need to be whitewalls, due to the car itself and the era in which it is from. No, it simply won't look right with blackwalls or raised white letters. Blackwalls would be a lot cheaper... but no.
Without going to some place like Coker TIre, I have found 3 whitewall choices which are easy to obtain online, and are relatively reasonably priced. What is nice about this purchase, is that things such as mileage warranty, traction, or tread design are not a factor at all. The only consideration here is that the tires will dry out/age out before they wear out.
1) Uniroyal Tiger Paw AWP II, which are $81-$103 each, depending on the vendor. This is a tire which has existed for at least a decade without any noticeable changes. 6 year warranty. Cannot find a country of manufacture.
2) Milestar MS775, which are $79-$94 each. My reaction is that these just seem overpriced for a Milestar tire. Again, a tire that appears to have existed for at least a decade, with no noticeable changes. 5 year warranty. Cannot find a country of manufacture.
3) Nexen AH5, which are $74-$81 each. This tire that is available from the most vendors, and at the best price. It is by far the newest design. This is the tire that I really didn't expect to find in a whitewall in this size. 6 year warranty. Cannot find a country of manufacture.
I was expecting to find something offered from Cooper (such as the Mastercraft A/S IV). But no... nothing out there. This is the direction that I was already planning to go in. I do believe the tires that are on the car now, were manufactured by Cooper for Tire America, and sold as the "Patriot" brand.
My reaction is to toss out the Uniroyal, as rubber that comes from the Michelin family has the tendency to not age gracefully, at all. Time is the biggest issue at play here. My second reaction is to toss the Milestar due to price and general overall unknowns with Tireco/Milestar, plus the other two have a longer warranty.
That leaves me with the tire that I didn't expect to find on this list, the Nexen. Of all of these, it is by far the newest design, it has the best price, the largest number of available vendors, and is tied for the longest warranty at 6 years.
I didn't expect to find a whole lot of choice here, and I was correct. Yes, the tires will need to be whitewalls, due to the car itself and the era in which it is from. No, it simply won't look right with blackwalls or raised white letters. Blackwalls would be a lot cheaper... but no.
Without going to some place like Coker TIre, I have found 3 whitewall choices which are easy to obtain online, and are relatively reasonably priced. What is nice about this purchase, is that things such as mileage warranty, traction, or tread design are not a factor at all. The only consideration here is that the tires will dry out/age out before they wear out.
1) Uniroyal Tiger Paw AWP II, which are $81-$103 each, depending on the vendor. This is a tire which has existed for at least a decade without any noticeable changes. 6 year warranty. Cannot find a country of manufacture.
2) Milestar MS775, which are $79-$94 each. My reaction is that these just seem overpriced for a Milestar tire. Again, a tire that appears to have existed for at least a decade, with no noticeable changes. 5 year warranty. Cannot find a country of manufacture.
3) Nexen AH5, which are $74-$81 each. This tire that is available from the most vendors, and at the best price. It is by far the newest design. This is the tire that I really didn't expect to find in a whitewall in this size. 6 year warranty. Cannot find a country of manufacture.
I was expecting to find something offered from Cooper (such as the Mastercraft A/S IV). But no... nothing out there. This is the direction that I was already planning to go in. I do believe the tires that are on the car now, were manufactured by Cooper for Tire America, and sold as the "Patriot" brand.
My reaction is to toss out the Uniroyal, as rubber that comes from the Michelin family has the tendency to not age gracefully, at all. Time is the biggest issue at play here. My second reaction is to toss the Milestar due to price and general overall unknowns with Tireco/Milestar, plus the other two have a longer warranty.
That leaves me with the tire that I didn't expect to find on this list, the Nexen. Of all of these, it is by far the newest design, it has the best price, the largest number of available vendors, and is tied for the longest warranty at 6 years.
