Do they still make snow tires for muscle cars?

"The Swedish Bandit" (swedishbandit)
10/12/2013 at 17:09 • Filed to: joy, stupid questions

Because I can't seem to find any. I've been playing with the thought of getting some (preferably studded) snow tires for Joy. Anyways the plan was to find something in similar size to my Super Chargers (235/70 R15) and then fit them to the honeycombs (7"). After looking around for awhile the only ones I've found are truck tires, which I assume won't work very well.

But anyhow if someone here knows more on the subject of "classic muscle car wheels in combination with snow", feel free to enlighten me.

UPDATE: Truck tires it is then! Thanks for the assistance everyone!

DISCUSSION (18)

Takuro Spirit > The Swedish Bandit
10/12/2013 at 17:26

Truck tires will work fine. Look into Firestone Winterforce. They make all kinds of oddball sizes, and the UV (truck tire) isn't much different than the regular passenger car version.

Casper > The Swedish Bandit
10/12/2013 at 17:31

Truck tires are still better than what those muscle cars had originally. The only real differences are usually the sizing or load capacity qualifies them as light truck or truck tires. In reality, you need tires load rated as light truck for a lot of older muscle cars based on their weight profile and transfer.

Personally I would actually look to go less balloony and narrower for winter tires. The wider they are the worse the hydroplaning and harder it is to bite through the snow. Maybe step them back to 225 or so and go for more rugged so you can drop or increase the pressure to play with traction. Also, studs aren't really for snow as much as ice. If you are specifically targeting snow use, you will want to focus on the tires themselves and pressure, if you are dealing with ice only infrequently, it maybe better in the long run to just carry good chains with you. If there's a lot of ice to where you would be chaining up and down a lot, then studs are your friend.

The Swedish Bandit > Takuro Spirit
10/12/2013 at 17:32

Huh didn't know that, thought there might be some kind of problem with them being made for a heavier type of vehicle and all. But I trust your better judgment, as this has just opened up a window full of different options right now. Now if only I could find something with white lettering on the side...

The Swedish Bandit > Casper
10/12/2013 at 17:44

I preferably just want to buy new tires and then fit them to the rims I already got to save money. So with this in mind I really can't go down too much in width, but 225 should definitely work. I am probably gonna have to deal with a lot of both ice and snow since the weather seems to turn on a dime over here. I have driven without studded winter tires one season, and I can't say I enjoyed being stuck as much as I were... So studded tires is almost a requirement.

Other than that, the thing that worries me the most is that I have absolutely no weight over the rear end as is. I can hardly even take of on gravel without spinning the tires. But that is mostly because of an aggressive cam and some remodeling of the rearend. Which in turn means, if I want to make this work I am probably going to have to throw some dead weight in the trunk and maybe even switch to a milder cam.

lonestranger > The Swedish Bandit
10/12/2013 at 17:45

I was also going to suggest truck tires.

"Now if only I could find something with white lettering on the side..."

Most off-road tires are available with white lettering, and many off-road tires have the "snowflake-on-a-mountain" symbol, having passed winter testing. I've ran BFG All-Terrains on my 2WD Sierra through six Canadian winters now, and they're great.

I also agree with Casper, narrower tires are better in the snow. You don't want snowshoes, you want to put more pressure onto the snow and into the pavement.

The Swedish Bandit > lonestranger
10/12/2013 at 17:52

I understand the basic physics of traction so no arguing with you or anyone else there. Also now that I know running truck tires on a conventional car is "a thing" a feel much more compelled to move forward with this idea.

desertdog5051 > The Swedish Bandit
10/12/2013 at 17:52

Discount Tire had to order 14" tires for the MG. (road tires) They are getting harder to find. Fisk is the brand that they got for me. Coker Tire is another possibility.

A3R0 > The Swedish Bandit
10/12/2013 at 17:59

Muscle car in the winter? Awesome!

Jonee > The Swedish Bandit
10/12/2013 at 18:00

Couple bags of rock salt or sand in the trunk could help with weight and/or being stuck in the snow.

The Swedish Bandit > desertdog5051
10/12/2013 at 18:01

Thanks for the tips! I'm definitely gonna keep an eye out on Cooker Tires for the summer season when I'm hopefully gonna buy a set of much wider summer tires.

The Swedish Bandit > Jonee
10/12/2013 at 18:03

Yeah but can't go too much either or the suspension will sag. It's all a fine balancing act. Otherwise, chains usually do the trick.

The Swedish Bandit > A3R0
10/12/2013 at 18:07

If I can get a hold of a set of truck snow tires for somewhat good money, I don't see why I at least couldn't give it a try.

A3R0 > The Swedish Bandit
10/12/2013 at 18:08

That's the attitude!

Casper > The Swedish Bandit
10/12/2013 at 18:49

What transmission do you have? Jonee is on the right track of adding sand bags or something for weight like you would a pickup as well.

The Swedish Bandit > Casper
10/12/2013 at 18:57

Stock th350. I replied to Jonee (and then the reply disappeared) that it would probably be a good idea to throw some dead weight in the trunk, but that I can't add too much or the suspension will sag. However while thinking about possible solutions now, I remembered a friend who had a similar problem (but with a rally Datsun 280zx). He ended up winding his rear axle in some kind of heavy steel wire, which apparently helped a lot. Maybe something I could give a shot?

Takuro Spirit > The Swedish Bandit
10/12/2013 at 19:07

General Grabber AT2 are snow rated and studdable. They come in OWL. Not the best in snow, being a truckish tire, but better than an allseason, so you can still have some sideways fun!

The Swedish Bandit > Takuro Spirit
10/12/2013 at 19:12

Alright thanks for the tip!, will look into it.

Casper > The Swedish Bandit
10/12/2013 at 19:15

Sure, there are a lot of options there for weight. I personally use sand bags or as he said, salt, because I can move them around to distribute weight as well as taking them out and using them to help with traction (either using the salt to dump where I need to drive or laying the sand bags down to help get me traction up out of a dig in).

I was just curious if the transmission was auto or manual. In your case of a stock automatic there probably isn't much you can do. On some of my automatics we have had to ease the lockup a bit to really drive them around on the road vs just drag simply because no matter how gentle you were with them, the lockup would break the traction and send you into a skid.