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If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
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Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Agreed. I always ran the GTA wheels on the Gray bird until the last possible moment, then I'd toss on the 15s with full size Buick tires until spring. That car was my everyday car for about 6 years, rain, snow, or brimstone. Up until snow and ice, the Firestones on the GTA wheels got around just fine.
Trouble I had with the Goodyears is they were so bad they'd slip and slide in rain, on cold dry pavement, or pavement with the lightest hint of frost. After switching over to Comp T/As I was able to drive the car safely any time the roads were clear. Getting caught in the random rain shower wasn't a white knuckle affair either.
A few years back, I took the Formula to Topeka to visit a friend. The morning I was coming back it snowed like hell. Didn't have a bit of trouble in city traffic, or on the interstate. With the Goodyears, I wouldn't have even tried.
I just really can't emphasize how disappointed I've been in every Goodyear tire I've had the misfortune of owning. If Harbor Freight sold a 245/50R16 it'd be better than a Goodyear tire.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Originally Posted by Drew
Ha! Crom laughs at your Chicago winter!
^^^Yeah, that's at least 6" of solid ice.^^^
I'm pretty sure I've earned my inclement weather merit badge.
Omg lol, I don't even drive mine in the rain! The only ponycar I've done a winter with was a spare car/shell i had, a 1991 2.3 automatic LX hatch. With 7 year old hardened winter tires. Kelly snowtrakers in the front and some random auto parts brand in the rear lol. Only got stuck once in front of someones house. Eveyone came out and the wife was driving while the husband, kids and myself were pushing. Once it started moving the car was going side ways and the husband yelling "DON'T STOP DON'T STOP GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" until the car was in the clear hahahaha
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Back when my 87 IROC was new & on a snowy evening in Boston when I couldn't get across an intersection, I put the shifter into second and let the tires begin to spin, stepped out of the car and started to push the A-pillar with the door open, hopping back in when it started to move!
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
To be fair, the photos of my Formula I posted, were taken the day I brought the car home. When I bought it, I basically viewed it as a driver with a rust spot on the door, missing center caps, and FO MULA door decal. It cleaned up very nicely. It wasn't driven in snow or rain much after the first week or two.
The gray Firebird was my everyday car, a true Rez-Runner I pulled out of a junkyard.
I don't choose to drive most of my thirdgens in rain, cold, snow, ice, etc. But if you're going to drive them, sometimes you're going to get caught in a rain shower, or a random snow storm. One summer when I lived in an apartment with no indoor parking, I chose to enjoy driving my Formula rather than leave it sitting in a storage unit. That meant it was parked in a driveway exposed to the weather. Actually enjoying the car, trumped keeping it out of the weather.
In Kansas you have weather that can change drastically over night. I didn't plan to get caught in a snow storm, but it happened. I wouldn't be comfortable running a tire that compromises safety for cosmetic appearance.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Its kinda funny because I had a lot of these tires 25+ years ago & I seriously don't remember them being that bad of a tire. I drove in the rain & drove my cars hard back then. But today my cars just sit & mostly get looked at. So I get everyones responses to these tires today. Some guys are driving their cars rain or shine (like it probably should be ) & some of us won't ever need to turn on the windshield wipers again. In fact, those in the latter group, do you even know if your wipers work? I used to be the guy that drove the heck out of these cars, now I just look at them. So for me, i would buy the repo's & I know I have mentioned that above, but I also realize that many members are answering if they would buy them for cars they daily drive. One question to the thread, but a wide variety of enthusiasts. If I was driving my cars & putting miles on it, Then no, I wouldn't buy them either. Both my Iroc & GTA have vintage gatorbacks on them & I am ok with how they are when I do drive the cars, But keep in mind aside from a short burnout, I don't even take them out on the highway, Just a quick few miles sunday cruise if the opportunity strikes. Otherwise they just sit under a cover. I drove the iroc 12 miles last summer & that was the first time I had it out in 5 years. Yep, I am that dork......
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
The bottom line here is this:
-Anyone who daily drives a thirdgen, and has complaints about the Gatorback’s performance (or lack of performance) isn’t going to spend the money on these anyway...
-Anyone who wants these either has a low mile survivor car or a car that has been or is being restored to stock specs... they (me included) have absolutely no concern about the “lack of” performance and just want the proper “look” of the Gatorback, without the worry of spending a fortune on 25-30 year old tires to risk riding around on, even with the limited use these cars see...
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Having owned these cars and others w Gatorback tires when new or a couple years old, it was not a great tire.
Maybe when the tire was "new" in 1984 on Corvette (released in 83, but engineered years prior), but time marched on.
Like saying a Goodyear SC I tire which debuted on 2001 Z06 would still be a great tire. The Michelin PS2 is regarded as much better, and I agree.
With hundreds of thousands of miles on those tires, its personal experience.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Originally Posted by Stuart S
The bottom line here is this:
-Anyone who daily drives a thirdgen, and has complaints about the Gatorback’s performance (or lack of performance) isn’t going to spend the money on these anyway...
-Anyone who wants these either has a low mile survivor car or a car that has been or is being restored to stock specs... they (me included) have absolutely no concern about the “lack of” performance and just want the proper “look” of the Gatorback, without the worry of spending a fortune on 25-30 year old tires to risk riding around on, even with the limited use these cars see...
How would it work to remake the tires, unless GY themselves makes the tire? Isn't Gatorback a trademarked term?
If I had a need for original looking tires, perhaps there's a market. But without judging venues (NCRS and Bloomington Gold for Y body come to mind) , there's not going to be much demand.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Originally Posted by Big&BadGTA
How would it work to remake the tires, unless GY themselves makes the tire? Isn't Gatorback a trademarked term?
If I had a need for original looking tires, perhaps there's a market. But without judging venues (NCRS and Bloomington Gold for Y body come to mind) , there's not going to be much demand.
Kelsey already makes them in a 225/60/15 (Fox Mustang size).
Kelsey also makes various other discontinued Goodyear tires...
Looks like Kelsey is the exclusive distributor, but not sure on who's manufacturing.
Good point on AACA.
Kelsey makes them. I’ve spoken to John Kelsey by phone and email numerous times (as have others who have posted in this 13 page thread) and he has a pair of tires off of my GTA since 2013. There is interest there, the timeframe just has a very long tail on it...
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Originally Posted by Stuart S
Kelsey makes them. I’ve spoken to John Kelsey by phone and email numerous times (as have others who have posted in this 13 page thread) and he has a pair of tires off of my GTA since 2013. There is interest there, the timeframe just has a very long tail on it...
Cool. I just bought tires for my GTA and if available, and given the fact my car isn't being pushed like other cars I've owned, I might consider.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Originally Posted by Stuart S
The bottom line here is this:
-Anyone who daily drives a thirdgen, and has complaints about the Gatorback’s performance (or lack of performance) isn’t going to spend the money on these anyway...
-Anyone who wants these either has a low mile survivor car or a car that has been or is being restored to stock specs... they (me included) have absolutely no concern about the “lack of” performance and just want the proper “look” of the Gatorback, without the worry of spending a fortune on 25-30 year old tires to risk riding around on, even with the limited use these cars see...
It's possible. But some people will see this topic and have no personal experience with Gatorbacks, but just because it sounds cool, they want them.
A modern Reproduction Gatorback would certainly work better than a 30 year old Gatorback, both for sitting in storage sealed in a plastic bubble, or driven on the road.
At the end of the day, I'm in favor of any and all reproduction parts. Especially if they're accurate, and priced correctly. I'd like to see repro Gatorbacks, and I'd probably even consider them if they weren't twice the price of a much better tire. I'd just feel like I was holding back if I didn't disclose my experience with Goodyear tires.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
years ago I had a few new sets of oem Goodyear Wrangler TD's back the 90's on my trucks. Those were a terrible tire. They wore quickly & got very noisy in no time. I do believe it had to do with the alignment specs on the truck though as both my 93 & 97 did the same thing with the same tires. Didn't our F-bodys tend to tear off the outside edges of the front tires? I thought that had to do with the positive caster. Lots of scrub on the outside edges when turning tight. At least I recall being told that when I had a set fading fast & was flipping flopping lefts to the right.
My rears always seemed to wear out right in the center for some reason.....
Speaking of the 84 Corvette, I saw a low mile survivor that was for sale here in Wisconsin with the original VR tires. all the lettering was inverted. Was that a first release 1984 thing? It looked very odd.
Last edited by F-body-fan; 02-12-2018 at 06:39 AM.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Actually now that I think about it, my 97 came with wrangler RTS tires. must have been the 93 & 95. RTS was much better, & quiet but still not great as I recall.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Originally Posted by F-body-fan
Speaking of the 84 Corvette, I saw a low mile survivor that was for sale here in Wisconsin with the original VR tires. all the lettering was inverted. Was that a first release 1984 thing? It looked very odd.
Yes, I have a pair of those in 255 size and they have tread so deep it would make mud tires jelly.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
I miss my Nitto tires from the 90s.. Can’t remember the model but they were great and almost every third gen I saw had them back in 1994-1999
I love the Michelin’s on my Tahoe.. best tires I’ve ever had on any car..
The guy I bought my IROC from had the original tires but the guy put new Dorals on because they were unsafe.. they weren’t worth keeping either.. He told me tire options were pretty limited in that size.. it’s true.. the Doral tires aren’t bad..
I would consider putting Gatorbacks on.. I used to think the BF Goodrich Comp TAs were good back in the day too..
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Lets face it, at this point these tires aren't ment to be for the "max performance" cone killing crowd. It will be for restoration and the occasional nice weather drive for people that want the correct look without the worry of an old tire blowing out.
It would be a nice plus if they are made with a modern compound for a bit more stick.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Originally Posted by TTOP350
Lets face it, at this point these tires aren't ment to be for the "max performance" cone killing crowd. It will be for restoration and the occasional nice weather drive for people that want the correct look without the worry of an old tire blowing out.
It would be a nice plus if they are made with a modern compound for a bit more stick.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Originally Posted by TTOP350
Lets face it, at this point these tires aren't ment to be for the "max performance" cone killing crowd. It will be for restoration and the occasional nice weather drive for people that want the correct look without the worry of an old tire blowing out.
It would be a nice plus if they are made with a modern compound for a bit more stick.
I agree on the autocross/track day, but there's a growing segment of people who like period correct modifications for street driven cars. Well, at least in the Euro car crowd. Hopefully it bleeds over into American cars. A lot of aftermarket wheels in the 80s and early 90s were 16s, and that means 16" performance tires for spirited street driving. You'd be surprised at the number of Euro car guys going back to sidewalls and smaller wheels.
I don't know if it'd work, but I'd be tempted to run 16x9s with 275/45/16 tires. That'd echo the look of the 80's IMSA cars that ran beefy 16s.
But for fun, spirited street driving, the Hawks 17s and BFGs are suiting my car just fine.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
That's the beauty of The End Of The World As We Know It, it can come... At. Any. Time. It knows if you've been sleeping waiting for reproduction tires. It knows if you're awake. It knows if your rolling stock is bad or good, so B F Goodrich for BFGoodrich's sake.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Drew I'd be careful leaving that out when it snows you could lose it
I used to work at Goodyear 78-90 when the first round of performance tires the Wingfoot then turned it into the Eagle NCT's pretty much same tire but Wingfoot had a white stripe and logo that IMO was cool!
that was later updated to this- sorry for the old pics but then they are old pics!
these were great tires! that said all we had to compare them to were Polyglas GT's or Firestone Wide ovals non radials
yes they have improved but IMO they were milestones like the LS1 was 22! years ago the "Gatorbacks were good tires too! rubber wasn't hard till they were years old I still have a pair NOS of 255/60/15 that i had on back of my 69Z they are stored
I voted Yes i would buy them again any of these but probably not for 2-300 each. I really hate the fact they don't make 14 or 15's or 16" tires in mass quantity anymore, sucks you have to buy new rims to get GOOD tires to fit
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
The irony is that photo is from 1999, and up until a few days ago that was the last time that car spent the night out in the cold.
It's mighty cold here lately, but apparently it's still toasty in Hades since reproduction Gatorbacks still aren't a thing. There's probably a kid on this forum right now, dreaming about getting his license and driving his hand me down thirdgen, that wasn't walking or maybe even alive when this thread was started.... lol
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Always fun to revive this thread. Found this from Federal: FZ-101W. All of their tires have size charts, but not this one, so I don't know if it's available or not. If it is, and it's in our size, which isn't likely, then it would probably sell for half the price of Kelsey repros. FEDERAL would only be readable from up close lol.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Wow! Those really look like gatorback treads
Originally Posted by LAFireboyd
Always fun to revive this thread. Found this from Federal: FZ-101W. All of their tires have size charts, but not this one, so I don't know if it's available or not. If it is, and it's in our size, which isn't likely, then it would probably sell for half the price of Kelsey repros. FEDERAL would only be readable from up close lol.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Smoke the tires a few times and those edges will become more square...
The thing about rounded edges... You buy a tire that is 245, but in the end the patch is actually 195... What is the benefit? I guess Ideally it would roll a little and get you that little more grip.
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
Originally Posted by chazman
Kind of a spinoff from the other thread. But, if Goodyear offered classic Gatorbacks with modern compounds, in a 245/50/16 size for our 3rd gens, would you buy them?
Re: If they still offered 245/50/16 Gatorbacks, would you buy them?
It would be nice if they did it just for the purists, but there is so much new wheel and tire technology out there.... They would have to know how many people would buy, and IMO there is not enough to justify that business case
02-09-2018, 11:03 AM
) & some of us won't ever need to turn on the windshield wipers again. In fact, those in the latter group, do you even know if your wipers work? 
I used to be the guy that drove the heck out of these cars, now I just look at them. So for me, i would buy the repo's & I know I have mentioned that above, but I also realize that many members are answering if they would buy them for cars they daily drive. One question to the thread, but a wide variety of enthusiasts. If I was driving my cars & putting miles on it, Then no, I wouldn't buy them either. Both my Iroc & GTA have vintage gatorbacks on them & I am ok with how they are when I do drive the cars, But keep in mind aside from a short burnout, I don't even take them out on the highway, Just a quick few miles sunday cruise if the opportunity strikes. Otherwise they just sit under a cover. I drove the iroc 12 miles last summer & that was the first time I had it out in 5 years. Yep, I am that dork...... 
