I need some new tires for my '71 Electra. I have had the hardest time finding reasonably priced whitewall tires. I've looked everywhere. I absolutely loved the Firestone 721s I had on my '73 Electra. Unfortunately they no longer produce them. I looked at Coker, too expensive. Sears, Pepgirls, Discount Tire, NTB and countless others have little to no selection. I tried Tirerack and was surprised to find Kumho Solus KR21 in both 225/75R15 and 235/75R15. They also had either of those in "XL" which I presume is load range D. Anyone have these tires? I am most concerned with tire noise and sidewall flexing. Any help would be appreciated. A set of four Kumho Solus KR21s are under $300 to my door.
There is a place in crete il called Tire Sales #708-672-6948 they have the 235/75/15 white wall tires for the big gm cars i have them on my grandville and my electra Gene:TU:
here is a post i did in april of 2003 .... and i still have this same set of tires on my car! http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=16558 yoko dont sell/make this same tire any more but they have new versions.
Rob, keep me posted on your findings. I'm having no luck finding anything for my 70 GS Riv cause of the skirts. The Kumho seemed to rate better than Firestones or Cooper on some of the reviews I found online. Dave
I'm running the Kumho's on my 77 Riviera in 215/75-15. No complaints. Good wet traction. smooth ride and quiet. I've only got 3,000 miles on them and they seem to be wearing even. I rotate every 5,000 on all my "rides".
I am in the market for new tires as well, and am considering the Kuhmo KR21 as seen on Tire Rack. Thanks Paul for the feedback on these tires. I plan to make a decision soon and will continue to monitor this thread up until decision time. Any additional real world feedback on these Kuhmo tires is appreciated.
Bergy, Can you comment on the appearance of the Kumho KR21 tire with respect to tread width/tire profile? In my continued research, I have read in more than one Tire Rack buyer review that these tires have a narrower tread width than one would expect for a given size, compared to other tires. Aside from that (reoccuring) comment, most everything I have read about these tires seems positive. Thanks, Dan
Here's the tires in 215/75-15 I was torn between the 225 and the 215. Both would fit but since it's my daily driver I chose the 215's because they are less mass and resistance equating to better fuel economy. I think the profile is fine for the size. I'll bet the comments on width are from people who bought the 75 instead of looking for 70's.
Firestone FR380s are 225/75/R15 Whitewalls. They run about $73.99 each from your local Firestone dealer. Google them on line and you can save about $15.00 per tire.
I forgot to update this thread. I ended up buying the Kuhmo Solus KR21 in size 225/75/R15. They were under $300 delivered to my door. I mounted, balanced and disposed of the old tires at work. The ride quality is still very good, sidewall flex/bulge is almost non-existent. The sidewalls also support the car very well. This is my fourth big buick, third four-door Electra. With the past cars I've always had sidewall flex just when the car is stationary. These Kuhmos are great. The Electra looks great with a set of whitewalls that don't flex. Noise is little to none, believe me I have no radio so if there was noise I couldn't drown it out. Thumbs up! :beer
Glad they worked out for you. Since the majority of cars today are considered appliances that look like melted soap bars with blackwall tires...good, fairly priced whitewall tires are getting hard to find. Unless you want to pay $200 a tire.
