Coker Tires Review - Brand Guide

‍About Coker Tires

If you own a vintage, classic, or any other specialty car, there’s a high chance you’ve come across or heard about Coker Tires. Located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, this tire brand produces and sells radial and bias-ply tires, known as Coker Classic. It also manufactures and distributes vintage-style tires for renowned tire brands like Firestone, Michelin, Uniroyal and BF Goodrich.

Coker was originally launched in 1958 by Harold Coker as a tire and service center. Later on, he entrusted the company’s antique division to his son, Corky Coker. The antique division only contributed a small percentage of revenue to the company.

After taking over, Corky Coker invested heavily in the antique division. At the time of his retirement in 2014, the antique division had grown to become the company’s main source of revenue.

In November 2018, Irving Place Capital purchased Coker Tire as well as its parent company, which is the Coker Group. Today, Coker is one of the leading manufacturers and sellers of vintage-style tires.

Most Popular Coker Tires

Coker has a vast collection of tires. It produces and sells its own series of radial and bias-ply tires. Its most popular series is known as the Coker Classic. And as noted earlier, Coker also manufactures and sells tires for some of the leading tire brands like Michelin, Firestone, Excelsior, American Classic, Dunlop, Goodyear, BF Goodrich, Maxxis, Premium Sport, and US Royal, among others.

It’s currently one of the leading producers of Firestone Deluxe Champion tires. Most of the tires that this company sells are OEM replacement tires, mainly designed for classic and vintage car models.

Coker also has a collection of modern radial tires. Its modern radial tires feature special sidewall treatments like redlines and whitewalls, which are quite unique. Its collection of classic tires are designed to enhance a vehicle’s aesthetics while its modern tires are built to deliver a safe and reliable ride, in different conditions.

And unlike other tire manufacturers that produce a tire and then apply the stylistic sidewall elements like whitewalls, Coker’s applies these treatments during the manufacturing process. Hence, you can expect a Coker tire to retain the stylistic sidewall elements throughout its entire life, which is usually not the case with other tire brands.

So, whether you are looking for a vintage-style tire for your classic or you are looking for a modern tire that will give your vehicle a vintage, Coker has the right one for you. Some of this company’s most popular tires include:

Coker Classic Whitewall

The Coker Classic Whitewall is a radial tire, designed as a replacement for various types of classic cars. Classics that originally came with L78-15, 820-15 and 800-15 bias-ply tires are compatible with this tire.

It’s the ideal replacement tire Buick 1948 to 1964 models, Cadillac 1948 to 1964, and Packard 1950 to 1956 models. It’s also compatible with a wide range of classic cars that were built around the 1950s. Lincoln, Oldsmobile, Rolls-Royce and Bentley classics built around the 1950s can also use this tire.

Originally launched in 1995, the Coker Classic Whitewall is the first modern radial tire with wide whitewalls. It’s worth mentioning that this tire is DOT-approved and European Union (ECE) approved. Therefore, you can drive with this tire on the highway or in the streets without encountering any legal issues.

Coker is currently selling this tire for around $300. Hence, if you outfit your classic with a set of four, it will cost you approximately $1,200.

BF Goodrich Silvertown Redline

The BFGoodrich Silvertown is one of this company’s best-selling tires. This 14-inch tire is specifically built for muscle cars. It's built to deliver a combination of outstanding performance across different surfaces and stellar ride quality. And with the stylish redwall line on its sidewall, this tire will also enhance your vehicle’s aesthetics considerably.

If you drive a Camaro, Mustang or any other classic muscle car and you are shopping for replacement tires, then the BFG Goodrich Redline will be a decent choice. According to Coker Tire, the BFGoodrich Silvertown Redline comes with an all-season tread, meaning you can use drive with it both on dry and wet surfaces, without experiencing any issues.

Similar to other Coker tires, the BFGoodrich Silvertown Redline is manufactured in the U.S. Hence, you can rest assured that you are purchasing a high-quality and highly dependable tire for your classic.

Coker is currently selling the BFGoodrich Silvertown Radial for approximately $320 per tire. Hence, a complete set of four tires for your muscle car will set you back around $1,280.

Avon Turbo speed

If you own a classic or vintage car, you may have probably noticed that getting the right high-speed-rated tire for your vehicle is not always easy. And if you happen to come across one, the quality is not always satisfactory. Fortunately, you no longer have to experience these challenges, thanks to the Coker Avon Turbosteel.

This Coker 16-inch tire is built for drivers of vintage vehicles and classic cars, looking for a high-speed rated tire. It’s designed for European sports cars that come with 16-inch wheels. If your vintage or classic came with 550R16 and 550-16 wheel sizes, then this tire will be a perfect match.

It comes with an H-speed rating, meaning you can drive safely with it for up to 130 miles per hour. It features a smooth sidewall design and a classic tread pattern. Hence, it will compliment your classic sports car’s look perfectly.

The Coker Avon Turbospeed is a tubeless tire. However, if your classic car’s wheel comes with wire spokes, then you may need a rim strip or tube. So, ensure you check with your car dealer whether you will need a tube or not.

This tire is currently retailing for around $340 across different tire outlets. Therefore, outfitting your vintage with a set of four will cost you around $1,360.

American Classic Radial

If you own a classic car that has narrow whitewalls and you are in the market for a replacement tire, then you should check out the American Classic Radial from Coker Tire. According to the manufacturer, this tire is built to deliver the right aesthetics for your vintage or classic car.

Similar to most of the tires that this brand sells, the Coker American Classic Radial is manufactured in the U.S. Also, it’s ECE-approved and DOT-approved. Therefore, its quality is top-notch. And, you can rest confident that you will get value for your money with this tire.

The Coker American Classic is going for around $230 for a tire. Hence, if you were to provision your classic with a set of four, you can expect to pay around $920. The exact price that you pay for a set will depend on where you decide to purchase the tires.

Firestone Indy

The Firestone Indy is the perfect replacement tire for vintage Indy car restoration projects. This 15-inch tire is compatible with a wide range of vintage cars like the Trans AM cars that were produced around the 60s. It’s also compatible with various LeMans racing cars like the Ford GT40 and select AC Cobras.

The first set of the Firestone Indy that Coker produced was installed on the Jim Clark Indy car, which was a Ford-powered vintage lotus. This car went on to experience massive success in various racing competitions.

Coker produces the Firestone Indy cars in the U.S. It handles the entire production process, from design to manufacturing, to ensure the buyer is getting a quality product. While the Firestone Indy comes in blackwall design, you have the option of customizing it using various designs.

The Coker Firestone Indy is currently selling for approximately $675. Therefore, if you buy a set of four for your Indy car restoration project, you can expect to spend around $2,700.

Coker Tires Warranties and Guarantees

Coker backs its tires with two types of warranties. They include a standard warranty as well as an extended warranty.

Standard Warranty

The standard warranty covers the life of the tire’s tread. According to this warranty, Coker guarantees that its tires will be free from materials or workmanship defects throughout the tire’s tread.

So, in case your tire develops some issues related to materials or workmanship defects and it’s not repairable, Coker will replace it with a comparable new one. All the tire replacements done under this warranty are on a prorated basis, meaning you will pay for the percentage of tread wear used at the time of its replacement.

Tires damaged due to improper mounting and dismounting, improper vehicle alignment, mechanical failure or other similar issues are not eligible to be replaced under this warranty.

Extended Warranty

Coker also offers an extended tire warranty. This warranty is designed to cover tires that are removed from service due to damage caused by snags, impacts, sidewall damage, road debris, and road hazards.

However, you should note that you will be paying for this coverage. As for the prices, it will cost you $10 per tire if your tire is priced up to $250, $20 per tire for tires priced between $251 and $299 and $25 per tire for tires that cost $300 or more.

With this coverage, Coker will replace the tire free of charge during the first 15 months after purchase, if it’s removed from service due to damage caused by road hazards. Coker will then replace the tire on a prorated basis if it becomes unserviceable after 15 months from the purchase date.

Why Buy Coker Tires

There are several tire brands out there, which specialize in manufacturing tires for classics, vintages, and antiques. So, why go for Coker tires instead of choosing the other tire brands? Well, here are two convincing reasons.

A Vast Selection of Tires

Coker has one of the largest selections of tires for vintages and classics. If you visit this company’s website, you will have plenty of tire options to choose from, depending on the vehicle you drive. So, whether you are driving a 1960 muscle car or a 1950 Indy car restoration, finding a tire for your vehicle wouldn’t be a problem with Coker tires.

Stylish Tires

While the main role of tires is to enable a vehicle to move from one point to the other, they can also play a role in a vehicle’s aesthetics. And this is even more important with classic and vintage cars.

Vintage and classic cars are renowned for their beauty and style. To this end, Coker produces tires that can also complement the beauty and style of these vehicles. Its collection of classic tires come with whitewalls and redlines on the sidewalls, which are quite unique.

Durable Tires

As much as Coker uses refurbished molds to produce its vintage and classic tires, the materials used are modern. Therefore, the quality is not compromised. With Coker tires, the likelihood of a tire being removed from service prematurely are slim.

And in the unfortunate situation that your tire becomes unserviceable before it’s completely worn out, Coker will replace it with a comparable one, albeit on a prorated basis.

Wrapping It Up

Coker Tire, is without a doubt, one of the best tire manufacturers for classics and vintage cars. It has a vast selection of stylish, durable and high-quality tires. And as much as its tires may be quite pricy, they are a cut above the rest. Therefore, equipping your vintage or classic car with Coker tires will be a worthwhile investment.