Michael, you make a strong case for the Cokers, but I've spoken with enough local Pagoda friends who don't think as highly of them as you do
Panzer,
It's really simple. At the time of restoration, I purchased a set of what I thought would be good tires, in the 205/70 size. From my days with British cars many years ago, on the Mini I went from 145-10 to 165/70-10; on my Austin I went from 145-13 to 165/70-13. On my Datsun 510, I did the same as the Austin. Later, my BMW 320i came with 185/70-13. So, I was kind of in the "70-series" thought pattern. The tires I got were Pirelli P600. As it turned out, I had a bit of "rubbing" with that tire size; and the spare did NOT fit, when inflated. S'ok, I lived with it--and bought any old thing that fit as a spare.
I had no driving experience on any other Pagoda, and thus no tire experience either. However, my observations on the Pirelli were much like you observed with yours--some float, even the feeling of instability. I could say it felt as if the chassis/body were completely disconnected from the tires; it would seem that the body would have to "catch up" to the rolling tires when going over certain terrain. I was thinking this was not as designed--and every element of my chassis was new. All rubber, bushings, shocks, springs, tie rods, etc. etc.
When you read a little history of the Pagoda specifications (this is where others now, begin to say nonsense) of the Pagoda, the ONLY radial tire of the era, the Michelin X, was specifically evaluated and rejected as a tire for the Pagoda. The ostensible reason was the sidewalls were too soft. Chief engineer (that wasn't actually his title but it'll work here) Rudi Uhlenhaut worked with both Phoenix (the German Firestone) and Continental (second source) to come up with what he called semi-radials; tires with both radial and bias plies in their construction; tires that had much stiffer sidewalls by design, than Michelin X radials. That's all history that I did not invent. Where some people say this story falls apart is that later in the production, conventional radial tires were fitted, not the Firestone Phoenix or Conti RA60.
Back to me--after a year or two of this floating experience, I ran across Tom Sargeant, and he had the [then new] Coker Phoenix, which were "designed and made in conjunction with the German Mercedes Old Timer Club". Again, I didn't make this up. Tom's car drove much better than mine, and I bought a set when they were only $189 each. One of them was rejected and replaced as it could not be properly balanced on a Hunter to my satisfaction. Clearly, from my balance experience, they don't measure up to a mass-produced tire in terms of consistency of construction. However, they do indeed offer a good ride on my car, and a vastly improved ride over the Pirellis. I don't know how they would compare on my car to a set of Vredesteins Sprint Classics, Conti Vanco. I don't know if they are "the best" or not. People seem to be happy with very inexpensive tires, so cost does not seem to be a factor here.
What has happened over the years since I bought my set of Cokers is that the cost has skyrocketed. I think they are now something like $260.00 each. The Michelin MXV-P, once a fairly common, and reasonably priced sporty tire, has moved to limited production and its price too, has gone up drastically--to $315.00...more than the Coker Phoenix.
While I think some people have had issues with the Cokers (particularly with the first generation w/o the rub strip which was added) my experience is good. They are essentially hand made, and have greater variability than they probably should--but that's what a good balance will correct. I suspect any lower-volume tire might have the same issues. Coker took one back on exchange w/o issue when I told them it wouldn't balance on a Hunter GSP. I also found a tire on my Explorer a few years ago that wouldn't balance on a Hunter, and based upon my current experience wouldn't buy any Hankooks.
There are many people as annoyed at the Coker
price, than they are with the
tires (ones they don't have or have never owned). The Sprint Classics are $163.00, about the same as the Cokers when I started--and that's not inexpensive either.
Just to be different, I suspect I might go with "added white wall" Sprint Classics for the next tire-up, which will probably be in the summer of 2016...if they are still available!
