AC Cobra Tire Pressures

To find tires for your AC Cobra see our AC Cobra page.

AC Cobra Red

Historical fitment guides state that the tire pressure for an AC Cobra ranges from 24-33 PSI depending on the specific model, the type of tires that you decide to fit, and pressure differences for front and rear tires.
Longstone cannot offer a definitive pressure recommendation for the Cobra, as today a wide range of different tires are fitted, each with their own optimum pressure.
To find the ideal tire pressures for your car's year, model, and chosen tires follow the link to our Tire Pressure Guide.

The right-hand-drive AC Cobra 289 road cars originally fitted 185 VR 15 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67, which is generally still our recommended tire.AC Cobra road cars have since been fitted with many different tires, as people have wanted to fit considerably wider wheels to diminish wheel spin.
To find out more information on AC Cobra tires follow the link to our AC Cobra tire Section.

Some AC Cobra choose to fit Route Borrani Wire Wheels as an upgrade, for more information follow the link to view our Borrani Wire Wheel Section.

AC Cobra 289 Tires

The AC Cobra fits a broad range of tires, the initial fitting was a 185-15, optionally a 205/70-15 could be fitted. Longstone's recommendation for a normal AC Cobra would be the 185 VR 15 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67. It is a high-performance era-correct tire that can manage power while still providing progressive handling. If you have the earlier Cobra 289 road car there is no better tire to go for!

The other road tires fitted on left hand drive 289 Cobra in the States came fitted with 6.40-15 or 6.70-15 crossply tires. Today so many of these cars get fitted with wider tires, and of course radial tires do make a fast car like a Cobra better suited to modern roads. A 289 Cora will be perfect on the road on a 205/70VR15 Pirelli Cinturato, and if you need a larger rear tire like the 289 Cobra track cars did, the 215/70VR15 Pirelli Cinturato on the rear is ideal.

It is worth noting that if you want to go for a tire lower than a 70 profile on these earlier cars then you should change your wheels; wire wheels are not suited to use without innertubes, and low profile tires (lower than 70 profile) are not suited to use with innertubes.

AC Cobra Period Advert

Longstone Poster

Original tyres for an AC Cobra 427

The AC Cobra Cobra 427 came with wider wheels and large crossply tires. The first road version of the Cobra 427 came fitted with 8.15-15 Goodyear Blue-Dot tyres on 7.5” alloy wheels. AC’s competition version of the Cobra 427 had 6.5” wide FIA wheels on the front of the early car and 7.5” Alloy Cobra II on the later ones with 9.9-15 Goodyear Speedway special tires. The rear fitted 11.9-15 Goodyear Speedway Special with 8.5” rims to start, moving onto 9.5” later.

The AC Cobra 427 S/C tires were 8.15-15 front and 11.4-15 rear Goodyear Speedway Specials or Firestone Indy Specials. These were fitted on 7.5”X15 and 9.5”X15 Alloy Cobra II wheels.

Today it isn’t so easy finding suitable road tyres that are capable of fitting these wide 15” wheels, while at the same time having a suitable overall diameter to compliment the AC Cobra’s gearing. Avon make the CR6ZZ range that offer the perfect road race tyres with a V speed rating, when it comes to performance road race tires these work very well, however it is worth noting that they are made with a race compound which does have some drawbacks.

Pirelli make the Cinturato CN12 which offers a 205/70VR15 Cinturato CN12 or 215/70VR15 Cinturato CN12 for the front and a 255/60VR15 Cinturato CN12 for the rear. These are actually genuine period road tyres that were fitted to cars like the Lamborghini Muira back in the early 1970s and are the perfect road tyre for an AC Cobra BF Goodrich also make the Radial T/A range with raised white letters which also offer the right size tyres for a 428 Cobra and even the 428SC Cobra, but they only actually have an S speed rating which isn’t really ideal for such a fast car.

AC Cobra Superblower Tires

There have been a wide range of replica AC Cobra made over the years, cars like the Cobra Superblower often came fitted with 16” wheels and more modern tyres. Fortunately, Michelin make the 225/50R16 Pilote Sport for the front and the 255/50VR16 Pilote Sport for the rear. The 16” Cobra Superblower cars are also catered for by Pirelli with the 225/50R16 P-Zero Directionale and the 255/50R16 P-Zero Asimmetrico.

AC Cobra Innertubes

The AC Cobra came equipped with tube-type wire wheels and innertubes. The Michelin 15F innertube is ideal for 185 R 15 and 205/70 R 15 tires. Innertubes are not suitable for lower profile tires with a profile lower than 70% (e.g 255/60 R 15). The Cobra is a car that many owners modify, it is worth checking your wheels to make sure they are original equipment, if not original they may be tubeless and not require tubes. Please note that if you have wire wheels we strongly recommend fitting innertubes. The 16” wheels, like the ones fitted to the Superblower, should not fit innertubes.

AC Cobra History

AC Cobra Lineup

Carroll Shelby was in charge of developing the AC Cobra in the autumn of 1961. It was constructed on an AC Ace chassis and had a big Ford V8 with a robust Salisbury rear axle. The first 75 cars were powered by a 4.2-litre engine, while the first 125 were equipped with Ace-type worm-and-sector steering. By the early part of 1963, a 4.7-litre motor and rack-and-pinion steering were standard.

The Cobra had been improved to the point that the team was capable of winning the 1964 World GT Championship, overcoming such fearsome names as the Ferrari 250GTO and the lightweight Jaguar E-type in just a few years. In 1965, the AC Cobra underwent numerous substantial changes. The transverse leaf springs were first replaced with a coil-spring and double-wishbone arrangement. The Cobra's second, and arguably most significant, alteration was the replacement of the 4.7-litre engine with a 7-litre Ford Galaxie-based V8. In a car weighing just over 1000kg, this produced a mind-boggling 345bhp at 4,600rpm!

There was a lot of debate over what the car's name should be. Although AC insisted on branding the car AC, Shelby badged and sold it as the Shelby American Cobra. Even more perplexingly, the car was later called the Ford Cobra! After the AC Cobra was discontinued in 1968, AC developed a long-wheelbase variation (the AC 428, which was also equipped Frua coachwork). The final one was produced in 1973.

However, due to popular demand, the car was revived in 1983 under new ownership, with the Cobra now sporting a 5 litre V8. With the exception of the 'Superblower,' which had a supercharger and produced 355bhp, the current Cobras are effectively recreations of the original car.

AC Cobra Wire Wheels

Borrani is a manufacturer and provider of the finest wire wheels in the business, handcrafting wheels for a variety of well-known vehicle manufacturers like Ferrari, Maserati, Aston Martin, and Lotus. Borrani wheels are handmade in Italy using their specialised alloys, which are up to 25% lighter than steel wire wheels. This allows them to retain the necessary strength whilst looking better than any other wheels on the market. Borrani produces an exclusive wire wheel set for the AC Cobra!

Wire Wheels Need Innertubes!