In the heyday of the muscle car, back in the late 60s and 70s, nothing could quite set off the street cred and cool factor of those cars like a set of white letter sidewall tires. Unfortunately, the tire tech of the time wasn’t that great and drivers would end up with a 70 mph set of tires on a 130 mph car, but that’s no longer the case.

Enter the Mastercraft Avenger G/T, a modern, premium all-season tire that has the classic look of a period-correct white letter sidewall along with the materials, construction, and design of a tire that’s completely up to date. But the Mastercraft Avenger G/T isn’t just for restorations or muscle cars, it’s a perfect tire for any time you want year-round performance and value along with classic looks and style. So what is it that we like so much about the tire? What is it that makes this tire such a standout performer and value? Let’s go in for a closer look with this Mastercraft Avenger G/T review:

Features and Benefits

There’s a lot to like with the Mastercraft Avenger G/T:

• Advanced tread compound for year-round traction and long, even wear
• Circumferential and lateral grooves cut through standing water and evacuate it behind the tire’s contact patch to resist hydroplaning on wet roads
• Slotted, notched shoulder design enhances cornering ability and wet-weather grip
• A dense network of sipes lends hundreds of extra biting edges for reliable traction on wet or snowy pavement
• Solid center rib for improved straight-line stability, road manners, and steering response
• Tread pitch is computer-tuned to cancel frequencies and resonances, keeping road noise to a minimum
• Polyester casing with two steel belts and nylon cap layer
• Engineered for refined ride quality
• The contact patch is optimized for a wide, flat footprint, putting the most rubber possible on the road for improved handling, even wear, braking performance
• Backed by a 50,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty
• Made in USA
• Great-looking white letter sidewall

Pros and Cons

So, is this Mastercraft tire the right choice for your ride and budget? Before you decide, let’s take a look at the tire’s strengths and weaknesses:

PROS:

• Generous warranty coverage from the manufacturer
• Modern construction and rubber compound for strong performance
• Confident handling, cornering, and braking
• Ride quality and low noise are surprisingly compliant and comfortable
• Good traction and performance even with high-torque, high-horsepower vehicles

CONS:

• Should not be used in moderate to severe winter weather conditions
• Wet performance could be better
• Some drivers noticed issues with uneven wear

SimpleTire’s view on Mastercraft Avenger G/T tires

Mastercraft is a privately owned brand from Cooper Tire. Here at SimpleTire, we’ve been impressed with these USA-made tires for some time, and the Avenger G/T is no exception. The Avenger G/T is a great performance-oriented all-season radial that delivers long, even wear, a surprisingly quiet and refined ride, performance that’s equally confident on wet or dry pavement, and traction for braking and acceleration that are suitable for muscle-car applications where a lot of horsepower has to get to the pavement.

Road manners with the Mastercraft Avenger G/T are exemplary thanks to the solid center rib; this is a tire that doesn’t get jittery or lose its composure on rough or uneven pavement surfaces. Cornering is neutral and predictable even when pushed hard, and control is sure-footed enough to enable drift (although it’s possible to kick the back end out and oversteer with a strong-running RWD car). All in all, the Avenger G/T is a great value, especially with its 50,000 mile warranty, and of course, there’s that white letter sidewall, too.

Vehicles the Mastercraft Avenger G/T is a good replacement tire for

• Chevrolet Corvette
• Dodge Challenger
• Ford Mustang
• Pontiac GTO