RobT
Jedi Warrior
Offline
Given all the recent discussion of TR tires, I thought I would share my own experiment in this area.
I had some very old (+10 yr) set of Michelin 205/70R15 red line radials on the car. They were starting to crack and go out of round, so even though the tread was fine, it was time to look for a replacement.
I wanted to use a modern tire like the ones fitted, preferably a 205/70R15, rather than the old 185's, but could not find anyone who makes a red-line tire in this size anymore. I did, however, find a Michelin Symmetry "white line", which comes with a narrow white stripe on the sidewall(as the name suggests). So I bought a set of these (about $130 each, fitted and balanced), and painted the white line "red". Here is the result:
And they look pretty close to the old Michilen "X" 185s
I used some red vinyl spray paint (purchased from the local auto parts store - for recolouring interiors) applied with a paint brush. The width of the white lines is supposed to be 1/2 inch, while the originals are 3/8 inch, but by my measurements they are both pretty darn close to 7/16.
Michelin "X":
Michelin Symmetry:
The tread patterns are different, you can see the Symmetry is wider and slightly shorter than the "X":
The Symmetry is an all-weather tire - I would have preferred a summer performance tire, but they are a vast improvement over the old ones, and I suspect give better handling than the "X". I am yet to see if the paint washes off in the first rain storm though.
Rob.
I had some very old (+10 yr) set of Michelin 205/70R15 red line radials on the car. They were starting to crack and go out of round, so even though the tread was fine, it was time to look for a replacement.
I wanted to use a modern tire like the ones fitted, preferably a 205/70R15, rather than the old 185's, but could not find anyone who makes a red-line tire in this size anymore. I did, however, find a Michelin Symmetry "white line", which comes with a narrow white stripe on the sidewall(as the name suggests). So I bought a set of these (about $130 each, fitted and balanced), and painted the white line "red". Here is the result:
And they look pretty close to the old Michilen "X" 185s
I used some red vinyl spray paint (purchased from the local auto parts store - for recolouring interiors) applied with a paint brush. The width of the white lines is supposed to be 1/2 inch, while the originals are 3/8 inch, but by my measurements they are both pretty darn close to 7/16.
Michelin "X":
Michelin Symmetry:
The tread patterns are different, you can see the Symmetry is wider and slightly shorter than the "X":
The Symmetry is an all-weather tire - I would have preferred a summer performance tire, but they are a vast improvement over the old ones, and I suspect give better handling than the "X". I am yet to see if the paint washes off in the first rain storm though.
Rob.