Tires for BT7

[esussman]

I have Redline 165R15/86T steel belted radial tires on my Healey. Can't find any manufacturer name other the "Metric". They came with the car 16 years ago and still look new. No signs of dry rot but thinking it might be better to replace them due to age. Good idea?

Very hard to find Redline 165R15 radials although Coker has 185R15s. Will they work or should I stick with the original size?

Thanks,

Eric

 

[DerekJ]

You should change them immediately. 16 year old tyres will be hard as rock, have next to no grip regardless of tread and may be ready to delaminate. 165 or 185 will work but if you have the original 4.5 inch rime maybe best to stick to the 165s.

 

[esussman]

Thanks for your reply. Rims not original. They are 72 spoke chrome rims. Outer diameter (lip to lip) is 16 inches. Will 185s fit?

Thanks,

Eric

 

[dcarlg]

185s fit on mine. Handle great, look great and ride great. Vredesteine Sprint.

 

[esussman]

185s fit on mine. Handle great, look great and ride great. Vredesteine Sprint.

Did they need tubes?

Thanks,

Eric

 

[Bob McElwee]

My guess is if the tires are 16 years old they probably have tubes in them. You would want to replace them also.

 

[esussman]

Found Vredestein 165r15's reasonably priced at Summit. Guess I'll go with those and the tubes to be safe.

Thanks,

Eric

 

[dcarlg]

Yes, I have tubes.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Did they need tubes?

Thanks,

Eric

If they're unsealed wire wheels, yes; if not, no. BTW, your rims are most likely 15"; I think you measure from base of bead to base of bead, but I'm not sure (never heard of Big Healeys with anything other than 15" rims, but not impossible).

 

[Jack T]

Thanks for your reply. Rims not original. They are 72 spoke chrome rims. Outer diameter (lip to lip) is 16 inches. Will 185s fit?

Thanks,

Eric

The dimension to check is rim width (inside bead to inside bead) to determine if a wider tire will work. If your wheels are 72 spokes, they are probably at least 5" wide and will handle 185 tires no problem. The wheel should be marked somewhere with something like "5J15", '5' being the width, '15' the diameter. I think the original Healey wheels were 4" or 4.5" wide, and you could get a bit of 'wallowing' in the turns if too wide a tire is fitted.

 

[esussman]

Thanks for the info Jack. Couldn't find any marking on the rims as mounted but they are definitely not 4 inches by my tape measure. At least 5" bead to bead. Only question left is to decide on the 165 Vredesteins or Coker's redline 185s. The redlines on my Healey now look really cool as the body color is resale red. Just don't know about the quality of Coker's product.

 

[Jack T]

Thanks for the info Jack. Couldn't find any marking on the rims as mounted but they are definitely not 4 inches by my tape measure. At least 5" bead to bead. Only question left is to decide on the 165 Vredesteins or Coker's redline 185s. The redlines on my Healey now look really cool as the body color is resale red. Just don't know about the quality of Coker's product.

There are Coker red lines on the TR6 I bought. Haven't driven it a lot, but the tires are adequate. Should work fine with a Healey. The 185 tire may increase the steering effort a bit, but will fill the wheel openings more than a 165.

Jack

 

[esussman]

Just got the redline Coker 185R15s. Waiting on the tubes. Uninflated the 185s tires appear to have a much larger circumference than my 165s still on my Healey. Sure hope they will fit.

 

[dcarlg]

I'm sure you will be very pleased with 185s.
Try the Torrington bearings atop the trunion if you want to decrease steering effort. I also installed the offset trunion bush to change camber to zero.

 

[esussman]

After confirming on their website, the Coker 185s are 27" diameter. That's nearly the size of the wheel well. Really concerned now.

 

[Jack T]

After confirming on their website, the Coker 185s are 27" diameter. That's nearly the size of the wheel well. Really concerned now.

I've seen lots of big Healeys with 185s on them. Never heard of any problems.

 

[esussman]

i think that's because most 165s and 185s are 25.5" in diameter. These seem quite a bit larger. Still researching.

 

[esussman]

Hendrix wire wheels confirmed they will not fit. Suggested DB tires or the Vredesteins. Oh well, too late smart.

 

[Rob Glasgow]

DB tires? What are those?

 

[Jack T]

Hendrix wire wheels confirmed they will not fit. Suggested DB tires or the Vredesteins. Oh well, too late smart.

I stood the wheel from my Healey with a 165-15 Michelin on it next to the Coker red line on the TR6, and the Coker tire was 1" taller. Granted, there was no load on the Healey tire, but considering how much empty space there is in the Healey's wheel wells with the 165 it's hard to believe the red line won't work.