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1967 BJ8 Tire Size

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bowilli3

Freshman Member
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Hello,
I am trying to find new tires for a 1967 AH 3000 BJ8. The original tires are size 165-SR15. I have been told by a salesman at TireRack that these are equivalent to 165-80/15s. Has anyone tried this size tire? Are they approximately the same size? The car has the original 5.5 x 15 wire rims.

The only tire that Tire Rack has in that size is a Kumho Power Star 758. I am not familiar with this brand. Does anyone have any experience with these tires?

Thanks for your help.

Bo
 
Hi Bo,
Welcome to the forum.
Tire selection is a personal preference item. People have their own widely varying opinions about size, profile, & cost. Kind of like "which toothpaste is the best"

The original tires were 5.90/15 bias ply tires. the wheels should be 4.5 x 15. The 165R15 tires that are widely available, they fit old VW's, vary in aspect ratio from 80 to 85. Most of them are a bit smaller in diameter than the original 5.90 bias plys.

Since there are so many different opinions, I won't attempt to suggest a specific tire & size. Many folks use something like 185 to 200 - 70R 15's. If you get tires that are too large, they will rub on something when turning or cornering. Reports on which tires rub also vary widely. I replaced a set of Michelin 175R-15's with Gillette 165-82R 15's & there isn't much difference except the Gillette's were about half the cost of the Michelins which were no longer available.

I'm sure that others will report their favorites.
Good luck,
D
 
Bo
AS Dave says the original rims are 4.5 not 5.5 although a PO may have fitted wider wheels to your car. If so 165 may not be wide enough. I'm not sure as I stick to the original 4.5's.

Regarding the profiles the Tirerack guy is not too far out. By comparison I just fitted the Vredestein Sprint Classic designed specially for Classic cars. The profile is 86.
i.e 165*86*15. Thats getting pretty close to the original bias (cross) ply tyres which were I think very slightly higher than that in profile
 
Hi Bo,

I recently purchased a set of Vredestein Sprint Classic 185/70's from British Wire Wheel. They look great on my '66 BJ8 and they ride and handle very well. I know Hendrix Wire Wheel also sells tires, you might want to check them out as well. Both have good web sites.

Wana
 
Have 165R15s on my 66 BJ8 and they work fine Bought them from Les Schwab's They are called Jupiter's made in Korea.
Have been on the car for several years.

Bot a 59 TR3 about 2 years ao and it had the exact same tire on it.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Hi Bo,

I recently purchased a set of Vredestein Sprint Classic 185/70's from British Wire Wheel. They look great on my '66 BJ8 and they ride and handle very well. I know Hendrix Wire Wheel also sells tires, you might want to check them out as well. Both have good web sites.

Wana

[/ QUOTE ]

BO, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif The 185X70X15 tire size is as good as it gets on the BJ8 cars. However, this size tire for some reason is very difficult to find except for the Vredestein brand mentioned. I have been running them on my cars for years now and have no complaints---Fwiw---Keoke

P.S.The Tire Rack Man was also correct.
 
Keoke

Just looked again on the Vredestein web site. The 70 in the 185/70 doesn't I think, refer to the profile which is listed as 89. Not sure what the 70 is as there is also also a 185 Sprint Classic without the 70 and which also has a profile of about 90
 
I just replaced an aging set of Michelin 175 R 15 which were perfect tires... and not as bulky looking in the wheel wells like the 185 + that I've seen on other cars. Another poster correctly identified they went out of production a few years ago... too bad (Cooker should pick up the mold!)

But, Coker had a large batch of 175 R 15 by Bridgestone at a super low price of $49 each. They look a bit taller and thinner than the Michelin's. I've used them for about 2000 miles and they seem to be fine, with a tad less grip than the Michelin's they replaced.... For the price, I like them.

-Andrew -
 
HI Derek. You have to be careful because the 185/15 tire is a Jaguar tire much too large for the healey.I am not up on all these profile numbers I see extending the standard 80 series.--Fwiw---Keoke
 
If I recall correctly, the diameter of the original tire is 26”. Whichever tire you go with, you may want to stay close to that figure so your speedometer will still be accurate… Or not. There are adaptors available. I went with 205/60 16’s which have a 25.7”diameter, but they may be a little loose on stock wire wheels. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif
 
DerekJ
The 70 should equal the aspect ratio of the tire.
If a tire does not have an aspect ratio in the size it is an 82. (82% as high as it is wide)
Here is a quick calc for OD. of a 185/70R15, 185(width)/25.4 to convert from MM to inches x 70%(.7)= 5.098 inchs tall. x 2 because there is a top and bottom = 10.196 + 15(wheel diamiter) = 25.196" overall diameter.
The 89 shown at the end of the size is the Load index. most tires have this now but it is still farily new. an 89 load index says the tires max load carrying capacity at max inflation pressure (36) is 1276 pounds.
Kevin R
1960 BN7
 
Thanks Kevin. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif This is starting to make sense now. This would explain why the wider 185 tyre has a 70% ratio compared to the 165 which has 82%. Otherwise the wider tyres would be higher than normal.
 
Bo, just to give you another example, I am running a 165R15 Cooper tire on my BJ7. Its outside inflated diameter is approx. 25 1/2 inches. Another fellow i know is running 185's on his 100/6 and they rub on occasion on the frame rail.
Greg, did I understand you right that you are running a 16" wheel on your Healey. If that is correct, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif, can you tell me what wheel you are using and what it took to make it fit.
Thanks, Dave C.
 
Hi Dave,
Yes, Alan at Hendrix Wire Wheel helped me get some custom wire wheels. They are 16”x6” 72 spokers. Personally, I like the look of a lower profile tire, but I wanted to stay with the original diameter. I also have a wider choice of tires to choose from now. The downside was I had to flare the fenders a little. I’m not a big fan of the abrupt flare that the Sebring kits have, so I tried to come up with something a little subtler. This shot is a work in progress.
136691-flare.jpg
 
Greg, the objective of running a lower profile tire is something that I would like to do too. your work in progress looks pretty good, I'm sure it will improve the handling as well. If you're maintaining the same overall diameter of the combination wheel and tire, why do you have to flare the fender. Unless you've gone wider as well?
Thanks, Dave C.
 
Hi Dave,
I think this picture will explain the need for flaring. You can also see the diameter is almost identical. I wanted to get the tires before I did the bodywork so I could match the two elements without any guesswork. Alan and I worked it out so the inside of the tire is in the same space as the original so there shouldn’t be any rubbing on the inner fender in a turn. Apparently these rims raised a little commotion at his shop. When a customer found out what they were for, he said “ I didn’t know they made 16” wheels for a Healey” to which Alan replied, “We do now”. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif Dayton increased their prices by about 20% almost a year ago. I was able to order my rims two days before that (wheeoo). Just a warning about possible sticker shock.
136819-tires.jpg
 
Bo,

I am currently running the Kumho Power Star 758 tires and am pleased with them. However, I would go with a little wider tire the next time as I have the minilite reproduction alloy wheels that are wider than stock and the 165's are a little thin. They drive well and are very inexpensive. I like the wet road handling, too. If you have the funds you should consider sending your wheels to Hendrix Wire Wheel and have the wheels inspected for true and have the tires mounted there. They will shave the tires to true round, balance, etc. for a great ride.....also, if you happen to have the typical 55mph "bounce" or "shake", balancing your rear wheel brake drums will possibly take that out - did for me! Good luck!!!
 
Just a heads up. I was trying to find 165SR15s at Tirerack to patronize the fine people who support BCF. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any 165/15s there. So I searched a bit and found Vredesteins at tiresunlimited, with all the various classic sizes that work for our LBCs. Price and ship were very low (less than Coker and BWW), and had the tire at my door in 2 days. I would like them to advertise here, though I'm not sure if Basil would have 2 tire dealers at the same time. But if you can't find what you need at tirerack, they are worth a try.
 
Hello GregW, i like that flare on the front fender it looks most beautiful. Did you or are you going to try and copy it for the rear? On my BN1 i had 205/75R15 and with the 2 deg of negative camber at the front it moved the top of the tire inwards which cleared the fender. That was 20 years ago and i don't remember them rubbing anywhere on the front and probably didn't care about them rubbing on the rear. I had fitted fiberglass fenders front and rear so was able to open out the wheel arch of the fenders to give more room. Ahh the things we did back then. My BN7 has 205/70R15 Pirelli P4000 and i had the front fenders flared a little bit by a bodyshop (not even as much as you have) but it did allow enough clearance at the front. With the rears i put a 3/16ths spacer between the drum and the spline but it still rubs but i don't seem bothered by it. I have other plans for it in the future so at the moment i put up with it. Regards, BUNDYRUM.
 
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