• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Spitfire 79 Spitfire tires

Share this page

Dudly

Dudly

Jedi Hopeful
Offline
Hello all, hope everyone is doing well getting back on the road. I am asking Spitfire owners to tell me what tires they have installed and have the most faith in.
I will be mounting my spanky new Minators in gray that I scored from Scott at Team Triumph. I want a tire that compliments the rims and provides good performance. Of course I also don't want to break the piggy bank, so low(ish) cost is a plus.

Thanks
 
I just went looking for tires myself for my '65 Spit, as the dry rot on my current set is a bit excessive. Been a while since I looked for tires this small. Seems like the market has kind of dried up. In 155/80R13, Tire Rack only lists a set of Kumhos and some Firestone winter tires, and nobody else seems to have much better. Used to be able to get the Michelin XZX or Pirelli P series tires...
 
Jeremy's right about 155s, but there's a bit more available in what I feel is a nearly ideal size: 175/70R13. I say ideal in that it's still pretty close to the diameter of the original tires. Not much else without going to 14"; since you've already got those nice rims, you'll probably want to keep them, huh? :wink:
 
I bought a set of 155/80's at walmart for $28 per tire for my 70 spit. I agree that the 175's give more of a selection of tires but one thing to be careful of is rim width. The stock 4.5" rims are IMO just a hair narrow to be putting 175's on.
 
I picked up a set of Michelin 175-70 X 13 tires through Big "O" out here in Calif. Also just called a local Les Schwab tire and they a 155-80 X 13 made for them by Bridgestone. America's tire store carries Kumho tires, so they they should have, or be able to get you a set of Kumho 155-80 X 13. Cocker Tire also has Vredestein tires in 155-80 X 13 I beleive. The Les Schwab and Kumho tires will be the least expensive. Performance wise I would guess that each of these tires would have been considered a good tire back in the day. Today just so-so, compared with the high performance tires being put out. Size wise I have had a 1969 Mk 3 Spit with 155-80-X13's and a 1972 Mk4 Spit with 175-70-X13's. The 175's were very stable, great grip, but the car felt a lttle heavy. The 155's less so across the board, but the steering was light and I could chuck that car around corners. Good luck.
 
$169? WOW, they've gotten expensive! :crazyeyes:

Heck, I used to get them right from the Dunlop store locally for about $25 or so...but that was 1970. :wink:

If I'm going to pay that much, I think I'd toss in an extra dollar and go for some nice 2" BF Goodrich radials in 155/80R13 size, but only on a very, very early Spitfire (or, uh, Herald)!
 
Back
Top