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Another Tire Question... I know!

CaptRoy

Jedi Hopeful
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I just ordered 5" 72 spoke wheels for my 3 and plan to put on 185/65/15 tires. I plan to get them locally... Any ideas... I know Goodyear makes the 185/65 for about 73.00 a tire..

Has anyone run the Goodyears? Any other ideas...

I tried to search this to no avail...

Thanks
 
There should be lots of choices in that size from Michelin, Dunlop, Yokohama and various other manufacturers. I am not sur which Goodyears you are considering, as they make such a wide range it is hard to offer an opinion.
Generally I prefer tyres which don't look too modern, some of the "rain" tread patterns look a bit weird on a car from that era, to me at least.
Simon.
 
Mea culpa. The text that formerly appeared here has been deleted; I misread the original post and thought it referred to a TR6, not a TR3. As Emily Latella would say: "Well, that's very different....never mind!" /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/blush.gif
 
Roy,

Check out the 195/65x15s instead of the 185/65s. That's what most folks use on the TR3-4s without the need for changes in suspension. Plus the diameter is more correctly matched to the suspension geometry and gearing.
 
Pardon my ignorance but doesn't a wire wheel require the use of an inner tube? And would that make a difference, Roy.
 
i thought the old and original ones did, but new wheels allowed the use of regular tires, unless you wanted to use a tube. kind of the same dilemma with alot of old wheels, but new wires should run on regular tires, i would assume. it all depends on the manufacturer i guess.
 
Thanks for all the input.. I would like the 195/85. I thought there would be clearance problems... I know Peter runs 205's and has spacers for the rear..

Can I fit 195's without spacers and with 5' wheels? I thought the max with 5' wheels was 185's.

Also, I ordered Dayton wheels and they are tubless... We'll see how that works!
 
Flinkly said:
i thought the old and original ones did, but new wheels allowed the use of regular tires, unless you wanted to use a tube. kind of the same dilemma with alot of old wheels, but new wires should run on regular tires, i would assume. it all depends on the manufacturer i guess.

That's news to me? Anybody running wire wheels without a tube? How'd they seal all those nipple ends? I thought all wire wheels required a tube?
 
Roy-

For what its worth, I put on Kumho 195/65's on my TR4. Very reasonably priced at Discount Tire. I like them, though I haven't really put the mileage on them.

Randy
 
Harry_Ward said:
Flinkly said:
i thought the old and original ones did, but new wheels allowed the use of regular tires, unless you wanted to use a tube. kind of the same dilemma with alot of old wheels, but new wires should run on regular tires, i would assume. it all depends on the manufacturer i guess.

That's news to me? Anybody running wire wheels without a tube? How'd they seal all those nipple ends? I thought all wire wheels required a tube?

I ordered new Dayton wire wheels from British Wire Wheel for my old TR3 racecar. BWW said that they could seal the nipples so that I would not need tubes, and I went with that option. I had Dunlop Racing mounted tires on them with no tubes. They leaked and I had to have them dismounted and ended up using tubes anyway!

Caveat: Could the leaks have been due to the use of Dunlop Racing Tires?
 
Hi Capt,

It's a little difficult to say, since your car is a TR3A. There is some variation, car to car. On a TR4, I'd say 195/65 would be no problem (unless the wheels had some strange offset). So, unfortunately, about the only thing to do is give it a try and see if they fit okay.

Glad to hear that you opted for the stronger 72 spoke wheels. But, you didn't say what rim width. That will, in part, dictate how wide the tire you fit can be.

Be sure to fit the wheels onto the car and test carefully for any clearance issues *before* fitting any tires. Often once tires have been fitted, wheels can no longer be returned for a refund.

When you do go to fit up the tires, try to find a shop that's experienced with wire wheels. Their experience might help avoid problems (such as leaks) and they may check for balance and true before fitting the tires.

FYI, The Tire Rack has customer feedback and reviews on most makes and models of tires, right on their website. The more common/popular models of tires that have been around awhile have accumulated a pretty good mass of info. At that site and/or the manufacturer's website you'll find specifications such as recommended rim width, diameter or the tire, tread width, cross-sectional width, etc. You might find this useful.

A problem you could run into is getting the tire and wheel to fit into the spare compartment on the TR3. It's a pretty tight fit even for the original narrow wheels and tires, so you may need to run a narrower tire on the spare (or let the air out of a slightly tight fitting tire... but then what's the point of having it in there!). I think the earlier TR3 had a rather smaller spare compartment than the later, but I don't have either car so can't really say for certain.

Keep us posted.

P.S. Are you converting from disk wheels or just replacing old wire wheels? If converting, you have fitted adapters I'm sure. Just be sure to shorten the lug studs as described in the manual, or they will inerfere with and damage the wheels the very first time they are installed.

An alternative to shortening the lug studs is to fit wheel spacers behind the adapters. This allows reinstalling any set of disk wheels (or mags such as Panasports) in the future, without having to replace the lug studs with longer ones. However, the 6mm of additional width *might* cause clearance issues on a TR3 (or it might just as easily solve clearance issues, if they are inboard at the springs or a-arms).

OTOH, if replacing old wires and using old adapters, try to check for any play or wear in the old adapters. The splines do wear over time.
 
CaptRoy
You could always go with the original Michelin Redlines...


DSC07601.jpg



mine have the tubes /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif
 
Sorry to start this thread up again.. I'm looking into new Tires for my TR4. I have stock 5" rims. I was ready to go with the Kumho 165/80/15's. Now I'm seeing some info to go with 185/65/15 or even 195/65/15. My thinking is that the 195's would have the best look but maybe I'd need wider rims. Does anyone have the 185's or even 195's mounted on the stock 5" rims? and can you post a pic of your car or wheel here for viewing if you do? Thanks Much... Rich
 
Here's some 205/65's (if i remember correctly) mounted on TR250 rims...works great.
IMAG0227.jpg
 
I think the original option would have been Michelin X, with Dunlop Gold Seal, perhaps the C41, as standard.
Not likely to be found these days, but you may find Michelin ZX, or Pirelli P3, though even these may be old stock.
 
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