• 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

Tires

Share this page

rlich8

rlich8

Jedi Trainee
Offline
Hi All,

I need some help with tires on my car.

The original painted wire wheels have (unfortunately) been replaced with chrome. They don't look BAD, it's just that I prefer the painted ones, and they're original.

Meanwhile, I need new tires!! I will check later today the exact size. Hopefully, I can use the original tires, I'm sure the handling was designed to be the best with the original tires. It's to my understanding they were Michelin X with the following tread pattern:
michelinx.jpg



SO...

If those are not original, what are?

If the original will not work with my chrome wires, what sort of tires should I put on my car? Would like to stay in the Michelin family, at least.
 
I would recommend Vredestein tires, used with tubes for wire wheels. On my 58 TR3A, I use Vredestein Sprint + S80 radial steel tubeless 165 R15 86S tires. they handle very well, and are very quiet on the road.
 
If this is for your 4A standard would be 60 spoke 4 1/2" x 15" with 165/15/80 tires. 72 spoke 5" wires fit so you need to be sure of the rims first. My $32 Kumho's (5 years ago) serve me fine. Some describe them as bicycle tires.
 
I think the Kumhos are no longer made in that size, but they were a good tire at a great price for us. The Vredsteins are much more, I don't know anything about these, but everybody has to meet DOT standards and is subject to litigation these days if they put out a substandard tire, so might be worth a try.

They even have kind of a period look to them as long as you don't get too close and see "NANKANG" written on the side.

https://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct...ar=80&rd=15

Haven't used the tires, no financial interest, etc. just pointing out an option
 
Just bought 4 Kumhos for my TR3 couple of weeks ago, so they are still available in that size. Cheers, Mike

Kumho.jpg
 
Everytime I buy tires that brand discontinues production in our size -- I have single-handedly put paid to Michelin, Dunlop and Coopers.

I have Kuhmos but see that my usual vendor no longer shows them. My most recent set were Nexens and they, too, seem to be unavailable from that source:

https://www.tireeasy.com/

Mike -- what is the date on the tires you got? Availability of Kumhos has been spotty in the past as if they make a bunch then suspend production.

Kuhmo & Nexen are both made in China (if that matters) though I have observed no quality or performance issues with the ones I have used.
 
I bought the Kuhmos about 8 months ago from tires-easy.
 
DOT info on my tires is: DOT COM3 YAD 3610 so I'm assuming this is June 2010. They are Made in China. Cheers, Mike
 
All good info guys, thank you. If I cannot locate some original style Michelin's, the Kumho's or Vredesteins are probably the way to go.

Does anyone know of anywhere in Chicago that will install these new tires on my wire wheels?
 
mgedit said:
...3610 so I'm assuming this is June 2010...
Click to expand...

Close, I think that is the 36th week of 2010 so more like mid-September. We'll see if they show up on the usual vendors or if you got the end of the line.

rlich8 said:
...If I cannot locate some original style Michelin's...
Click to expand...

Coker, of course, has Michelins...

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/COK-57982/
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/COK-579824/

As for the comment -- "I'm sure the handling was designed to be the best with the original tires" -- I would say original style tires give you original-style handling. Whether that is best or not is subjective. I actually like the way my car handles with the tall & skinny 165/15s but I suppose any reasonable person would say it handles 'better' with the 195/65/15 Potenzas.

My solution is to have a set of both and mount them based on the driving plan.
 
Fair enough - that's true. I would like close to as original handling as possible but it's not that big a deal if I can't get that.

The tires that are on there now are 195/65 R15 Micheline Radial X Tubless.

So, I think it seems that narrows my options, yes?

Can I use a 165/65 R15 tire? Do I have to use a Tubeless tire, or can I use an inner tube, too?

Sorry guys, I don't know much about tires/rims - I focus my knowledge on mechanics and electricals, LOL.

Thanks all!
 
The 165/65 15s are about 2" shorter (& smaller diameter) than the original 'metric' tires which had an aspect ratio of about 80.

I use a tube in a tubeless tire (for wire wheels).
 
So, suffice it to say, I could do the same setup as you have done? Just want to make sure I can go from 195 to 180 or 165?
 
My 195s are on wider wheels. I have seen 195s mounted on the stock wheels but looks too balloony to me.

It really depends on your goal -- original look... original style handling... improved handling?
 
Despite the fact that a previous owner put chrome wire wheels w/ 195/65 R15's on there, I'd like to try and get the original look and original style handling. Michelin's preffered.

Second choice is a modern Michelin that looks period-proper, or not super modern, and maybe improved handling. :smile:
 
About 2 weeks ago I bought 5 Vredestein Sprint Classic 165HR15 tires from Universal Tire in Hersey, PA for $105 each. The cost to ship 5 tires was $50. I also bought 5 Firestone FR-15 tubes at $10.50 each from Tom's Import in Portland, Ore.

Art
 
I'm getting ready to order, but I'm just worried that the Vredesteins 165HR15 won't fit...
 
What size are your wheels? The 165 should be good to at least 5.5" wide (which is measured on the inside, where the tire bead presses against the sides of the wheel).

Also, depending on which wheels you have, you may not need tubes. Dayton sells tubeless wire wheels in both painted and chrome, I believe.

Depending on the tire shop, they may refuse to put tubes into tubeless tires. The tire makers don't recommend it, and the shop could potentially be liable if they install the tires in an unsafe manner and you later have a wreck caused by tire failure.
 
Assuming we're talking about a TR3 or TR4 I would say 165/15 is the most popular size in use on stock wheels, be they steel or wires.
 
Back
Top