• 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

TR2/3/3A TR3 needs tires

Share this page

I put 185/70-15s on my TR3, but I went with wider rims...5"...Theoretically, the widest tires you can put on a 4 1/2" rim are 165s.
 
As Art notes, rim width is a problem. Most tire shops will refuse to mount tires on rims that are too narrow, but I found one that would; ran 185/65-15 on stock TR3 rims for a while and they worked out well for me. Steel TR6 rims are 5.5" wide and fit great with 185/65; but any wider than that can be a problem.

And of course you have no hope of getting wider tires into the spare tire compartment. If your car was made before TS60000, even 165 tires won't go in easily. I used to keep a rope tied around the spare, just so I could get it out.
 
Randall,

When you say you ran 185/6515 on a stock TR3 rim are you talking about a 4 inch rim or a 4.5 inch rim. I have the 4 inch wire wheels and am also in need of new tyres. How well did they work out when you say "they worked out well"

I had the spare tyre pproblem myself. What I did was keep the spare deflated and I had a very small 12V pump in there with the spare. The pump was about 4 by 4 by 2 inches.

I confess that now I am down to no spare in either Triumph. Like I said I am in need of tyres. Come to think of it, while the TR3 is on blocks for this rework, I will put one of its wheels in the TR4 as a spare for now.

Adrio
 
Those were steel wheels, 4.5" wide. "Worked well" in the sense that they held the road much better (I like to drive hard) than the skinny bias ply tires I had on before. It was actually just an experiment using some well-worn tires off a Volvo, the results of which convinced me to invest in wider wheels and tires. There is probably some law against using tires that are "too wide" for the rims, so I don't recommend it.

My solution to the spare problem was to pick up a T135/70-15 spare tire from a junkyard. Only cost $10 (then), including a rim that I thought I could use. Turned out the rim would not clear the front brake calipers, so I mounted the tire on a stock TR3 rim instead.
DSCF0133.jpg

I've only needed it once, but I was sure glad I had it along.
 
These are my stock steel wheels probably 4.5". It's TS66 somthing. I was hoping for a better selection of tires. Not much out there. So 165/80/15 is the best size? The one problem that I don't want to occur is to change my speedo accuracy. It's spot on. I'll keep the spare I have now. It's only seen 500 or less miles and it's a tight fit.
 
I have Kuhmo 165/85's on a TR3 4 " rims and 2 sets on 60 spoke wires (TR4 & BJ8 A/H) Can't beat them for the money. You can buy almost three sets and wear them out for the price of one of the high dollar brands. Don't think you would like 185/65's (even with wider rims)on the TR3, they look too small and would probably change speedo accuracy a little.
 
Can you still get 165 XZXs? I saw a couple of sets on cars at TRA and was wondering how old they were.

Now, back to the point, there aren't many choices for 4.5 rims, but the Kumhos and Vredesteins can't be beat in terms of quality and price. I went through the same agony last year--trying to find something different--and came right back to those two tires.
 
Back
Top