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TR2/3/3A TR3 Tires

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af3683

af3683

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I'm looking to get some new tires for my TR3B. Are the 165/80R15 Vredestein tires still the way to go? I've also noticed that Vredestein has the Sprint Classic (86H) line and the Sprint+ (86S) line. Does anyone know which is better for a TR3B and what they cost? Also are there any other alternatives? Thank you very much.

Art
 
Art - I bought 4 Vredestein 165 - 15 Sprint tires (the cheapest ones) for $400.00 installed and balanced on the steel wheels for my 1958 TR3A 6 years ago. - 22,000 miles and they grip really nice. I have about 40% to 50% of tread still there.
 
I agree with Don, the Vredestein Sprint+ has been a good performer on my TR3A. The Classic has a good looking older-style tread design, but I don't think the Sprint+ looks at all out of place.
Shop around, I found prices varied a lot.
John
 
Another vote for the Vredesteins. Had them on the TR3 and liked 'em. Assume they're still rolling for the current owner.

Mickey
 
The sprint looks to have a more deep ribbed tread,with the classsics looking more flat.
BTW the classics in 165x15 are on national back order ,not available at any of the ususal discount online tire sites until mid January.One dealer,I believe British Car parts in Texas had them but about 25+ a tire over internet dealers,so I will have to wait.
have Fun
Tom
 
I think I am an unofficial tire tester... I have never bought the same brand twice. This isn't because I don't like what I got, but rather because every time I buy a tire the company promptly ceases production in 165/15.

I have single handedly driven Michelin, Dunlop and Cooper out of this market. I caused Kuhmo to walk away though at the moment they are back. I have been strongly encouraged to not mess with Vredesteins.

FWIW -- my most recent set was Nexen, an inexpensive tire from Cathay that has performed well thru their first year. This included a 1000+ mile road trip at cruising speeds of 70-80. At less than 50 bucks a corner they are about half the cost of the Vredestein Sprint+ (which are by all accounts an excellent tire) and they even have a higher speed rating which I pay attention to as mine are mounted on wires.

FWIW, this is the place I have bought 3 sets from in the past 2 years and have been impressed with their price & quick delivery:

https://www.tireeasy.com/
 
I put wider wire wheels on my TR3, and then mounted Vredestein Sprint Classics in 185/70-15 size. Expensive, but I like the tires. They feel great on the TR3. BTW, over in the vintage forum on Ferrari Chat, the most recommended tires for Classic Ferraris are the Vredesteins. :driving:
 
Thank you everyone.

George, I appreciate the link to tires-easy.com. It looks like there are only 7 tires to choose from. Unfortunately, I've only heard of Vredestein and Kumho and have never bought tires online. George, I also have wire wheels and am curious if you installed rim strips around your rims and also used tubes.

The tires that I plan on replacing are at least 20 years old and I assume that if there are tubes inside that they are also at least 20 years old. Would you advise replacing the tubes as well?

Thanks,
Art
 
When I decided to go with wider wires on my TR3, I had Hendrix Wire Wheel do all of the work. I bought the wires from Moss, as Hendrix didn't have painted wires in stock in the size I wanted. I had Moss drop ship them to Hendrix, and bought the tires and the rest of the stuff from Hendrix.

Allen Hendrix took the brand new wire wheels and re-trued them, because he feels that the run-out tolerances on new wires aren't tight enough. He then installed new bands and mounted the Vredesteins (which he sells, along with Kuhmos) with new tubes. Then he shaves the tires true and balances everything. I cringed at what it all wound up costing me, but after putting some miles on this TR3, I would do it all over again. It is just incredible how smooth these wheels and tires run.
 
I've bought 4 sets of Kuhmo's in the last two years, used them on TR3s, TR4's and 3000's. For average driving and use, you can't beat the price.

Marv
 
When I bought my car (TR3), it had relatively new Cooper tires on it. I found that they were very noisy on the road. So I changed them for Vredestein Sprint+ S80 Radial Steel Tubeless tires (on wire wheels, with tubes. They are 165 R15 86S. I had the wheels balanced and the tires "trued." Absolute quiet on the road! I am very pleased with them. Cost for four was $436.00 in June 2010.
 
When I bought my TR3 it had old cracked tyres on it, so I had some budget tyres fitted. When the let go one day in the wet, I thought my life was worth more than a set of tyres, so bought some expensive Goodyear tyres. They seemed very good, but after 10 years I thought I should replace them. Thanks to recommendations from Don and others on here I bought Vredestein Sprint +. They were amongst the cheapest tyres available, but they have been fantastic, offering much better grip and cornering. No longer does the inside rear wheel spin when I leave a junction. The side-walls seem to be a little firmer than the previous tyres, and the car is certainly better on autotests. Another unexpected advantage is that my trolly jack now fits under the car, whereas before I had to lift it a fraction before the jack would fit under the chassis!
 
af3683 said:
...I appreciate the link to tires-easy.com. It looks like there are only 7 tires to choose from.
Click to expand...

And here I was, impressed that there were 7.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]I also have wire wheels and am curious if you installed rim strips around your rims and also used tubes...
tubes... also at least 20 years old. Would you advise replacing the tubes as well?[/QUOTE]

I used PVC tape from the hardware store though the purpose-made rim strips are fine too. You should definitely plan on replacing those tubes. Save a couple of the old ones as old valves and old inner tube rubber can be useful for all sorts of interesting things.

Nexen.JPG
 
Art,

There is a thread on this topic entitled "Steel wheels and tubes" further down this list. It contains a lot of information you will find of interest.
 
Geo Hahn said:
...old inner tube rubber can be useful for all sorts of interesting things.
Click to expand...
Amen to that! Just a month or so ago, I was desperate to find something from which to make door handle gaskets for the Herald...and spotted an old bicycle inner tube in the barn. Perfect! :smile:
 
LexTR3, thank you for pointing out the the "Steel wheels and tubes" thread. There was some very valuable information mentioned.

I noticed that the Vredestein SPRINT+ tires have a Uniform Tire Quality Grading (UTQG) rating of only 160-A-B which is quite a bit lower than all of the other 165/80R15 tires I saw on the tires-easy.com web site. For example, the Kumho Power Star 758 has a grading of 400-A-B, the Nanking CX668 has a grading of 440-A-B, and the the Nexen SB802 have a grading of 320-A-B. Is this something to take into consideration? Thanks.
 
af3683 said:
LexTR3, thank you for pointing out the the "Steel wheels and tubes" thread. There was some very valuable information mentioned.

I noticed that the Vredestein SPRINT+ tires have a Uniform Tire Quality Grading (UTQG) rating of only 160-A-B which is quite a bit lower than all of the other 165/80R15 tires I saw on the tires-easy.com web site. For example, the Kumho Power Star 758 has a grading of 400-A-B, the Nanking CX668 has a grading of 440-A-B, and the the Nexen SB802 have a grading of 320-A-B. Is this something to take into consideration? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Here's my rule of thumb. The number in the rating in the UTQG loosely equates to your expected mileage before the tire wears out. My Audi has 160 AA/A rated Yokohama AVS Sport 235/40-17). Driven normally, I would expect 16,000 miles. A 400 rated would expect 40,000 miles. 160 tires are "more sticky" by far than a 400 compound tire.

The UTQG states the number is relative and a 320 tire would last 2x a 160 tire. The first letter(s) denotes wet stopping relative grade, and the second letter is the cold rating.
 
LexTR3 said:
I had the wheels balanced and the tires "trued."
Click to expand...

Where did you have your work done?

Scott
 
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