Best big black rubber round things ?

[Aristotle]

I've heeded the dire warnings about tyres over a certain age and will replace mine.

Although having bags of tread, no cracks etc etc they are from 2006 so it's (probably) about time.

The cars a 78 1500 Spitfire and the current tyres are Pirelli P3000 155/80 R 13's, on standard steel wheels.

I'm just a fair weather pootler and a good all round tyre with a comfy ride is more my bag.

Could I ask for suggestions for best tyres for my type of driving and where to get them ?

 

[dannyb]

I'm happy with Uniroyal rainexpert. Good grip wet or dry conditions.

The trouble with old tyres is not just cracking but they tend to go hard and are useless in wet weather.

Danny

[Pete Lewis]

we had a local  vitesse with 20yr old tyres  it would spin the wheels in top gear at 40 mph 

they have no grip at all 

changing old tyres is a wise move  stick to 7- 10 yr max seems a good idea 

and budget tyres will outlast the aging  , going for silly prices when you need to change them when they look fine is a tad expensive option

pete

 

Edited May 17 by Pete Lewis

[68vitesse]

Check the date on tyres when buying.

Regards

Paul

[dannyb]

1 hour ago, 68vitesse said:

Check the date on tyres when buying.

Regards

Paul

That's a good point. You may think your getting a bargain price but they could be a few years old.

Danny

[Iain T]

Falken tyres really improved the ride on my Vitesse. The old Nexen tyres had either a harder sidewall or gone hard but they have a very hard ride.

Iain

[Aristotle]

Thank to everyone for responses.

Having trawled Google, Falken, Uniroyal and Toyo of the reasonably priced tyres seem to have good reports.

The more - what to call them - specialist ? - expensive one's are probably very good too and if I was doing more than my high day/holiday annual mileage I might be tempted.

As it is the current Pirelli's will be discarded not even half worn so the reasonably priced route seems the way to go - particularly for a pootler.

 

 

 

[Colin Lindsay]

If you're doing low mileage then hard wearing performance tyres are a waste, as they'll probably age before they wear. My priority at present is finding tyres in the correct size which are becoming harder to find, and when I do, it's rare that it's any brand I've ever heard of. One Herald is currently on Firestone, the other is a mixture of Landsail rear and Vantias front - never heard of either but they were about £55 each. They'll suit a low mileage low speed Herald fine.

I did steer away from Luckyland Happygallops, though. Seriously! They're generally regarded as Chinese ditchfinders.

 

[Aristotle]

Reporting back after much trawling and responses here, preferred choice became the Falken Sincera SN832's.

Typical of the internet lots of sources came up when Googleing for a supplier, local chaps I go to either couldn't supply or were not interested if supply stepped outside their normal stock range.

Of the online suppliers few actually had them in stock and those that did price tended to be a touch higher, anywhere between £68 and £99.

Eventually went with an Ebay shop who supply in pairs at £99 so each one just under £50, not too bad I thought. I did phone them to check availability, price etc and seemed reasonably clued up individuals.

Will have to pay to get them fitted and best local boys would do is just under £24 a tyre, fitted and balanced.

So final fitted price a touch under £74 a tyre.

I did ask about manufactured date stamped on tyres and was told "likely" to be 23 or 22. Based on my useage of the car (if I'm still around in 8 years time!) I'd be happy with that - we'll see what the stamp on the tyres says when they arrive in the next week - - hopefully.

For me it seemed strange ordering tyres online after a lifetime of just popping down the road and handing the whole job over to local chaps.

It was also disconcerting that a tyre size search brought up a myriad of names I'd never heard of although Colin's Luckyland Happygallops wasn't one of them !

Thanks again to all.

 

 

[Morgana]

A shame your local chaps weren't interested. We're lucky enough to have a garage that not only advises on good tyres in the actual sizes required, but there's an old chap who knew the wheel nut torque from memory! It's so easy to get flummoxed with endless information online when everyone has an opinion, so it can be very helpful if it's possible to find a willing, caring professional as the number of tyres they see will be orders of magnitude greater than the rest of us.

[Iain T]

On 23/05/2024 at 09:46, Aristotle said:

Falken Sincera SN832's.

Excellent choice!

I normally use Blackcircles for tyres as you can opt to get them fitted at many subscribed fitters at a price cheaper than most.

Iain