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Vredestein Sprint+ or Sprint Classic


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Although marginally, 155s will make steering a little easier compared with the 165s. :D

 

Menno

 

 

I agree with Menno, especially as although 165 is only supposed to be 10mm wider than 155, there seems quite a big difference. An S rated tyre is okay up to a continuous 113 mph.

 

Ash

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Hi Ash,

 

There is indeed a big difference in steering between 155 and 165 if mounted on a 4.5" rim . . . . simply because the 4.5" rim is too narrow for a 165 section tyre, which requires a 5" or preferably 5.5" rim to work properly. If the tyre is too large for the rim, steering becomes hard work.

 

Hi Alan,

 

given a Lockheed axle stick with the 155s - any perceived handling benefit from the 165s is illusory, but they will put unnecessary strain on the halfshafts and hub seals for no benefit other than marginally raised gearing, and the increased rolling resistance counteracts any resultant benefit in fuel economy.

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

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I still dont fancy going back to crossplies :wacko: Interesting though the the handling may be :ph34r:

Stuart

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thanks all for your comments.

 

stuart, i don't think i thrash around, but it's all relative isn't it? i'm sure some of you would think me a sedate driver, but some of my friends think otherwise.

 

alec, you've really confirmed my thoughts, re the lockheed axle and rolling resistance. i'm pretty sure i'm still on 4.5 rims, so will order up the 155's.

 

the existing tyres are fine, or at least appear so, but are now 6 years old, so i thought it wise to change them anyway.

 

cheers,

 

alan

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Hi Alan,

 

I'm not convinced that it's necessary to change tyres yet. The 6 year suggestion seems to have stemmed from the USA, as in leave your vehicle out in desert full sun for 10 years and your tyres might well be suffering. So therefore to protect themselves against possible litigation, everyone connected with the tyre industry plays safe, reckons the tyres are fine for a minimum 8 years whatever the conditions, but says 6 just to be on the safe side. And of course, it's good for the replacement tyre business. Whether it's good for the planet is, of course, another matter . . . .

 

UV is harmful to tyres, but the average classic spends most of its life in the garage protected from the sun. That's a big difference to the everyday car that spends its life outside 24/7/52 year after year. The garaged car is also subject to less dramatic temperature fluctuations than its modern equivalent, out in baking sun and frost alike. Compare also the imposed load of an average classic car on the tyre as a percentage of the tyre's maximum carrying capacity, then compare the loads imposed by gigantic American 4x4s and suchlike, which is where the tyre 'problems' started in the first place. Compare also the maximum temperature a classic tyre is likely to achieve in UK service, rolling down the road, which is one heck of a sight lower than a 3 ton SUV being thrashed around in high ambient temperatures in the States.

 

As I see it, if a tyre is capable of withstanding 6 years of abuse in Arizona on a modern outdoor heavyweight, then it sure as heck ought to last a decade on a garaged classic based in Devon.

 

I'd suggest a realistic figure for maximum age of tyre might be 10 years, perhaps even 12, and rather longer for a spare kept in the dark of the boot all its life - although I'd regard an ageing spare in the same category as a space saver, 50mph max and preferably 40, get you home duty only.

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

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Agree with Alec.

I've seen classics on 30 year tyres, including a recent TR5, although I wouldn't stretch it that long myself.

Tyres on my 6, seven years old and counting.

 

We inherited and kept my parents' 205, that still wore its 1990 Michelin X with 7,000 miles on them. Garaged all its life until 2007.

Last year I noticed the side walls were beginning to crack just a little, so I replaced them.

 

If your car lives in a garage, and especially if it's jacked up in the winter to avoid flat-spotting, the tyre walls will warn you in plenty of time when they need replacing.

 

Ivor

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Sorry Ivor,

 

tyres used to give plenty of warning of terminal ageing . . . . that is not necessarily the case with modern compounds.

 

Heat build-up leading to delamination of ageing tread from carcass is not characterised by prior sidewall cracking, more often than not it occurs without any visible deterioration to the tyre - external or internal. Hence the recommendations re tyre age in the first place.

 

You have to experience delamination to appreciate it - first the tyre beats seven bells out of the wing, and if you're unlucky for second it wraps and locks one hub. Net result can be catastrophic, I can assure you of that from first hand experience. The only warning you get is a couple of seconds of vibration and then all hell breaks loose. That couple of seconds isn't much help on a crowded dual carriageway, by the time you've worked out the likely causes you're already fighting a spin !! :P

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

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