Tyres

[flyer295]

The car came with a hotch potch of radial and cross ply tyres 1 of which I believe was original ( very perished and a hole in it). My intention is to temporarily fit new tyres to the original rims (after I've de-rusted and sprayed them signal red the same as the car).

I've done 1 and it's come out quite good despite some heavy rusting. I dip them to get rid of the old paint and rust. A fairly long process but very effective.

 

My question is :- What size 15" radial should I fit and would the same tyre be ok if I decided to buy a set of wires and have them swapped over.

 

Bob

[4Mal]

Wires or steel?

For wires and if they are that bad, replace with something decent for safety and surety

[flyer295]

Hi Mal,

 

I'm coming to the end of a re-build and the tyres that came with the car are so old and dangerous they are unusable so I have to get new ones the point is I don't know what size is the correct size. The old tyres are cross ply

 

Bob

[Davidw]

Either 165/80 or 185/70 were TR5 & 250 O.E. I believe.

[John390]

On the Heritage Certificate I got for my 67' TR5 it says mine was fitted with 185 tyres but I can't remember the profile but I think it should be 185/70. I am sure that 165/80 was probably used more though.

 

Cheers John

Edited December 10, 2013 by John390

[4Mal]

Sorry I was just thinking about safety of rusted wire wheels.

 

This may help

 

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=v9Vkqp4tFEEC&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=tr5+original+tyre+size&source=bl&ots=VX0ba3yrml&sig=oRZq2WGXVvUkxCOo0cjXWj8GumY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QPWmUpPoOOiQ7AbL8YCYBA&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=tr5%20original%20tyre%20size&f=false

[openroad]

Hi Bob, i have fitted 165/80 michelin xas and they look great.

Cheers,

Conrad.

[TR Mitch]

Conrad is right, the narrower 165 tyres look great. XAS are the most expensive but I went for 5.5 inch Minilites with 165/80 Vredestein classics. This is copied from my post on the What tyres on 5.5 Minilites? thread.

Here are some comparisons for anyone else thinking about a swap. The old wheels were 6" Minators with 195/65s.



Old



New



Side by side



Side by side



Old



New


Since changing, the feel of the car is completely different, the steering extremely responsive compared to the tramlining of the 195/65 tyres, the chassis doesn't creak and groan it's way round corners any more.

[Tom Fremont]

TR250s came with 185/80 tyres. These with the 3.7:1 diff gave about the same overall speed ratio as the 165/80s with the 3.45:1 ratio.

 

I've got one of the last sets of the 185/80 Michelin XAS on my concours car. They did service on the car before it was made virtually undriveable due to its makeover and found the performance in another league entirely.

 

I've thought about using the 165 XAS on my driver ( now with 195/65 Michelin Pilots ) but the wheels are 6" - too wide.

[Peter Rocks]

Have a look at Which? April 2013 where they surveyed 185/70 R15H tyres. Continental ContiPremiumContact 5 and Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance came out best, especially for wet and dry handling. They come in other sizes.