cookie Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 Have looked at various threads relating to tyre widths, but would still like to hear some opinions. Have taken off the 25+ year old tyres and an restoring the 5 1/2 steel rims. They had 185/70 fitted. looking at tyre prices 185/70s are ridiculously expensive at well over £100 each. 165/80 and 195/65s are much cheaper. Question I have is should I go for the 165 (as original) or 195. Thanks Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rockie51 Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 I had 185/80 Hankooks on my 6'" Minilite replicas. They raised the gearing by about 7% which was good for driving from Melbourne to Perth across the Nullarbor. The Hankooks were a good tyre and very reasonably priced. I then decided to restore the original gearing and went to 195/65 Michelins. They give a marginally harder ride and slightly heavier steering. 165/80 tyres are very hard to get here in Oz and are very expensive. 195/65s are a very popular choice amongst Triumph club members. You pays your money.... Rockie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 I'm a 195/65 user like Rockie- mine are Pirelli P6's and they give me a great ride with excellent adhesion. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sapphire72 Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, cookie said: looking at tyre prices 185/70s are ridiculously expensive at well over £100 each. 165/80 and 195/65s are much cheaper. Amortize that cost over the number of years, or the distance the tyres will carry you- and it doesn't seem so bad. The upfront cost is what hurts, but only for a short time. Go for the best quality, at the best price, that You like. Walt Edited January 14, 2019 by Sapphire72 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steves_TR6 Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 (edited) My car came with , 20 year old and rock hard!, 195/65 tyres so i stuck with that size i bought Vredestein Sport Trac Vs, very cheaply at my local tyre place and am very happy with them. i would love to try my car on 165s though ! i have about 175hp and a LSD, can imagine the 165s would be a real hoot :-) steve Edited January 14, 2019 by Steves_TR6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mk2 Chopper Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 I'm going back to 165's on the steels this spring, my choice is slightly towards the aesthetics, but to be fair I don't really drive it super fast, so won't miss the wider tyre for that reason. I feel many TR's look over tyred and I want to recreate the classic looks of the car, good luck with your choice. Gareth Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SteveB21 Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 I swapped my 195 tyres for 165s a couple of years ago - one of the best “upgrades” I’ve done. Well worth it. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aardvark Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 1 hour ago, SteveB21 said: I swapped my 195 tyres for 165s a couple of years ago - one of the best “upgrades” I’ve done. Well worth it. Steve +1 . I changed to mich xas’s. Spot on! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KiwiTR6 Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 21 hours ago, SteveB21 said: I swapped my 195 tyres for 165s a couple of years ago - one of the best “upgrades” I’ve done. Well worth it. Steve Just done the same and very happy with the 'look' and performance of the car. Won't be going back to 195's again. Gavin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Fremont Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 (edited) I don't think anything wider than 185 will contact the pavement at their edges at normal inflation pressures. ( TR250s were spec'd at 20 psi in front with them. ) My 195 Michelin Pilots were aloft at the edges at least a cm in at 25 psi. I would suggest Michelin tyres are the bees knees for our cars; XAS for up to 5-1/2" rim section and XWX if wider. Nothing comes close IMO. For N. American cars the XVS is available in the original size of 185/80. Mine might be the only XWX fitted to a TR... Cheers, Tom Edited January 15, 2019 by Tom Fremont Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cookie Posted January 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 Thanks for the replies. A quick look for 165 XAS shows they are almost £200 each. That seems a massive amount when decent makes of that size are around £60 to £70 with 195s about the same or less. Really don’t want to pay £200 a corner. If I use 195 will they clear all the bodywork ok without and mods. Thanks Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 My 195/65's do. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TRTOM2498PI Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 Agreed above, you will have no issues with clearance on bodywork based on 195/65/15. £60/70GBP fully inclusive per corner is the right price too for a branded tyre. Uniroyal Rainsport tyres are excellent, and have a superb rating for wet weather. Cheers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DRD Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 My ex US car didn't look right on 195/65 and the speedo was out so I've gone back to 185/80 again. Plus the steering is a bit lighter as well now and the exhaust no longer hits the ground. You don't need to spend £200 per tyre and can get other cheaper tyres in this size for over half the price. Daz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aardvark Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 16 hours ago, cookie said: Thanks for the replies. A quick look for 165 XAS shows they are almost £200 each. That seems a massive amount when decent makes of that size are around £60 to £70 with 195s about the same or less. Dave dont fall into the trap of thinking all tyres of a certain size are the same. The xas have a different profile to modern tyres - they are more rounded in cross section compared to modern tyres which are more square. They were designed for our cars suspension geometry. I agree they are expensive but at least the car will handle like it should. In my case, the car was transformed. No regrets. cheers dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim D. Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, TRTOM2498PI said: Edited January 16, 2019 by Tim D. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim D. Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 7 hours ago, TRTOM2498PI said: In the end one key thing is that you change your tyres regularly. Personally with he miles that I do each year it is very likely that my tyres will be come too old before they wear out. If I buy the correct size they are much more expensive than the 195s which means a greater loss at the end of the day when I do renew. Or I'll keep them on the car too long to try and justify the cost. Hence sticking with cheap 195s. I have driven a TR with 165s and it felt like it was on "tip toes" and certainly slid around a lot more than 195s. Cheers Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Bracher Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 On 1/14/2019 at 9:04 PM, SteveB21 said: I swapped my 195 tyres for 165s a couple of years ago - one of the best “upgrades” I’ve done. Well worth it. Steve Same! More like a classic sports car with 165s! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aardvark Posted January 17, 2019 Report Share Posted January 17, 2019 14 hours ago, Tim D. said: I have driven a TR with 165s and it felt like it was on "tip toes" and certainly slid around a lot more than 195s. That sounds like the tyre pressures were wrong. I use the handbook pressures of 22psi in front and 24 at back ie much lower than modern tyre pressures and the car feels perfect - certainly not much different in normal driving than my Audi. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JochemsTR Posted January 17, 2019 Report Share Posted January 17, 2019 if anything is to be modernized, it is the tires. Selecting a tire based on the "original look of the car" is in my opinion a wrong approach. Left Vredestein Classic. Right Hankook. Added benefit, Hankook version much cheaper. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hamish Posted January 17, 2019 Report Share Posted January 17, 2019 I’ve had the vredestien sprint classics on my previous Daimler SP250 and went to the same but 185/70x15 for my TR3a. I think the tread pattern on the sprints are good but they are made out of a good modern compound. I had a very wet club track day earlier last year and they were really impressive. But I recognise that they are not the cheapest but not XAS prices either and you can get deals occasionally on line. check out the video Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mk2 Chopper Posted January 17, 2019 Report Share Posted January 17, 2019 1 hour ago, JochemsTR said: if anything is to be modernized, it is the tires. Selecting a tire based on the "original look of the car" is in my opinion a wrong approach. Left Vredestein Classic. Right Hankook. Added benefit, Hankook version much cheaper. You can get modern versions of 165's with up to date tread. You would drive any car within the limits of its specification, no air bags, abs etc on these cars, putting the original size tyres is the same thing and could be said to make it drive and handle as the manufacturer intended. Gareth Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StuartG Posted January 17, 2019 Report Share Posted January 17, 2019 What tyre pressures are everyone using with the various tyre sizes ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SteveB21 Posted January 17, 2019 Report Share Posted January 17, 2019 26F / 30R with Continental CT22 165/80 R15 tyres works for me. The "brown book" states 22F / 26R for "all conditions" and 28F / 32R for "high speed". Cheers Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Keith66 Posted January 17, 2019 Report Share Posted January 17, 2019 Hi All I'm not quite at the tyre buying stage yet (car not on the road), but will have to replace my late 1980's tyres pretty soon as although they hold air i doubt they will hold the road, so for safety sake they will go. But it’s pointless the car sitting in the garage as a non-driver on good tyres. I also think £200 plus for each corner is a little expensive there are plenty of quality brand 165/80’s around at much less. A modern Vredestein or Conti can be around £60 and even Michelin XZX or Vredestein Sprint classics at £120 or a little more. At the end of the day it's each to his own but my feeling for my car is to use the same size as the original. A modern tyre design and almost 50 years of materials technology improvement should see me ok in terms of grip without going very wide or very low in profile. But would welcome any feedback on brands and actual tyres from those that have used them So I’ve seen the following Nankang Econex 165/80 R15 @ £48 Hankook Kinergy Eco 2 165/80 R15 @ £51 Vredestein T-Trac 2 165/80 R15 @ £56 Continental CT22Contact 165/80 R15 @ £60 Toyo 330 165/80 R15 @ £76 Vredestein Sprint Classic 165/80 R15 @ £117 Michelin XZX 165/80 R15 @ £130 Although i'd probably draw the line at Nankangs TBH. Cheers Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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