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[Guest Simon Bolton]

Hi all. Before I bang on about tyres and in reply to kevinw I have just received my new leather seats and int trim from the T R shop and they are fab-dealt with a chap called Lucas who was more than helpfull.

Re tyres .I read with interest all comments on colway tyres(looking on web I presume we are talking about the Road Plus-Enduro Rally 185/70R15) and having asked around I am getting conflicting info which I've narrowed down to:

BF Goodridge 195/65 15

Interstate IS Touring 195/65 15

Dunlop SP 200 195/65 15

colway Road plus 185/70 15.

I have inherited Gislaved speed 165/80 15 which are like bricks.What I really want are tyres that give me a relatively smooth,quiet drive on bad roads of which we have plenty( I live in the cotswolds). I need your comments so please help. Many thanks Simon

[Richard Crawley]

Simon

Lots of archive posts about tyres & what sizes to fit so do a search & have a good read! I’ve said many times on here that if you’ve got the standard rims, I would not advise exceeding 185 section; this is the maximum recommended for a 5 1/2 J rim. The advantage of 195 section is they are almost a perfect match for the original rolling radius & the slightly wider section looks better under the arches & although many fit the wider section, it won’t give better handling & may even make it worse!

 

Along with many others on here, I went for Avon ZV’s (2 years old now) – very good performance for the price (£46 each). There have also been some very positive posts about the Colways recently but I don’t personally have any experience of these; personally I would avoid Dunlop.

[Guest Simon Bolton]

Simon

Lots of archive posts about tyres & what sizes to fit so do a search & have a good read! I’ve said many times on here that if you’ve got the standard rims, I would not advise exceeding 185 section; this is the maximum recommended for a 5 1/2 J rim. The advantage of 195 section is they are almost a perfect match for the original rolling radius & the slightly wider section looks better under the arches & although many fit the wider section, it won’t give better handling & may even make it worse!

 

Along with many others on here, I went for Avon ZV’s (2 years old now) – very good performance for the price (£46 each). There have also been some very positive posts about the Colways recently but I don’t personally have any experience of these; personally I would avoid Dunlop.

Thanks Richard I see what you mean.Think you should write an FAQ to save repeating yourself-you obviously have the experience. Not sure on the tyres yet but my local place is enthusing over the Fulda Linero 185/65 15 at £50 inc all.Any comments anyone? German Know how and all that. Simon

[Guest caine62]

Simon,

 

Where do you live? If you're in or around London, I'd be more than happy to give you a spin on the Colways.

 

Eli

[david ferry]

Simon

 

I don't know quite how significant an error in speedo readings you will see but they are the wrong size.

 

185/70 is correct.

 

If you insist on a different size, 195/65 is still correct but I suggest you consider this size carefully and bear in mind the earlier comments.

 

You will also have to tell your insurers if you use anything other than standard.

 

I live not too far away from you in Stratford upon Avon. Personally, I wouldn't use anything other than the Colway Road Plus. I probably use the same poor roads as you do.

 

David

Edited December 13, 2006 by david ferry

[rarbowman]

I have followed this with great interest as I have not heard of some of the brands.

my car is on Pirelli 195/70/R15 (std wheels) but the ride is as good as my day car.

Are my fittments too big for the wheels?

[Tom Fremont]

FWIW, the TR250 was fitted with 185-15s on 4-1/2" J wheels from the factory. I'm not endorsing this ( in fact, it's difficult to get these to seal without tubes ) but it suggests to me that 195 section tyres fitted to a 5-1/2"J wheel is not such a bad thing

[Richard Crawley]

I have followed this with great interest as I have not heard of some of the brands.

my car is on Pirelli 195/70/R15 (std wheels) but the ride is as good as my day car.

Are my fittments too big for the wheels?

 

If you’ve standard wheels then yes; 185 is the max recommended section for 5 ½ J’s. Also 195’s on a 70% aspect ratio will have a larger rolling radius so will also affect the gearing/spedo reading.

 

A more serious piece of bad news is that an R rated tyre is not suitable for a TR6! They should be H rated (or at the very least a T) & you could invalidate your insurance in the event of an accident as you have tyres fitted with insufficient speed/torque rating! The original ratings were R, SR, HR & VR – HR being the one recommender by BL. These original ratings have now changed to single letters but more of them; have a look here http://www.tyres-online.co.uk/techinfo/speed.asp

[rarbowman]

Thanks for the info. At least I know what I want for xmas!!

[Guest Simon Bolton]

Thanks all- It seems that the Colways have it.I will keep you posted.Eli thanks for offer but I'm in the Cotswolds. Happy Hols Simon

[Richard Crawley]

The "R" in 195/70/R15 refers, I would suggest, to tyre construction, as in Radial.

 

 

Thanks Alec for putting me straight; rarbowman, I may have sent you into a panic over nothing! Check for other markings on the tyre wall & if it says H your OK after all; sorry if I got it wrong!

 

My memory may be failing me but I’m pretty sure the old coding system designated the speed rating within the tyre size coding e.g. 165/80/R15; 165/80/SR15; 165/80/HR15 etc. which may explain why I got it wrong!

Edited December 14, 2006 by Richard CRawley

[rarbowman]

Thanks, Alec.

The only other designation is 97T. The tyres are Pirelli of German manufacture. The tread is only 15% used, but I do not know when they were fitted.

I must rely on you to let me know whether I need tyres or slippers for xmas!!!