Tyre suggestions for 14" rims?

[tjb0274]

Quick summary of what I'm considering in 195x65x14, which is the correct size to maintain standard gearing on a 105 with 14" wheels (other options would be 205x60x14 or 185x70x14).

I can only find one (claimed) high performance tyre in that size, although as people have suggested in this thread there are some in 195x60x14. Presumably a market/demand thing. Not necessarily a big deal - I suspect even a modest family car tyre of today would drive rings around an original 60s Cinturato.

Most of the options seem to be in the "balanced performance" category - basically quality all-rounders, sometimes with an emphasis on wet weather handling. Note that there are other tyres available, but the others I've found are either clearly not aimed at sports cars, or are race tyres.

Bridgestone Turanza R10
Yokohama A.drive
BF Goodrich Sport/TA
Falken ZE912
Marangoni Verso
Goodyear Regatta 2 (don't know much about these - they seem to be made exclusively for kmart auto, which doesn't inspire confidence)
Goodyear Eagle LS2000
Goodyear Eagle GA Plus
Hankook Optimo K406 (claims to be high performance)

As usual, you can find reviews on the internet to praise or slam pretty much all of these.

[GTVeloce]

I had a similar problem with my 116 GTV. There aren't many good fast road tyres available in 14in. I eventually went with a recommendation of C drives in 195/60 and have been very happy with them. Their grip in the wet is excellent and the wear is very good given the level of stickiness (I'm running 3 degrees neg camber and have no noticable uneven wear after six months daily driving). I know that doesn't solve the 60/65 problem but I would rather have great tyres and a slightly inaccurate speedo.

[tjb0274]

I had a similar problem with my 116 GTV. There aren't many good fast road tyres available in 14in. I eventually went with a recommendation of C drives in 195/60 and have been very happy with them. Their grip in the wet is excellent and the wear is very good given the level of stickiness (I'm running 3 degrees neg camber and have no noticable uneven wear after six months daily driving). I know that doesn't solve the 60/65 problem but I would rather have great tyres and a slightly inaccurate speedo.

Thanks for the info 

I don't want to go down in gearing any further if I can avoid it, because the car is already geared very low (I suspect it has a 4.55 rear end).

[philpot]

...and dont forget the Goodyear Assurance Armorgrip with exclusive 'waffle blade' technology!!!                (No, I'm not making that/them up!)

This is getting really complicated! Unless you can read some 'independent' tyre tests by car mags or such, or direct feedback from people on this forum who've had the tyres on a similiar car....

Though.. when its time to get new tyres for my cars I must admit I quite enjoy the research too ....

[tjb0274]

Quick update with the latest progress....

I added Michelin XM1s to the list after hearing someone's good experience with them on a 75. Very progressive, apparently, which was encouraging.

However, it comes down to availability. I managed to find a total of 3 Michelins at two different places, and noone was confident of being able to get more, so that sort of eliminated them straight away.

In the end I've gone for the Falkens because they're available and everyone seems to think they're at least reasonable. I'm dropping the wheels off to get 'em fitted on Saturday, so depending on the weather I should give them their first try-out later in the weekend.

Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions and help

[AikenDrum105]

I added Michelin XM1s to the list after hearing someone's good experience with them on a 75. Very progressive, apparently, which was encouraging.

However, it comes down to availability. I managed to find a total of 3 Michelins at two different places, and noone was confident of being able to get more, so that sort of eliminated them straight away.

+1 on the XM1's - I probably spoke to the same guy - I could only find 3 of them a month ago too.   Some guff about there being a big shipment due from Michelin / ship not arrived yet / arrived yet but not unloaded / stock still in customs.. etc etc.   



Keep us posted on the Falkens !

[tjb0274]

+1 on the XM1's - I probably spoke to the same guy - I could only find 3 of them a month ago too.   Some guff about there being a big shipment due from Michelin / ship not arrived yet / arrived yet but not unloaded / stock still in customs.. etc etc.   

Keep us posted on the Falkens !

It's a shame - the Michelins do seem like good tyres.

The Falkens went on (with the new wheels) on Saturday. Two of the wheels took a lot of weights to balance, not sure whether that's the wheels or tyres, although I suspect the former. They seemed ok putting around town on Saturday afternoon, and then got a reasonable workout at the club observation run on Sunday (a bit over 200km including the drive home afterwards).

I wasn't able to push the car because the suspension issues got worse during the drive - fairly sure now that the rear trailing arm bushes are shot - but the Falkens certainly felt better than their ancient predecessors, which were getting pretty wooden. There was more feel in the steering, and the car felt more planted whenever the rear axle was pointing in the right direction.

Remains to be seen how they are in the wet, and when pushing nearer to the limit.

Btw, AikenDrum105 - liking the Super restoration thread on AlfaBB. Really nice work 

[cjheath]

I just put BF Goodrich G-Force Sport's on my '69 GTV twin-spark after following up recommendations on this thread. It's not re-registered yet, so I can't report on the behaviour, but it's worth noting that apparently BFG are moving out of road tyres to specialise in 4WD tyres.

[BLU-125]

Michellin has owned BFG since the early '90s.......as BFG is good at selling off road tyres & Michellin is better at selling car tyres, seems reasonable to change your retail profile, doesn't it? Same reason why the Cooper Avon Tyre Company uses the Mastercraft brand name for passenger car tyres in Oz.

Be careful of the quality of Asian made Michellin car tyres.......

[philpot]

The Michelins/BFG's I've gotten in the past were made in Thailand, more than probably due to the fact of free trade agreement that exists between the two countries. The same deal that see's so many cars, tyres and parts shipped in from there....Seem to remember buying Pirellis made there as well...

Never had any issues with quality, they've never needed big weights when being balanced...

Pity, if thats the case, BFG is getting out of road tyres. Would still probably choose them, soon, when my twin-carb has worn out the inside edges of the set on there already...Thats what happens with toe-out AND negative camber on the front!

Also, one of the reasons not ever gone for the asymetric Yoko's like the c-drive or 539's before them. (Anyone remember the Pirelli P77?) Dont really want a more open tread design/softer compound on the inside edges. Brigdestone adrenalins, while being asymetric dont increase the void ratio on the 'inside' edges, and are designed (according to their blurb) for front wheel drive cars or cars that run neg camber ...

Has anyone else noted that even in 'independent' tyre test in Wheels and the like, that one year the tyre ( of the same aspect ratio) that wins over another, the situation is reversed in a following years test? This relates specifically to the G-Force Sport and Pirelli P6000...Yes, Different cars and test track, and drivers, and....but...

[Barry Edmunds]

I put a set of 195.55 x15 Marangonis on my Super at the end of October and have been pleased with them so far. Little road noise and brilliant in the wet.
The 195.55 x 15 was as near as I could get to the original rolling diameter for speedo accuracy.
Previous tyres were Yokohama (same size) but so far the Marangoni are a better tyre in conditions encountered so far.
Barry

[Barry Edmunds]

Marangoni tyres can be sourced from Mauceri Motors in Clayton, Stuckey Tyres in Brunswick and a few other independent suppliers around Melboburne.

[tjb0274]

Quick update on the Falkens, now that I've put a few Ks on them and thrashed them around Winton.

On the road they're great - good grip, good in the wet. Dunno about noise - can't really hear the tyres over the wind, the webers and the exhaust 

Around Winton they did what I wanted - very progressive, and gave plenty of feel. I had no problem feeling the car begin to break away, and any slide was very controllable. Grip was ok, but started  to go away after 3 or 4 laps. Probably didn't help that I was a bit rough, and pushing pretty hard. I used 39psi all round (cold), which translated to about 43 front/45 rear hot, and I ended up bleeding a bit of pressure out of the backs over the day. Turn in and front grip through the corners was very good, but the back was inclined to step out.

At some point I'll probably upgrade to something that is grippier on the track, but for the moment the Falkens basically do what I want, and I'm pretty happy.