What tyres do we prefer?

[dougdee123]

I've already started to think about the next MOT test for the mean machine.
At the last one I was advised that the tyres , whilst still legal, were showing cracking in the sidewall (because they are about 14 years old) and that I should think about replacing them.

The current ones are Pirelli P4000 195-60 R14 86H. A preliminary search of the usual suspects shows a marked lack of Pirellis in the size and very few others.

What do people prefer?

If it matters the car is a 1981 2.0 coupe with 155bhp and standard suspension and the original alloy wheels.

Thanks for any input.

Doug

[HFStuart]

P4000s on a 155bhp beta? Which gears can't you spin the wheels in??

I'm not a great fan of Pirelli at all though.

Bridgestone Turanza 300 are very good and available in that size as are Contis. I run Toyo CF1 and I've been really happy with them - not too expensive either.

[rossocorsa]

Personally I err towards feeling that 195 is too wide for the standard wheels and would prefer 185 tyres as per OE spec just my opinion though! As regards tyre brand i think it is a very personal choice but definitely not a cheap Chinese brand they are never worth the apparent saving.

[droptop]

I had 20 year-old Goodyear Eagle NCT's on mine till recently and they were excellent. I've since replaced them with modern 185/60 Goodyear Eagle something-or-other non directional tyres and again am happy with them now they've settled in. I did notice the footprint on the new ones is considerably less that the older ones mind you.
I agree whole heartedly with Rossocorsa's comment about the cheap Chinese tyres as most seem like something just to pass a test and then slide serenely into the scenery like the Michelin MX of the late 70's!
I had Federals on the front of the Lexus for a while (a few weeks) and they just wouldn't turn in to a corner at speed at all. Terrifying pieces of junk and never again. Are Yokohama A539's still available?
I was very fond of the 520's but never had anything wearing the 539's.

[MattNoVAT]

I fit either 175's or 185's depending on year / original spec of the car.

I've had 205's and 195's on the car and it makes the steering too heavy, which spoils the drive.

[rossocorsa]

195 are OK on PS cars in fact probably help with the over light steering, they do seem too fat for the relatively narrow standard rims though and I would only use that width on a 15 inch wheel with 7 inch rim

[dougdee123]

Sorry I didn't make a message response to this earlier.

I take on board the comments about the 195 tyres being too wide. The steering is certainly rather heavy so I will spring for a set of less wide.

Somewhat as an aside I took the coupe out for a quick run this morning after it had been sitting in the garage for a couple of months. There was a distinct clumping for about 10 miles and I imagine that is due to the flat contact patches. No doubt it would have been less if I had narrower tyres.

Doug

[gengis]

I recently installed a set of Yokohama's (Blu-Earth) 185's.  Very happy so far.  Old school look but with modern tyre technology.

[dougdee123]

Just a small update.

I went with a set of 185 Yokohamas in the end.

So far I'm very pleased with them. The steering is much lighter as predicted by everybody.  Charging through the deluge on the M2 at the weekend was very confidence inspiring too.

The bonus is that the road noise and thus the interior noise has dropped so dramatically that it has now become much less of a hair shirt on long journeys. Overall, a result.

The only minor side effect is that the acceleration is reduced by wheel-spin if you are not careful but a small price to pay.

Doug