Which brand and size tire

[Robert]

Which brand and size tire do you have on your Beta?

My Coupe from 1975 has 185/70/R14 Goodyear Grand Prix. They are from 1993 so it's time to replace them.
Looking for your experience

cheers, Robert

[HFStuart]

185/ 65 14 Toyos CF2 here and no complaints other than now they're coming up for 10 years old they've gone a bit hard and probably need replacing themselves.

There seems to be more choice now  - Goodyear Efficientgrip performance would probably be my pick. I see Vredestein do a Sportrac 5 in that size too if you're feeling loyal to The Netherlands!

NB For a 75 Coupe the original size should have been 175/70 14 - you might find new 185 tyres a bit hard on the arms!

[Robert]

Thanks for your reply.

I was thinking about going back to 175/70/14 but not that many choices.
Another option would be to go for a classic tire from Pirelli 185/70VR14 PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ CN36 or something similar

What do you guys think? Is it worth the money to pay a tire that is designed specially for classic cars?

[betaveloce]

195 60 R14 Continental PremiumContact2 on my '82 HPE 2.0 i.e. (with original Beta wheels)

185 55 R15 Continental PremiumContact2 and Uniroyal Rallye 550 on my '80 Spider 1.6 (with non-original, but period correct Rial wheels)

Very happy with the Continentals; good grip in wet and dry and a sporty but not too modern look

[mangocrazy]

NB For a 75 Coupe the original size should have been 175/70 14 - you might find new 185 tyres a bit hard on the arms!

To keep the correct rolling radius when moving up to a 185 section you'd need to go to a 185/65 14, not a 185/70. The 185/70 would give incorrect speedo readings (not that the Beta speedo was ever particularly accurate in my experience).

[peteracs]

NB For a 75 Coupe the original size should have been 175/70 14 - you might find new 185 tyres a bit hard on the arms!

To keep the correct rolling radius when moving up to a 185 section you'd need to go to a 185/65 14, not a 185/70. The 185/70 would give incorrect speedo readings (not that the Beta speedo was ever particularly accurate in my experience).

But would this help on a 1600 with  the lower ratio diff to improve high speed cruising I wonder (or 2000 if you want easier cruising)?

Peter

[mangocrazy]

It does help, but not by any noticeable degree, probably about 2 mph extra at 70 mph. If you really want to dig into tyre and rim sizes, and see the effects of fitting different profile tyres (and even different diameter rims), then check this web site out:

http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible_pg4.html

The rest of the article is fascinating reading and tells you pretty much all you could want to know (and probably a fair amount you didn't) about wheels and tyres.