tires

[Vicleonardo1]

Pirelli's seem to be King. 

If you are looking for bargain tires and willing to gamble on some off brands Amazon works. 

The Kumho's are there. 

These Westlakes look like a good all season tread design. They are still a gamble (ignore the ratings-they are worthless if you read them...Good tire, bargain, going to mount them on my car blah blah). 

Amazon.com: Westlake RP18 All Season Radial Tire-185/70R13 86T : Automotive

WWW.AMAZON.COM

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Amazon.com: Westlake RP18 All Season Radial Tire-185/70R13 86T : Automotive

 

503 - Service Unavailable Error

WWW.AMAZON.COM

503 - Service Unavailable Error

WWW.AMAZON.COM

 

Edited January 28 by Vicleonardo1

[Gordon]

13 hours ago, Santawillis said:

Truth! Not cheap to run these tires in the US. A full set of Sprint Classics at Tire Rack is going for over $800USD. Does anyone know anywhere that is cheaper?

Another option is to go with E30 14X5.5 steel wheels and 195/60-14 tires.   You'll come out cheaper . I bought E30 steelies off Craigslist for $100. You can buy E30 steelies new from the dealership or aftermarket parts vendors. Do a search on "E30 steelies" in the FAQ to learn more.  Pic of E30 steelies on an 02.  

[visionaut]

A slightly-wider (205/60) all-season option is the venerable BFG Radial T/A

 

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=Radial+T%2FA&partnum=06SR3RADTARWLV2

[Daily02]

Has anyone tried the Montreal eco-2 185/70-13 which is an H speed rated tire from multiple vendors?

 

Another is the Uniroyal Rainexpert 3 185/70-13. I like this one as the mountain roads are commonly wet around here.

 

I agree if the the Pirelli CN36 is available it is the go to tire. They have been out of stock for awhile.

 

Regards

 

Dono

[D.Troast]

thanks for the tire discussion

i’m kind of a original rims and hub caps guy

i’ll probably just go with the Lauren or Khumos

[visionaut]

I likes wide.  Used to run these on my ‘71… N50-15s

 

 

 

 

pentagram not roundel  

[Max L]

Something else I would consider- some of the tires (e.g. Pirelli) are summer only compound and cannot be stored or used in freezing temperatures.  So if your car spends winters in unheated garage or outside, they are out you have even fewer options. I would not spend $800 on a set to see if they survive the winter storage...

 

I have been happy with Kumhos and they age well... No drying or flatspotting.

 

Max

[Daily02]

CN36's can't take sub freezing temperatures? I thought these were standard equipment on new Porsche's. I know the Veredestein's cannot, so they are out.

[johnny02]

6 hours ago, Max L said:

Something else I would consider- some of the tires (e.g. Pirelli) are summer only compound and cannot be stored or used in freezing temperatures.  So if your car spends winters in unheated garage or outside, they are out you have even fewer options. I would not spend $800 on a set to see if they survive the winter storage...

 

I have been happy with Kumhos and they age well... No drying or flatspotting.

 

Max

Where are you getting that information? There's nothing on the Pirelli or Longstone site about this being the case for the CN36.  

 

[visionaut]

6 hours ago, Max L said:

some of the tires (e.g. Pirelli) are summer only compound and cannot be stored or used in freezing temperatures

This is only true for a few ultra-high performance and all AutoX and dedicated track compounds, with typ. UTQG of 200 or less, like for the first 3 tires listed here:

 

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?zip-code=80210&width=205/&ratio=60&diameter=13

 

[joebarthlow]

Can someone tell me the handling difference, if any, between Pirelli CN36 175s vs. 185s? 

 

I'm currently running 185 Kumhos (13in)

[Max L]

I may be wrong, but I believe I saw that on the tirerack website (along with the same message for Vredesteins ) during very short period they had them in stock. If someone have tested them in the cold and had no issues, that would be good to know. I'd seriously consider them, if they can survive 0F...

 

Max

[jb]

My experience from plant hardiness zone 6b:  Vredesteins will not shatter if they get cold.

• Vredestein Sprint 165's on my 2002: not driven in winter, but stored in a detached, insulated garage with no heat source.  No issues in 7+ years.  I might squeak another season out of them?
• Vredestein Sportrac on my 1991 e30, daily driver-- no issues.  I did put snow tires on last winter in a fit of wisdom, but drove them multiple winters in reasonable weather (like light snow) w temps below the range.  No issues.   They might not be rated per temperatures, and persistent or lengthy freeze might be bad, but it was never a problem. 

I am not a reckless fellow, for the most part.

 

jb

[visionaut]

8 hours ago, Max L said:

may be wrong

You ain’t wrong Max. They DO have the 20deg risk.

 

So I’m been sleeping under a tree, ignoring 13” tire talk forever since N/A (sixteens here), and didn’t realize the ‘ol Pirelli CN36 and the Vreds Sprint Classic were REISSUED a few year back - and now, while on the surface they have that familiar classic shape and old-school tread pattern, they’re very much modern max performance summer tires underneath in structure and compounds… NOT the old tires at all!

 

And the sub-20F degree warning stuff is legit. Not just temp flat spots that can usually warm-out (which they get) but physical compound damage.
 

I have to deal with the 20-40F deg issues with my UHP gumballs over the winter (roll, jack,and/or cradle ‘em). The 40-45F degree point where they’re fully safe is based on the Glass Transition Temperature (yeah, not good for originally soft rubber-silica compounds).

 

The CN36 says it’s max perf summer V-rated, and won’t even publish a UTQG spec. The Sprint is also V-rated  has a UTQG of only 160 as a ‘GT’ summer. 
 

Pirelli: “New materials enhance the classic tires’ original construction and detailing, such as Pirelli’s motorsport-derived, high-performance nylon in the dual-ply carcass, and high-tensile steel wire in the bead geometry. Combined with a dedicated undertread compound, Pirelli Collezione tires ultimately offer greater grip and water expulsion for a safer driving experience. The tire tread compounds also conform to the latest environmental standards (unlike their original counterparts).”

Nylon ply tires are notorious for flat-spotting. Lesson learned from back in the bias-ply days. So why do they still use it for high performance speed-rated tires? Nylon contracts with heat, and that helps keep the rubber connected to the belts. While more nylon reinforcement and stiffening = better handling, it also = greater flatspot effects.

 

Y’all be careful out there. Sliding around or even lumpy riding ain’t the same as tire failure.

 

Tom

 

[johnny02]

I can't get the car out of storage until April 1st so hopefully its above 40 F when i do...unfortunately i discovered the right rear was flat when i dropped it off so that may prove to be a bigger problem...Hopefully i can plug it since they are rarely in stock.