185-65-15

Ron O found this Falken http://www.1010tires.com/Tires/Falken/Ziex+ZE-912 a while ago and it comes in that size. I thought the tread pattern looked interesting...

Phil, slim pickings in that tire size (I know, that's my tire size).

The AVIDenvigor is okay, but nothing to write home about.

Personally, I like the Falken ZE912s.

Get the least expensive name brand tire.  For most, it will go bad before it wears out.  Tire life is 10 years but really should change them in 7.  Oh and I went with the Pirelli because that is what they had in stock.

 

Stephen

tirerack has General Tires on closeout for $61 that have a nice looking V tread.

Veredestein Classics.

Thanks guys.  That Falken looks very nice and about the same price as the Yokohama.

You're kidding, right?

I guess if you're just going to be a Sunday driver you'll be fine. But with any spirited driving, you'll need the stickiest tire you can find. With these cars being so light and with 185s being such a small patch of rubber, well...?

 

I sure wish they still made the Bridgestone Pole Position in that size.

 

 

I have zero complaints on my Pirelli's.

But, I don't get to crazy with my thumpin 1600cc.

 

Ted

 

Stephen- Are you looking at the General Altimax HP? I thought those looked pretty neat as well. It looks like they may be discontinuing them, though...

I've got 2 Altimax RTs on the front, which I purchased when the Kumhos I had started trying to shake the car apart.

 

They're not bad for what they are. I'm still looking for a perfect tire, albeit in a 195/60/15 size. "Perfect" for me means a GT tire with decent corner performance and a treadwear rating north of 300.

 

The Generals are not bad.

Stan- What size tires are you running on the back?

Al,  those are what I saw. I personally wouldn't be concerned about the discounting of that tire. Again for most on here, the rubber will dry rot before they are worn out.  

 

Terry, I was not joking. I did state name brand. I personally would not use Kumho's just because of cost. I am very happy with my pirelli's. 

 

 

I cross the ton occasionally in my car so I want a tire with a decent rating.  Back in the day I blew out a Kumho doing 130mph in a BMW MCoupe trying to keep up with a 911.  Luckily it was a rear tire.  Just eased it to the side and called AAA.  This was a Z rated tire.  My point is that I plan on occasionally going fast and doing some spirited driving so I want good tires.  The day my tire blew it was over 90 degrees in FL.  Obviously heat is what makes tires blow and high speeds can generate tremendous heat.  I want a decently rated tire.  If H is the best I can do, H it is.

Phil-

 

An H-rated tire is pretty much as low as I'm going to go. I cross "the ton" at least twice a month. They are "speedsters" after all...

Stephen- I mentioned I thought they were being discontinued because Tirerack has all the sizes we would be interested (185/60-15, 185/65-15, 195/60-15,205/60-15, 215/60-15) marked as "closeout". I just checked and it looks like they're closing out all the 14, 15 and 16" sizes. The guy I buy tires from here in Canada (same guy for almost 40 years; everyone should have a tire guy like Tom!) couldn't get them 3 weeks ago. 

 

We had some Sumitomo's with a very similar tread pattern on our Caravan (went from 215/65-16 to 235/60's) and loved them (totally changed the feel of the van, but they've stopped making that tire as well), so I've always thought the Altimax HP would be a fun tire. We're slowly losing choices in the 15" size.

 

Guys- What's "the ton"? What speeds to you get up to? I realize it's somewhere local to you guys, but being a west coast boy I've never heard of it...

Out here on the "flat black", 100 mph= "the ton". Before anybody gets their undies in a bunch, there are plenty of places on the plains to go that fast without endangering anybody.

Lol! I get it now. Thanks Stan.

And I didn't know you were running the same all around.

If you drive your speedster like a little old lady, driving to church on Sunday, then I agree-buy any old crap tire.

If you like to carve the odd corner or drive in the rain occasionally then buying a higher performance tire is very important.

Presently, I have RE 960s and I think they're a decent tire, but replacements are no longer available.  I would put the ZE 912s about equal to my 960s.

It is getting harder and harder to find a decent performance tire in a 185/65 size, which is why I've considered going to a 16 inch wheel.

A 195/55-16 tire has almost the same diameter as a 185/65-15 tire (24.4 vs 24.5) and there are a number of high performance tires offered in this size.

The only downside to going to a 16" wheel (besides the price of buying new wheels) is an increase in wheel weight.

I thing I'd give up a few pounds in wheel weight to get a much better performing tire.

Maybe I should start looking for a set of 16" Fuchs now.

I've been thinking along the same lines, Ron.

I've seen 16" Fuchs on a speedster and they look nice.

The ton is an old british term meaning many things but particularly for motorcycle racers means 100 mph.

Thanks for the clarification… I was thinking "What kind of F'ing tires do those guys use on their Speedsters to go 2,000 mph"? 

They do, don't they? And real 16" Fuchs are light...

Gotta go to work now....

And Jim, that was so funny I almost snorted up my oatmeal!

i would recommend the exact opposite.

 

buy the best tire you can afford.

 

and when i picked my tire size - i spent a lot of time thinking about it.

 

in the end i went with the same size (front and rear) and with a 185-60 yoko avid.

Did you like them, Paul? I had Avids on a TSX and found them to be very noisy and not at all sticky. Of course, they were a completely different size (18 inch), but I was pretty disappointed.

Should have known better than to put 2 cents in on something about tires.  Tits and tires, you will always have problems with them.

 

Stephen

I disagree Stephen- it's been a great conversation! And I see nothing wrong with using cheap ones; if you don't like them or they wear too fast, you don't feel guilty and it doesn't break the bank when you try something different.

Thirty-one flavors.

Stephen, we all have different experiences and different opinions.

I tried the cheaper route but didn't adjust my driving style. Almost kilked myself a couple of times.

Maybe when I get as old as Vince I'll be as sedate and go with a more modest tire.

 

 

 

Art, Tire Rack is a great source. You have two sources to draw your research material from: Tire Rack's in-house comparison testing and consumer reviews. You can also research via "the Google". 

Having an opportunity to view the tread pattern is also helpful, but I have found that "blocky" tires tend to do well in a straight line but not so good on curves. I'd like to say that speed rating is helpful but it gets down to reading about the tires and consumer reviews.

I'm sure that there are scientific ways to determine the best road hugging tire but I've done pretty good by talking with other enthusiasts and using the above methods. 

One thing I'll never do again and that's listen to the advice of a tire salesman. Unless I see him on the podium at the local autocross event.

Fuchs wheels look good on a Ford Pinto........not sure what you mean here...you don't like Fuchs wheels.....or you really like Pintos?

 

As for sticky tires I've found that the look of a tire has very little to do with the way it makes the car handle, but yes, 'blocky' tires tend to have less cornering grip and tend to squirm under hard cornering.

 

On a number of occasions I've recommended the Falken ZE 912 because I've talked to a number of people who have these tires on their cars.  Many of these tires are mounted in Miatas and the owners have been happy with how well their cars handle, considering how inexpensive the ZE 912s are.

 

Usually as the tread wear rating goes up the handling goes down.  All season tires are also a compromise and because of that they tend to not be the best handling tire.  Having said that, it is near impossible to find a 'summer only' tire that fits our cars.

Over the years I've had a number of different tires on my track/street Miata.  For the street the tires I used had a wear rating of 200.  The were very sticky, but were done in 20,000 miles.  For the track the Nitto NT01 D.O.T. track tires I ran had a wear rating of 100 and had a life expectancy of a dozen track days, but could heat cycle out in as little as 6 track days.

The ZE 912s have a wear rating of 360 to 480, depending on the tire size.  That is a decent wear rating, considering how well they grip.

 

Consumer Reports is also a good source for picking the best tire for your needs.

 

For V-Speed rated performance All-season tires the top four are:

Continental PureContact

Pirelli P7 Cinturato All Season

Michelin Primacy MXV4

Nokian eNtyre

 

For H-Speed rated performance All-season tires the top four are:

Michelin Primacy MXV4

Continental PureContact

Nexen CP672

Pirelli P7 Cinturato All Season

 

CR also tested Ultra-high-performance all season and summer tires, but I don't think any of the tires tested come in sizes that will fit our cars.

Waiting for the giant rim fad to abate. I believe historians will remember stock 20s as "peak rim," exceeding even the 19-inch spokers affixed to the MG Midgets of the post-war period.

 

As we all know, rim diameters were reduced in the 1960s to the point where 13s were standard on MG midgets, and 12s made the rounds on the tracks too. Even urban custom mfgs made their rims shorter--but wider--so that by 1990 or so you had a sort of rim perigee with B-boys cruising in slammed Corollas, their deep-dish, 8-inch wide, 13-inch diameter misfit rims sticking out two or three inches from the fenders.

 

Then the trend reversed again, and we found ourselves staring at (and, for some reason, emulating?) boxes and bubbles. As ever, some people have managed to convince themselves it's about performance. Whatever, dudes.

 

I'm guessing in another 10 years 15s will be back in vogue again, and tires that could work on our ancients will once more be manufactured in volume. Fashion being what it is, they'll be wider than we want--or narrower. Or the aspect ratio will just be incorrect. But something will fit, and work.

 

Until then, gentlemen, hang on. Or call Coker. . . .

Ron, I think what he's saying is that Fuchs are such a good looking wheel they look good on anything. Or is he saying they make even a pos Pinto look good? Or is....

If lived in CA I would run Hoosier Speedster for canyon carving and then have a second set of highway Wheels/Tires.  

 

356's in the 50's had (I believe) 16" rims - at least my brother's '59 had 16" rims as did his friend's A coupe.  I think they went to 15" rims on the "B" series starting in 1960 (but I may be totally wrong about this).

 

I went with 16" Fuchs on Pearl simply because I could run wider rims (good) with a lower profile (better) and still have a reasonably accurate speedometer (Best) assuming, at the time, that the 356 VDO knock-off speedo expected to see a 16" wheel and 24.5" dia tire, too.

 

What I found is that, with a speedo that reads kilometers and having to do instant math in my head (never my strong suit), the indicated speed is more of a suggestion than fact but somewhere near +/- 10%, depending on what fudge factor you use.

 

The other thing I found is that the 16" rim with a 205-245 tire on it fills the wheel well opening very nicely, giving the car a pleasant look, like this:

 

 

 

Beyond that, my days of racing are almost over (although I have a track day coming up at New England's Thompson Speedway's newly restored road course) and all I'm looking for now is a nice all-around tire that doesn't prematurely get dry rot.  I'm currently running Michelin something-or-others on Pearl and they ride and handle adequately for me.

 

As an aside, I had Michelin 275/18's on my late F250 - They were HUGE, cost over $1,300 per set, installed, and had an expected life of 120,000 miles.  Fine.  

 

7 years later and after only 21,000 miles (we stopped commuting 1,100 miles to SC and didn't drive it much), they failed the MAS DOT inspection for excessive dry-rot.  ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

 

One of those times when "Government intrusion" strikes home........Like when they changed BBQ grill tanks to those new, OPD "safety valves" which only allow 60% of the flow to your grill cookers because a half-dozen Rednecks abused the original design and blew themselves up - ya can't even get a good sear on a steak, anymore

I like Fuchs and think they look good on almost anything.