Unbiased Tire Review (OK, sorry)

You'll get the required number of years out of them that's for sure.

I really like the Yokohama, avid envigor.  I had them in the 15 inch size on my last IM and I even put them on my DD and you know they perform well and have good wear capacity.  Now the rears on the IM never last anyway. Camber is a killer but a saviour too with IRS. 

What an excellent find!

Yes, it is excellent for Speedster drivers. Only 15" size available is 175/65/15 though. Us Spyder guys want wider in the back though. Oh well.

Danny P...What tires and sizes are you using on your Spyder ?

Oh, I found out that the Mendeola front suspension uses std. VW ball joint drum type spindles so now I can start looking at front disc clamps n rotors. Any place I should look for good prices. I like those pretty red Wilwood 4 piston clamps......Bruce

DannyP posted:

Yes, it is excellent for Speedster drivers. Only 15" size available is 175/65/15 though. Us Spyder guys want wider in the back though. Oh well.

I want 195/60/15, but the Vreds I love so were like finding a particular needle in a stack of identical needles. 

Stan Galat posted:

DannyP posted:

Yes, it is excellent for Speedster drivers. Only 15" size available is 175/65/15 though. Us Spyder guys want wider in the back though. Oh well.

I want 195/60/15, but the Vreds I love so were like finding a particular needle in a stack of identical needles. 

Those Vreds are still available in Montreal at about $75 usd. 

Question for anyone out there in the ozone: Will 195/65 R15's fit all around on my 2008 built VS Speedie? I'm still running the original Michelin Primacy 185's and have NO complaints, BUT ...even though I've only got 19,200 miles on them, they are getting pretty "long in the tooth" (like me) and I sure do like the Dry Condition stats of those Vredestein Quatrac 5's. TireRack.com has them in both 185 and 195/65R15 ...AND both sizes are only $371.76 for a set of 4 with Free Shipping and No Tax. You can't beat that with a stick! Back to my question, though: will 195's fit the VS Speedie? I called Greg Leach with the question, but I haven't heard back from him. 

IaM-Ray posted:

I really like the Yokohama, avid envigor.  I had them in the 15 inch size on my last IM and I even put them on my DD and you know they perform well and have good wear capacity.  Now the rears on the IM never last anyway. Camber is a killer but a saviour too with IRS. 

I liked them too. No longer available in 185/65-r15.

Only one tire available rated high performance all season in this size: Sumitomo HTR A/S PO2

The Sumitomos are a decent tire, they're cheap and they look pretty good. A far step from Pole Positions but pretty close to the Yoko's

Gonna have to switch to narrow axles soon...

David Stroud Ottawa Canada IM Roadster posted:

Stan Galat posted:

DannyP posted:

Yes, it is excellent for Speedster drivers. Only 15" size available is 175/65/15 though. Us Spyder guys want wider in the back though. Oh well.

I want 195/60/15, but the Vreds I love so were like finding a particular needle in a stack of identical needles. 

Those Vreds are still available in Montreal at about $75 usd. 

When I need them, I'll figure out a way to get up there to get them. It'll be easier than what I went through.

Napa Paul posted:

Question for anyone out there in the ozone: Will 195/65 R15's fit all around on my 2008 built VS Speedie? I'm still running the original Michelin Primacy 185's and have NO complaints, BUT ...even though I've only got 19,200 miles on them, they are getting pretty "long in the tooth" (like me) and I sure do like the Dry Condition stats of those Vredestein Quatrac 5's. TireRack.com has them in both 185 and 195/65R15 ...AND both sizes are only $371.76 for a set of 4 with Free Shipping and No Tax. You can't beat that with a stick! Back to my question, though: will 195's fit the VS Speedie? I called Greg Leach with the question, but I haven't heard back from him. 

The 195 should fit as long as your car is swing axle. Definitely if it's swing axle + drum brakes.

swing axle + disc brakes all around. Maybe my tire shop has a 195 laying around to check it out. Gawd knows I've seen some weird things buried deep in the corners of tire dealers!

a few 185/65/r15 Yoko left at tirerack

IaM-Ray posted:

a few 185/65/r15 Yoko left at tirerack

Maybe in Canada...

Stan Galat posted:

 

Those Vreds are still available in Montreal at about $75 usd. 

When I need them, I'll figure out a way to get up there to get them. It'll be easier than what I went through.

Your statement is vague. What problem did you have to go through ? 

I went from a modern square shoulder Michelin 195/65-15 to a round shoulder Pirelli Cinturato 185/70-VR15 porsche N spec tire. Really fun. I'm going to mount Vredstein Sprint Classics on a spare set of steelies for the Speedster in either a 195/65 (not sure if 195s are available in 15") or 185/70, but in a 5.5" wheel.

I love the grip and turn-in of the modern Michelin, but also love the progressive feel of the classic profile Pirelli Cinturato.

Wheels are like shoes  I chose the Pirellis solely for the look of their tread (block) pattern and the rounded shoulder construction. The tires can handle more than what the current driver can put them through 😳

Bruce: 185/65 15 front and 195/60 15 rear(or 205/60 15 which is what I'm running now). Currently running Yokohama Avid Envigor, but they aren't happy at autocross or DE.

Terry Nuckels posted:

IaM-Ray posted:

a few 185/65/r15 Yoko left at tirerack

Maybe in Canada...

I just put in a Usa zip and they have them and I am using the .com site fyi

@David Stroud IM Roadster D,

For whatever reason, finding a dealer even sort of close by was difficult. I ended up buying from a place in Chicago, which is three hours away from me. They did not have the tires in stock, and were somewhat disinterested in ordering them from the distributor, who was on the East Coast. From the time I ordered, till the time I actually got the tires, it was more than a few months and took more than a few phone calls to get done.

The tires are completely worth whatever I had to go through to get them, but something simpler would have been way better. I was stunned by how easily you were able to get them.

Napa Paul posted:

Question for anyone out there in the ozone: Will 195/65 R15's fit all around on my 2008 built VS Speedie? I'm still running the original Michelin Primacy 185's and have NO complaints, BUT ...even though I've only got 19,200 miles on them, they are getting pretty "long in the tooth" (like me) and I sure do like the Dry Condition stats of those Vredestein Quatrac 5's. TireRack.com has them in both 185 and 195/65R15 ...AND both sizes are only $371.76 for a set of 4 with Free Shipping and No Tax. You can't beat that with a stick! Back to my question, though: will 195's fit the VS Speedie? I called Greg Leach with the question, but I haven't heard back from him. 

How much fender clearance do you have with the 185's? 195's will add about 3/8" width, so if room is tight now then adding 3/16" more to the outside may not work.

The Vredestein Quatrac 5's are all season tires, while the Sportrac 5 is a summer performance tire, so if you can find them they are a way better choice for our cars. They're one of the few to still come in a fair selection of 15" sizes (175's - 225's) so we really should be supporting them before they all disappear as well.

https://www.vredestein.ca/car-...uct/3/895-sportrac-5

When I looked into the Sportrac's (just after Christmas?) there wasn't much stock available, so we need to be asking about 15" sizes and hopefully they plan on making them again. Al

Stan Galat posted:

@David Stroud IM Roadster D,

For whatever reason, finding a dealer even sort of close by was difficult. I ended up buying from a place in Chicago, which is three hours away from me. They did not have the tires in stock, and were somewhat disinterested in ordering them from the distributor, who was on the East Coast. From the time I ordered, till the time I actually got the tires, it was more than a few months and took more than a few phone calls to get done.

The tires are completely worth whatever I had to go through to get them, but something simpler would have been way better. I was stunned by how easily you were able to get them.

That is funny Stan, we seem to be able to order from the USA and have things shipped up for year with Tirerack and others to a border town.  I did a searcha and these will ship to your door from TR. 

Those are not the tires you want, Ray. Spotrac, not Quatrac. Sportrac is a summer HP tire, Quatrac is an AS tire. 

... and therein lies the problem.

Oh ... sorry ... my mistake. 

Thanks Danny.........Bruce

Yeah- the Vredestein Sportrac 5 is awesome in every way... if you can find them. It is 100% worth whatever you have to go through to get them, but Al is right – we really should be buying as many of these as possible to keep them in production. 

They are the best tires I’ve ever had on anything. 

So glad to have 16" wheels, but even then, the choice of performance tires is limited.  Some of you thought I would be nuts to go to 17" wheels, but the tire choice is even better. 

With the correct aspect, my car would not end up looking like a Conestoga wagon, or else something from the 'hood'  (am I allowed to say that these days?).

Bob: IM S6 posted:

(am I allowed to say that these days?).

We’ll allow it. 

@@Bob I use proxies r888r on 16 and love it. Since the car won’t see rain   Lol

I've been following this thread and paying attention.  My Beck Speedster has 165s on it and i changed it to wide five strictly for the looks. I used  AC Industries disks at all four corners so the clearance stayed the same. I dont like the braking i get with the 165s, the fronts are always on the verge of locking if I hit the peddle to hard. Cary at Beck says I can use 185s but I'll need to grind the rear finder lips to gain the necessary clearance. That gives me the heebie jeebies. 

Andy at SoCal Imports says there is a company near him that can take the wheels apart and change the offset. I believe i woulc only need the rears done, there seems to be plenty of room in the front. 

The idea is that the wider tire would help with stopping. Part of the problem is the lightness of the car, especially the front. 

Does anyone have suggestions or experience with this? 

FYI my previous IM had rims made wider by going further into the body side and I had 6 inch and 8 inch rears

I would take it that with the right clearance 15inch wheels could be made for you that way

In the end the front being light is a problem for lock up all the time without more weight.

I run 21/31 tire pressure and on a bump or sudden stop the front can lock up

@PaulEllis- As you've probably realized, the back braking needs to carry a little more of the load so the fronts aren't on the verge of locking up all the time. I know what it's like! Is your car swingaxle or irs? What do you have for brakes on the back right now? How wide are the rims?  Wider tires on the back will certainly make the back braking more effective (if the rear brakes have already been upgraded) as well as making the car feel more sure-footed.

Instead of changing the offset of the rear wheels- how about adding an inch to the inside? It will probably cost about the same, even with the wider tires it will actually pull the tires away from the fenders ever so slightly and the car will handle better overall. Have a look underneath- is there enough room between the tire and the spring plate? The compression bump stop near the top of the shock? Those are the 2 main areas of concern. Al

I'll go check that. Isn't moving the offset and adding an inch to the inside the same thing? 

It's swing axle and has AC Industries brakes. The wheels are 5.5 inch.

I'll go check if there is room near the spring plates.

I didn't mean to hijack this thread, so please forgive me.  I jacked up the car and then jacked up the axle so the tire was inside the fender. There is about an inch space between the tire and the sping plate adjuster. I could move the offset on about. 75 of an inch to be safe. 

Thinking about what ALB said, it would be better to move the offset to get the wider tire away from the fender.

My previous two speedsters would lock up the front wheels on a panic stop.  You don't have ABS on your car, and that is what happens with a light vehicle.

Yeah I was trying to get that point across  

PaulEllis posted:

I'll go check that. Isn't moving the offset and adding an inch to the inside the same thing? 

It's swing axle and has AC Industries brakes. The wheels are 5.5 inch.

I'll go check if there is room near the spring plates.

It would have the same affect, but moving the offset (on it's own) doesn't make the wheel wider. I'm talking about widening the wheel (to the inside) and the wheel flange staying where it is relative to the outside edge of the wheel. Offset is where the flange is in relation to the center of the wheel, is it not?

I like to say, imagine the inside rim edge simply moving inwards by welding an extra band and the rest staying the same.  The lingo sometimes is confusing unless you use it daily which I don;t.

IaM-Ray posted:

I like to say, imagine the inside rim edge simply moving inwards by welding an extra band and the rest staying the same.  The lingo sometimes is confusing unless you use it daily which I don;t.

That's exactly how it's done, Ray. You cut the inside rim edge off on a (really big) lathe, weld the 1 or 2" (or however much wider you're going) band on, weld the rim edge on and it's done! The distance from the mounting flange to the outside rim edge doesn't change so the fender/tire fit isn't any different.

I think i understand what you're saying ALB, and as I think about it adding an inch or .75 to the inside of the wheel wouldn't cause the wider tite to contact the inside of the fender. 

My experience is with 135s or 145s on the front of a bug. The narrow tire causes the brakes to lock up very easily. Its a serious safety concern but people  do it for the looks.  My thinking is that a wider tire front and back and perhaps some added weight in the front will improve braking and handling.  Am I on the right track?