Tyres

John Bevan · Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 8:28 am Post subject: Tyres

Morning All, Just bought a 1955 H J Mulliner S1. Not yet sure if it is my "thing" as I normally run much later cars.
The tyres on the car have a reasonable amount of tread but they look to be of great age. I understand that they pre-date date codes. They are Avon TurboSpeeds, 235/70/15. I like Avons and run them on my Continental R but I wonder if it is worth the extra expense as they will "age" before they are 1/2 worn. Has anybody got any experience of these types of cars and could recommend a suitable brand. I am not looking to skimp on my tyre purchase but as I say they will not be getting much use. thank you, John.

John Murch · Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 6:08 pm Post subject:

I have no direct experience of the S1, but 235 70 15 sounds a bit on the large size. My personal view is that running on obviously rather old tyres is a risk not worth taking, I would sympathise with an insurer who declined to pay out should they be the cause of an accident.
Blockley do a 215/70/15 which might be suitable as they design their tyres for the older car.

John Bevan · Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 7:33 am Post subject:

Hi John. Thank you for taking the time to reply. I do not think that the 235/70/15 are to big. The (old) tyres on the car are this size but more to the point Longstone Tyres recommend this size as a replacement for the original cross-plies. I would normally say that an endorsement from a specialist such as Longstone would be cast iron advise but I have heard of people that like to run 235/75/15, although it seems to me that this size of tyre is manufactured more for the commercial market, 4x4, vans, taxi's etc. Regards John.

John Murch · Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 9:35 am Post subject:

I would certainly respect the advice of Longstone, as you suggest any “commercial” tyre could compromise noise and ride.
On a further scan of tyre sizes, the Blockley one I mentioned is about 10% smaller on the rolling diameter than the original spec crossplies so probably not a good idea.

Charles R Simmers · Joined: 19 Apr 2000 Posts: 117 Location: Arizona, USA

I have found it getting increasingly difficult to fine 235-70-15 tyres for my T1. I have swapped the 15" wheels for 17" and now run 235/60-17. Same tyre-patch, load-rating and running diameter.

John Bevan · Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2022 6:15 am Post subject:

Hello Charles, I guess the weather where you are is slightly better than here. Typical English summer, been raining for four days.......Thank you for your suggestion but it does not seem to be a problem actually getting the 235/70/15 here so I am not yet considering a wheel size change. Since my first post I have ordered a set of Avon's in this size. My concern was more of the "are these the best size". I have mentioned that I have been advised the 75 Ratio would look better but this size seems to be only recommended for commercial applications. I doubt from a practical viewpoint it would make much difference but they look to "chunky" to me and I wonder if the side walls are beefed up, thereby making the ride uncomfortable ? The Avon's will be fitted in a couple of weeks and I will report later.
Regards John.

Charles R Simmers · Joined: 19 Apr 2000 Posts: 117 Location: Arizona, USA

John,

Here in Phoenix, the sun is bright, sky is clear, and it's 110F going to 114F this weekend.. Don't want to go outside!
The 17' wheels I used are Turbo R alloys.
Avons are available here, but pricey. Goodyear (my choice) has stopped production of 235/70-15. The last set of tyres of that size were Cooper (who also makes the NA Avons) high-performance.

Stephen Blakey · Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2022 9:16 pm Post subject:

Here's a couple of related threads.

https://www.bdcl.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3691&highlight=

https://www.bdcl.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3175&highlight=tug

Shame some of the the pictures have vanished during forum "improvements".

Don't know about 70 profile, but 235/75/15 is a very popular size for modern cars and gives a vast range to choose from covering all budgets. Any modern tyre will have grip levels far superior to the original cross plies and some members just choose tyres they like the look of.

It's frustrating having to throw away barely worn tyres. I've just sent 6 tyres to the tip from our caravan and horse trailer. They were all out of date and showing some alarming cracks.

BentleyG7 · Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:07 pm Post subject:

Getting tyres for older classic RR/B is not a major problem they are still available from specialist tyre distributors

Many of the RR/B models used a comparable size tyre to American vehicles of the same period such as Cadillac, Lincoln etc

If you look at your original fitment and these should fit your vehicle

760x15
760R 15 American Classic,
215/75R15, a wide range available

800x15
800R15 American Classic
215/75R15, a wide range available

820x15
820R15 American Classic or Auburn Premium
235/75R15, a wide range available

North Hants Tyres stock them all and offer free advice if you call them. None of these are van/truck tyres

They also have the later model T1/T2 and Continental/Azure tyres in stock