Aging tyres and when to replace them

[Martec]

I wasn't too sure which heading to put this under so used 'General'

I suspect this affects a lot of us with the older cars.

Our MkII has been on the road for 14 years now and with my self imposed limit of 7 years for tyres and cambelts, I have changed the cambelt on one toy and a modern, but have to change tyres on 2 toys.

One has 175/70/13 tyres and are easy and cheaply available for my prefered 'Continental's, but the Jaguar MkII was difficult and potentially expensive seven years ago, but a set of 'Hancook' tyres for £200 (Total) has served us well over 7 years and 14,000 miles.

As anyone who knows me know I don't do expensive, so I have looked at 'Nankang classic'???? Blockley tyres, and 'Vredstein Sprint Classic'. it would seem Hancook nolonger do that CAR tyre.

Internet sights seem to want to sell the tyres over the internet and 'arrange' for a designated garage, not tyre fitter, to fit them.

So my questions are:

What are your experiences of using internet for tyres?
What experiences do you have of 'Nankang', 'Blockley' and 'Vredstein' for classic size tyres?
What do you think of as a time limit on tyres?

Best Wishes

Brian

[robv12]

http://www.vredestein.co.uk/

Vredestein have a deal to supply JEC members, suggest you give them or Graham a call at the office to get full details on how to go about purchase

Vredestein are also one of our race series sponsors, so know our cars well

general consensus on tyre life is 10 years from memory, but others will have better info on this than I do

[Dave_W]

Hi Brian.
I have Vredestein classic sprint tyres fitted, I got them on the internet from
My Tyres and had them delivered to my local tyre fitters to have them fitted because
even though they stock Vredestein tyres they could not source that tyre in that size.
The tyres on the car were well over 10 years old and even though they had only done
about 1500 miles the side walls were starting to crack.

Regards Dave.

[steve_m]

I use Event Tyres as they are a mobile service and so (depending on your area) come to you and do the job at home.
I've used them a couple of times now and the pricing and service is excellent plus they have a wide range of tyres available.

[jaz800]

Hi im having the same issue so recommendations do I go for

Dunlop SP Sport D8 185 R15V £80
Vredestein Sprint Classic 185 R15 91H £80

thank you

[PaulE]

I have used 'Black Circles' several times and found their service and that of their designated fitter quite exceptional. Highly recommended - good prices too. XJS and SAAB now on Kumho which are quiet and grip like you know what.

[Martec]

Thank you for all your replies, I have been considering changing the tyres next spring but may keep them on for another year. For various reasons I've been using the car over this last week and tentatively giving it welly in the bends to see if it 'steps out', it hasn't. But not sure if I fancy going to 10 years.

As you have recommended 'My tyres' and 'Black circles', I'll probably go that way with Vredstein's as they have a tyre that fits.

I'll comment elsewere on this forum, but we have been considering using the MkII for this springs tour of Scotland at my wifes suggestion, so I'm clearing out the petrol system as I usually run on LPG and addressing the 'indicated' running temperature of 60 degrees.

Thanks again,

Brian

[wimgohres]

Dear all,

This is an old post but the subject still important. I did some research last summer at the end of the restoration of my MK2. I found the site of longstone very helpful (see below link). The Michelin XVS and the Pirelli Cinturato both 185 VR15 seem to be historically correct and very good tyres (also I believe for a car with power steering). However, both are also quite expensive at 225 GBP for a tyre. As I was running out of money due to the restoration, this did not make things easier.

The Vredestein 185 HR 15 (produced in the Netherlands, my home country) at 119 GBP seemed an attractive alternative (though may be not as good) but apparently were sold out when I decided to by them. These special tyres are probably made in batches and therefore are not always on stock.

Translation of the old 185 R15 to modern measure gave me some trouble but in the end it was clear that this should nowadays be 185/80 R15.

Looking further I ended with the Ovation 185/80 R15 93T. This is a modern tyre for some 40 GBP, it uses more petrol than average (F on a scale from A to G) but with a good grip on wet surface and quiet (both C on the scale). In view of the few miles my MK2 runs yearly and almost only under good conditions, the demands made on the tyres are not very great. Therefore decided to buy these, which means I have 5 modern tyres for the price of 1 classic tyre.

My internet searches did not turn up Blockley at the time, which seem to have an attractive tyre 185 VR 15 for 139 GBP which is a fair price.

I used to have Michelin XVS tyres although slightly to broad apparently to get the right height. Comparison is not easy though as my MK2 has now power steering and nitrogen filled tyres. Tyres seem to do fine, comfort may be a bit less due to the nitrogen. I sympathise with the idea of having the historically correct tyres, but tyres are a bit like shoes, people seldom look at them. Hope this is helpful.

http://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/page/jaguar-mk2
http://xks.com/i-6917065-vredestein-tir ... 5hr15.html
http://www.bandenleader.nl/auto-band/ov ... swodQiUPWA
http://www.blockleytyre.com/page2.htm#prices

[Martec]

My apologies I should have added a final note to this post before.

In may 2015 whilst on holiday in Scotland on a narrow road I was forced off it by a soft roader and landed on one of the front wishbones. Later on a very wet motorway (on the way home) I noticed the car wandering a bit and put it down to the then 8 year old tyres so slowed down. I had been given the direct Vredestein number that is in another post somewhere and ordered 4 new tyres as one tyre was now badly worn (due to the tracking knocked out). A local tyre firm fitted them for me.

Again I have heavily used them to see how good they are in the wet and have no complaints, all fitted for about £370 for 4 tyres.

Due to the tyre size being a problem I expect to have to go this way of internet purchase and local fitting. The only real problem is the oversize holes and so 'landrover' valves needed for the original steel wheels, but these were sourced by the local fitter.

Brian