Tires

[Marc Lipsius]

My car has 145 SR 15 tires on it, which look appropriate and have good tread, but are old and starting to show dry cracks on the sidewalls circling around the tire just as it meets the tread.
I will want to replace them eventually when I get the car back on the road, but they are kind of rare and hard to find, and the cost is ridiculous compared to those twice as wide and bigger for my Saturn Vue or my Suburban. They seem to be stock old VW tires, but other close sizes may be a better replacement. Any suggestions as to where you guys buy your tires, if you’ve ever replaced them, and what did you get if not these?

[newkitman]

Haven’t purchased the tires for my TD yet but being VW based I should think standard VW Beetle tires should do fine. But not totally certain. I have 165SR15s on my Karmann Ghia. I see a lot of advertisements for Cocker tires for vintage VWs but know nothiong of their quality.

Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack

[Dennis Brock]

165SR15 is the stock size (new designation) for a VW bug also.  Most shops that specialize in VWs carry them.  I bought mine at Big O.  The ones from mass marketers tend to be n ewer than those from companies like Coker, but that is not always the case.  Ask them to read you the date code.

[Paul Mossberg]

Coker has five tires, all whitewalls of various widths. Prices range from $146 to $181

http://store.cokertire.com/catalogsearch/result/?year=1972&a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;make=VOLKSWAGEN&model=Beetle&size=165R15&q=16 5R15

Tirerack.com usually has them. But I just checked and they don’t have them at the moment.

Here is an ad on TheSamba.com

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1155106

A couple sites say 165R15 is the same as 165/80R15.

CIP1 has them. They are a great vendor!

http://www2.cip1.com/searchresults.asp?cat=1266

TiresByWeb claims to have them:

http://www.tiresbyweb.com/tbw_tiresearchadv2.aspx?treadwidth =165&profile=80&rimsize=15&Winter=0&Pageinde x=1&choice2=All

Amazon says they have them in stock too:

http://www.amazon.com/Nankang-CX668-High-Performance-Tire/dp /B004QL6ONQ

Kustom1Warehouse:

http://www.kustom1warehouse.net/Stock_style_tires_for_VW_Vol kswagen_p/streettires.htm

HighPerformance Tire:

http://highperformancetire.com/product.php?productid=22861&a mp;cat=472&page=1

PMOSSBERG40720.9514814815

Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

If you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)

[edward ericson]

Kumho and Nankang seem to be the mfgs now.

Remember to check the dates. I just got a set of Nankangs, mounted and balanced for about $400. That was about the Amazon price, plus work and tax.

Sticker shock? Yeah. But I took that deal after getting other, higher quotes.

[newkitman]

Agreed. I have Nankings on my Ghia and they have been well worth the price. If I can still get them for the TD I’ll use them. If not, well I sort of like Michelins. What the heck. Dream car might as well have dream tires.   

newkitman40721.4021759259

Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack

[Mark Hendrickson]

Stay away from Coker tires. Total rip-off and they sell dry rotted and out dated tires.

I just bought some P185/65R15 Kumho tires for the rear of my Beetle fromTire Rack and some Nankang P145/80R15 fronts from http://www.bugtires.com

They have Nankang P165/80R15’S FOR $68 each plus S&H.

If you check periodically with Tire Rack and Discount Tire Direct, they do have P165/80R15’s.

Do you know how to read the date code on your tires? If a tires is 5 or more years old, no matter what it looks like externally…even brand new with stickers, it’s shot and should not be used.

[newkitman]

Yeah I ALWAYS have checked the DOT tire code since they came out. For those who are unsure of the tire code, there’s a thread here (in the General Forum I believe) that explains it all. Worth checking out.

Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack

[Paul Mossberg]

Here is the Tires – Manufacture Date thread:

https://tdreplica.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1325& PN=5

Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

If you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)

[Marc Lipsius]

I’m aware of the DOT date stamp on the sidewall, and those are good links, thanks from me too.
My other question was did anybody go to a slightly larger size that will fit the stock VW rims if the 165’s are hard to find locally? Tires can be ordered but usually the shops are a little resistant to mount them if you don’t buy them through the shop. I don’t feel like muscleing them on and off the rims, and then they have to be balanced – better off and easier at a tire shop with all that equipment.

[edward ericson]

One shop tried to sell me 185/60s. I said no. I’d consider them for a Speedster though.

Bottom line is, you’ll be able to source your tires. Go to five shops and three are gonna have them and one of the other two will be able to get them in a day.

[Mark Hendrickson]

On a 5.5″ wide rim, like the chrome, slotted, OEM look Mangels on rear of my Beetle, a P185/65R15 works great. Same diameter as a P165/80R15 stock Beetle tire too.

The key  for the extra width is the slightly wider, 5.5″ rim. Using P165/80R15 is about the max for a 4.5″ wide rim.

The 60 series I agree would look stupid on a TD.

Tirerack had 41 different P185/65R15 tires of various brands. I used the Kumho KR21 based on past experience with Kumho tires. Great ride, great wear.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=18 5%2F&ratio=65&diameter=15

[Marc Lipsius]

I just spoke to my local tire guy that I have been dealing with for years and he said that the 145 SR 15’s would be really difficult to get unless I/he went to a specialty shop. He said the 165/80 15’s will fit, but they may be about 2″ taller than the 145’s and just a tiny bit wider. If that’s the case, the car would sit an inch higher, and I have to see if there’s clearance under the front fender in a tight turn, as my front tires just about hit the front fenders now with the wheels hard over. I have to go online and find the specs and dimensions of those 2 tires.
Decisions, decisions, first I need to get some engine work done.

[Paul Mossberg]

mrlmd

http://empi-wheels.com/store/index.php/us/kumho-power-star-1 65-80-r15.html

Kumho Power Star 165/80-R15 dimensions:

[edward ericson]

The 165s on Bridget, with a stock 1971 Bug speedo, give me dead accurate speedo readings. Within about 1 mph at 65.

They also fit fine under the fenders–and I’m sprung a couple inches lower than stock, owing to torsion bar fatigue on the rear with no good way to re-index without removing the body.

They should fit.

[Dennis Brock]

The 80 in the tire size is the aspect ratio.  80 is 80% of the width, so if the tires are 165 as opposed to 145 (millimeters) they should be 80% of 20 millimeters, or 16 millimeters x 2 (top and bottom) taller.

[Marc Lipsius]

Thanks all, I wasn’t sure of the aspect ratio of the 145’s, but on a
conversion chart I found online, they used to be 82, so the 165 is a
little less than 1 1/2″  taller than the 145, or less than 5/8″ closer
to the fender which I don’t think will bother me but I have to measure
the clearance to the fender to be sure.
FYI, here is the data from one site comparing 145/80-15 and 165/80-15 tire sizes–
145/80-15  stock                           165/80-15  new tire
 4.6″                           sidewall                   5.2″
12.1″                           radius                     12.7″
24.1″                           diameter                 25.4″
75.8″                           circumference          79.8″
836                             revolutions per mile  794

The
speedometer reading with the 165 is 5% too low compared to the 145.
When the speed reads 60 mph, you are actually traveling 63.1.

Bear
in mind there are slight size differences in different brands, but for
all practical purposes, these differences are insignificant, and the way
we drive these cars, the tires will die of old age before they wear
out.

Edited by mrlmd on June 28 2011 at 11:51pm
mrlmd40722.9993402778

[Hugh Coffey]

Watch out for the 2 inch taller tires. I have some body damage on the inside behind the front fender. If you go taller you will need to reset the stops for right and left turn radius. If you don’t it can get ito the fiberglass where it laps over the Pan. It is a difficult repair as I will need to take part of the body off. Make sure you have clearance. It is best not to exceed the original overall height of the tire which is about 24.2 inches. I have a tire store who is going to replace the tires and do the body work, or so they say. They said they would work and they don’t!

[Paul Mossberg]

Another VW tire source:

http://www.mamotorworks.com

Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

If you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)

[Richard Shear]

I just checked my tires on my Roadster and the newest they can be in 1994. Just got my new one’s from tirebuyer.com this morning.

Always check the DOT code. Could have got hurt.

New code is 1411.

[Paul Mossberg]

Just adding to the knowledge base.

I’ve never had to buy from these guys, but if our US soruces dry up, UK based Vintage Tyres has an array of VW-sized tires. Like Coker, these guys are pretty pricey. The cheapest is about $87 plus shipping.

 

http://www.vintagetyres.com/search?qs=%5B165R15%5D

 

 

PMOSSBERG2012-06-01 09:31:18

Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

If you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)

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