tyre sugestions?

[Barrykearley]

A tyre life in the UK is now classed as 5 years. There's something about uv stabilisers being changed - and they now crack at about 5years of age

[Mark Wainwright]

whats the general consensus here then? 

cheap nexens or similar in proper size tyre but in an H, or something a little narrower like a Toyo 195/65/14 in  a V ? 

cheers,

Mark

Edited October 21, 2015 by Mark Wainwright

[Don.Hasi]

Why compromises when the right one is available??  

[Mark Wainwright]

hlas far is i understood theyre not, the options are cheap chinese tyres in the correct size or wrong rating, or decent tyres the wrong size in the correct rating?

[Barrykearley]

I can fully recommend kumho ku31 - they are great on mine - don't know if you can get the size you need though

[Dunc]

hlas far is i understood theyre not, the options are cheap chinese tyres in the correct size or wrong rating, or decent tyres the wrong size in the correct rating?

Kenda do a 205 60 14 VR.

It is mentioned on pages 2 of this thread :-)

and is what Don is using on his car.

[GerardJPC]

I have had some success finding decent quality tyres in now rare sizes by using the German and Italian websites for mytyres.   IIRC, late Excels share a tyre size with Ur-Quattros, so looking in Germany can be a good idea.  I am not sure what cars share tyres sizes with Eclats, Elites and early Excels.

[Dunc]

early MR2's on the 14 inch wheels.....

and , eh, um....

not much else.

[The Real Stig]

I have bad experience with some Asian manufactures like Accelera. The detoriation makes them dangerous in wet conditions. They were mounted on my Jaguar XF. In roundabouts they would skid to the limit, where DSC interacts. You could only accelerate very modest.

Despite this, I have decided to purchase Kumho Ecsta HR51 205/60x14H for the Elite.

[Dunc]

I didn't know you could get kumho ecsta in 205 60 14. (edit - just googled it and you can!)

Kumho Ecsta are excellent tyres and I used them for a long period of time (8+ years) on an alfa 155 sportpack.

I will buy a set next time.

(this is excellent news - although not the same as the ZR rated Ecsta's I used on my alfa, I'm sure they are probably better than anything else available in this size).

[Clive59]

Blackcircles have them, but the UK Kumho site doesn't yet.

Definitely would use them too. And not unreasonably priced either.

[theelanman]

I can't find any tyre in 205 60 r14 of decent brand quality........looks like I'm going 195 65 r14.......unless someone can point me in the right direction

[tzed250]

Check out the new Vredestein classic tires, they come in the right size and look period correct.

[mikeeech]

10 hours ago, theelanman said:

I can't find any tyre in 205 60 r14 of decent brand quality........looks like I'm going 195 65 r14.......unless someone can point me in the right direction

195's look poor in my opinion. 205's fit the rim and wheel arch and suits the car much better. There are a few options which would probably be equally good as the original 40 year old technology, but if brand is your thing then options will be limited.

http://www.northhantstyres.com/main-tyre-pages/galaxy-tyres/205-60-14-formula-x.html

[Neil D.]

a selection here

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rshop/Summer-tyres/205-60-R14-H/brand/Maxxis

Neil

[Dunc]

I'm really quite pleased with the tyre availability nowdays in 205/60/14 - it was looking quite bleak for a while with only Falken (which I dont really rate) as a "known" brand tyre.

Whilst it is not a direct comparison with a car tyre, I use Maxxis Ultra Sports on my Kawasaki Z1000 (a 130bhp naked sports bike) - big thumbs up from me. Now on my second set.

I wouldn't have any hesitation in buying more of their products. I wouldn't class Maxxis in the same bracket as some of the chinese brands that we see (powerhorse, roadstar etc). Maxxis are definately a cut above the cheaper end of the market.

Also - the Toyo Proxes in that link at £55 are probably a steal. I had Toyo Proxes (albeit expensive Z rated ones) on my Alfa sportpack, and I drove that car like I'd stolen it... It turned in like no front wheel drive car I've driven before or since, so definately gave its tyres a proper work out.