The Official 356Talk Forum

Mystery Solved! Thanks again for your tenacious detective work Ed. Pirelli should hire you in their marketing department...

I like your idea of 165's in the front and 185's in the rear. I've got 185's all round right now, and the steering is just a little heavy for my taste. I think I will try a set of 165/185's in a few months after I wear out the current tires over the summer....

$258 per tire! Wow that is expensive!

Maybe, we as a club could get a group buy at a reduced rate, that might be worth inquiring about.

I had a set of these on my VW back in the day -- after 20K miles they were shot. I wonder if they have improved.

Pat Daily wrote:I had a set of these on my VW back in the day -- after 20K miles they were shot. I wonder if they have improved.

Nowadays, 20K miles is ten years of driving. And the tires should be replaced by then anyway.

Nankang have a new tire, in Europe they brand it "Retro Classic" (RC-001) it has a pattern quite similar to Michelin XVS. It is rated to 210 km/h. Maybe they come without whitewall as well.


Found one US source, if compared to euros they are more or less the same price.
http://www.lucasclassictires.com/165R15 ... 515Ret.htm

A review from a Ds owner, albeit difference width.
https://citroenclassics.wordpress.com/2 ... -d-models/

Vredesteins are the same price and would perhaps prefer those, I have a set of sprint classics on my 63 coupe and they are quite sticky. Driving on tarmac with dirt or sand you can hear it being thrown into the wheelhouses, quite different to the older Dunlops I were running a few years ago. Only reason I can think of is that they are more sticky.

Another wrinkle to this. It seems Pirelli is providing two versions of the 185-70-15 tire: VR rated, the original specification, and WR rated, the version which is newly part of the Porsche N program. Can there really be a difference in the tires beside labelling?

This is the description from the cinturato.net website:

185/70VR15 CN36 (available as N4 & W rated) Austin Healey 100/4, 100/6 & 3000; MGC; Porsche 911, 924, 914 & 944; Triumph TR4, TR5, TR6; Volvo P1800.

I have calls once again into Pirelli and Porsche.

There are some errors on the dimension chart on this site (https://porsche356registry.org/article/162)

I've attached an image of a corrected version, plus added one additional size, 175/65/15.

Also attached excel file.
.

Has anyone compared the Nexen and Vredestein back to back? The price difference is big where I'm shopping, so I am inclined to go with the Nexens.

A point to note if you have an early car, very few tire shops still have the tools to balance the drum brake rims. I read about people adapting brake drums for this purpose, but I don't have any extras floating around, and the shop that you go to may not want to use your homemade tool.

A side note to Thomas post I purchased a adaptor made for using on most tire balancing machines for are big bolt pattern Porsche and VW wheels. I just take it with me when buying tires or on a road trip where I feel I may need to have a tire repaired and balanced. I have never had a tire shop refuse to use it. Check your 356 magazine for a source for the adaptor.
George

I have a set of chrome 5.5 rims ready to install tires but learned that 185/70/15 is not available until the first of 2017. (The salesman I originally spoke to back in July said October)

How would 165/80/15 look with the 5.5 rims? I see Sierra Madre packages that tire size with both their 4.5 and 5.5 rims. If you have photos of 5.5 rim size with the 165/80 tires could you post?

TIA

IMO the 165/80 would be a better choice because it is the original size, which means steering weight won't change and the car will probably ride better. Way back we preferred a wider rim, but with standard section. Just my opinion.

Why not 175/70/15? The perfect size for my 58 & 66 912.

I have the 165 Vredesteins mounted on 5 1/2" rims and they look great, perform perfectly.

I was told that the 185's would be available in December.