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MG MGA - New tyres required

The Coupe I bought a couple of years ago is on Firestone tyres which have plenty tread but are now almost 19 years old. I need to replace them (plus the spare) and seeking advice on options. Some suppliers of 165 80 R15's are really expensive and I'll find it hard to justify the expenditure with my other half given the limited mileage done each year. At the other end of the spectrum some are really cheap (about £40 per tyre) - mainly chinese tyres. I'm thinking of something mid-range but there aren't too many options. Anyone had the same dilemma recently? There is a tyre by Retro Classic 001 ( 165/80 R15 86S ) at circa £77 each - anyone any experience of these? NB I'm on steel wheels and current tyres are tubeless. thanks. Tim
Tim Prime

Tim

I had a similar decision to make earlier this year. We had been regularly driving our 1600 Roadster to Italy, including Sardinia, for some years, without much thought to the tyres apart from tread depth, and of course pressures.

Before this year's trip in May, I decided to check the date code on our tyres. The Firestones had very good tread depth, but were more than 20 years old. Horror!

I chose Michelin XSX 165 SR 15 from Longstone Tyres for all five tyres. Longstone provided excellent service, shipped them quickly, and I heartily recommend them. At that time the company had a deal on five tyres.

Mike
M D Card

I would stay clear of the Vredstein Trac as two people I know have had terrible wheel vibration after fitting these recently. even after correct balancing!
Dominic Clancy

Continental CT22 have good wet and dry grip and are quiet - you can get them around the £80 mark.
Chris at Octarine Services

A couple of years ago I bought a set of 5 CT22s, fitted, balanced and old tyres scrapped for just under £300, so it pays to shop around.
Bolney Coupe

Thanks for comments to date. The Continental CT22s don't seem to be available/in stock anywhere just now. They come up on quite a number online searches at attractive prices but then say unavailable/out of stock. The Michelin tyres might be an option from Longstone if they are willing to reduce their prices a bit. A bit beyond my budget at their quoted prices. I'll keep researching - no rush as the car isn't being used much just now. Cheers. Tim
Tim Prime

have you looked here https://www.mytyres.co.uk

I use Nankang on my daily driver and they are fine too

Dominic Clancy

Tim

This a subject that will generate almost as many opinions as there are drivers. FWIW Nearly 60 years back the roads (and the traffic) were very different - we could power around corners quite safely and tyres like the XAS and the Firestones (some still have) were worth the expense. Now the roads are straighter (and faster) and linea stability is even more important so a straight pattern which also works in the wet should be the focus for those who actually use their cars.

It means the choice is much wider - Michelin and Continental make good hardwaring tyres - as does Vredenstein ( Dominic - only good reports for Trac 2 ). Our A Roadster is on Nankangs now - our V8 B is on Michelin energy in summer and Semperit M&S in Winter, the B Roadster is also on Michelins.

There is a huge difference in price - remember this is a decision you may have to come back to in only six years time.

Roger
Roger Walker

This thread was discussed between 15/10/2018 and 17/10/2018

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