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MG MGA - white wall tires

It's time to replace the tires on my '62 Mk2, and I'm looking at whitewall radials. Any idea what the whitewall width is supposed to be? I've seen numbers varying from 2 1/4" to 2 3/4" all the way to 3", and I don't know which were used on the Dunlop Gold Seals available at the time.
Mark Lambert

When I bought my 'A' in about 1970 it came with a Firestone whitewall snowtire as a spare. I use it for a display now and just measured the width of the whitewall which is app. 1.8 inches wide.
N Wessely

I too have a MGA MKII 1962 .

I have White wall tire on my MGA since 1994 and it is my second set .

My firsts ones was Comander tire 5.60 X 15 4 ply polyester non radial with 2 3/4" white wall . I had to replace them because of bad front wheels alignement .

My present ones are Coker Classic tire 155 R 15 radial tire with 2 1/2" white wall .

I think the White wall width is suppose to be 2 3/4" but when i bouth my lasts ones , they only had 2 1/2" .

I must tell that's the ride and handling with non radial tire was not so easy compare to radial tire with our bad roads .

Take in consideration that White wall tire have a nice attractive look when they are clean and look terrible if not clean regulary with proper products .

Some people like White wall and others don't . It's a personal choice . For myself , I surely buy another set again for my MGA .

Enjoy them ,

Jules .



Jules Desbiens

Turns out my decision's been made for me. I've got 165R15 tires on the car now, and the only 165R15 whitewall width I can seem to find anywhere is 2 1/4" - nothing bigger. So I guess that's what I'm going with.

And in the "wow" department, while I was looking for whitewalls I found a source for vintage bias ply Dunlop 5.90x15 RS5 tires. These were offered as an upgrade over the original 5.60x15 tires, at the time our cars were new. Blackwall only, at the bargain price of $366 a tire. I guess originality comes at a steep price sometimes.
Mark Lambert

Look for BF Goodrich Silvertown Radials made by Michelin (Goodrich only makes electronics nowadays). I got mine through Discount Tire. There are a couple pictures here:

http://www.tildebang.com/mg/index11.html
David Breneman

Also check the Coker Tire web site, they have a Coker Brand wide white that is manufactured by Bf Goodrich that is virtually identical to the silvertown but for less dinero (dollars).
J Dick

Here's a picture of when I bought my car with blackwalls and now with whitewalls. I have Coker 2 3/4" on one of my other cars and they are excellent tires, but the whitewalls don't seem to be as white as everyone elses.

Dennis Suski

Here's a picture of the Cokers on my other car. They look good from 5 feet away, but up close they are nothing to write home about.

Dennis Suski

Dennis,

I am guessing that's what Jules refers to above:

"Take in consideration that White wall tire have a nice attractive look when they are clean and look terrible if not clean regulary with proper products."

It appears that they are difficult to keep really white.
Neil McGurk

Neil ,

It is not so difficult to keep them white , just don't wait too long to clean them .If you clean them with corrects products for white wall tire regulary , you will have a nice looking white wall tire .

If possible don't putt "Armor All" or something like this on your white walls , just clean them and dry them with soft cloth .

I will tell you that the fact to have a white wall tire , don't stop me to ride my car anywhere i have to go even when rainning .

Jules .

Jules Desbiens

Guys,

The texture of the whitewall rubber isn't smooth like other tires. They were not super white from the day they arrived from Coker; however they still look good from a few feet away and the ride is great. Dennis

Dennis Suski

Has anyone ever recaped whitewall tires? I have a wide set that could use a retread on them? Tom
TWP TOM PEOTTER

I had some bad experiences with retreads when I was a kid. I wouldn't put them on a car I cared about.
David Breneman

RE: Recaps,
I wouldn't put them on anything that you want the metal to stay nice on. When they go, they take out whatever they hit.
mike parker

This thread was discussed between 25/01/2009 and 13/02/2009

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