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Triumph TR6 - Tires

ANy ideas on where I can find the correct sized tires for my TR6?? It appears the size that I need is 185SR15. Redwalls are not necessary. Thanks.
Dan Pitzer

Dan,
One of the best things I did to my 73 TR6 is put on a set of average 195 65s tires which I bought from a local tire shop. There is no clearance problem whatsoever and the handling improvement is realy dramatic (and if you go to a performance street tire Im sure the benefits will be even better). You can I think easily fit 205s on your car as well. The only thing you may notice if you go too low on the profile is that the tire does not fill up the wheel well as good as stock tires. I have used uprated slightly lowered springs on my car as well which tends to get rid of some excess clearance as well. Hope that helps.
Miahael

I ran into the same problem when I was restoring my car. You can get the original tires (redwalls at that, from Cokker Tire (they are on the web). However they are VERY expensive ~$325 each! if you have a concours car then this is your best bet HOWEVER these are remanufactured on the same molds and built the same way as the original Michelin X which to say the least have as much grip in the wet as a hocky puck.

A better solution is to buy a modern technology tire if you intend to drive it every day. Unfortunately Michael from Calgary got it wrong on the size of tires to use. He fitted 195/65 which would look too small in the wheel arches and throw off your speedo and also cause your engine to rev higher due to the smaller diameter.

The size that best emulates the original in looks and diameter is 205/70 R 15. Look for a H rated or higher (V) which will have a softer compound and thus better grip and traction. They fit into the wheel wheels with no clearence problems. I used Yokohama A378 that are H rated

Formula to determine diameter:

Original 185 R 15
185 x 78% (aspect ratio) = 144.3mm x 2 (top and bottom) + 381 (wheel height converted into mm)
This gives us an overall diameter of 669.6mm

205/70 R 15
205 x 70% =143.5 x 2 + 381 =668mm (1.6mm difference which is for all purposes equal)

195/65 R15
195 x 65% = 126.75 x 2 + 381 =634.5mm a difference of 35mm or 3.5cm A FULL INCH AND HALF SHORTER IN HEIGHT

Another size that would give you a very close height would be 195/75 R 15 HOWEVER most of thes sizes are designed as entry level tires for mini vans and offer 0 performance and handling chacteristics.

Hope this helps
Steven

Thanks Steven. One question, I had thought the original tires (185/sr 15) had an aspect ratio of 80% rather than the 78% you mentioned. Can you clarify where you got that?
Dan Pitzer

Dan, you are right about tires that do not have an aspect ratio part of the size is normally an 80% however I read somewhere that the Michelin Redlines and XAS (their performance tires) for some reason were 78%. I believe I got that from an old brochure I came across.
steven

question? any clue,,thinking of looking for rims and tires, that are different from the originals..any suggestion> thankyou
dean

DEAN- TRY THE TIRE RACK. SEE THIER ADDS IN C&D AND R&T
DON

This thread was discussed between 03/04/2001 and 09/05/2001

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