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Triumph TR6 - Tires for my TR6


What would be the best tire size (modern) to go with on my '76 TR6 with factory rims to keep the speedometer accurate? I've heard that 205 or 215-70R15 are a good choice. Any ideas?

Rgds,
Aaron
Aaron

Go with the 205's. I'm very pleased with mine. Although 215's are suggested as well, I personally think they are too big.

Doug
Doug Campbell

Aaron--If you're concerned with minimizing speedo error and want to retain the stock wheels, 205-70's are your best choice. 215's give larger speedo error and may interfere with your wings.

Rick O.
Rick Orthen

Aaron, become a member and you can hunt through the archives. This topic has been hashed over time again.
The long and short of is, I think most of the guys
will recomend the 205/70 choice as it is the closest
to the original. Personally I run Pirelli p6000
215/65-15s. The formula says they are suppose to be 7mm
smaller but I measured and they were identical.
I've read that each tire manufacture varies 2-3% from
stated to actual size. The 215/65s are noticeably
wider and allow the car to handle and brake beter.
However, to keep the this size of tire from rubbing
onthe inside it seems you must not only have the tube shock conversion installed but also new springs and
poly urethane bushings.
Christopher Trace

Hi,


Definitely 205-70x15 and if you can try to have H rating like

Bridgestone D 684 205/70 R15 H
BFGoodrich MACADAM T/A 205/70 R15 H
Michelin Synchrone 205/70 R15 H
Pirelli Scorpion STR 205/70 R15 H

They will handle better at a reasonnable price.

Cheers' JGC
Jean G. Catford

Aaron,
I used a BFG 205/70-15 T/A on my 72 great tire and not overly expensive. No fit problems I purchased them thru BJ's wholesale club about $65.00 each, mounted there also. No problems.
Regards,
Keith
Keith Dixon

Aaron,

I use 205-70-15 Yokahama AVO's. I can't tell how much they improved the handling of my 6.

Derek
DL Harding

I have the same tires as Derek and agree, the handling and ride are great. Also, the tire is rather reasonably priced.
Ted
T. Grant

To put a reality check into the conversation Gentle Geese...

There is a known issue with certain of the British wheels breaking the centers out when a wider tire is used and hard cornering is excessive.

Unfortunately our TR6s are not excluded. In fact, I HAD a rim with a crack in it that ran from one lug hole to another. This was with a stock width tire mounted.

I've seen this discussed in several forums so a word to the wise.

I truly hope this helps someone,

Jim
Jim Deatsch


Hey guys,

Thanks for the wealth of replies. I went with the Dunlop SP40s in the 205 size. I found a place which vulcanizes a red stripe in the sidewall but for $139/ea I couldn't bring myself to pay that much since my shop has a wholesale account with Tirerack, I get the blackwall SP40s for about $60/ea. Besides that, I ordered a set of 15X6 Minilites for SCCA track use and those will need some expensive skins to go around them.

Rgds,
Aaron
'67 MGB-GT
'76 TR6
Aaron

I just ordered five 72-spoke CWW's (5,5") and now trying to work out what tires to get. When doing a search on this forum there are quite a few threads to look at but one thing puzzles me. All posts mentioning the original tire size writes 185 x 15. But in my original registartion papers, The Triumph handbook and Haynes manual the original size is stated as 165 x 15. Am I missing something?

Still below freezing :-(

Goran..
G Wennergrund

Goran,

For the NA spec TR250 and TR6 cars, the tire size was 185-15. On the home market and ROW TR5, the tire size was 165-15. I believe this difference in size was carried over to the TR6 model as well. There were different rear gear artios between the PI cars and the carb cars as well as different speedometers fitted depending up 3.45:1 (PI cars) and 3.7:1 (carb cars). Since the carb cars were primarily for the NA market, perhaps the difference in tire size was accounted for by the speedometer fitted. Note that all of the folks talking about 185-15 are from NA market. Nominal rolling diameter difference between the 185-15 and the 165-15 is about 5%.

Anybody in the UK in a position to shed some light on this speculation?
SteveP

Yes Steve, I have worked out that difference too. When using 165 x 15 as a starting point the best equiv. would be 205/65-15(+0.3%) I feel 205 is on the wide side for a 5,5" rim so it will be a toss-up between 195/70-15(+1.3%) or 195/65-15(-1.5%) availability and price might be a factor as well.

Goran..
G Wennergrund

Goran,

To put this in some sort of perspective, in the 70s the VW type I and the 914 came with 165-15 tires. When they went to wider section/lower profile tires for some of the cars (limited production, special editions, etc.), they went to 195/70-15 tires on 5 1/2 wide wheels.

We have a number of people running 205/70-15 (nice match for 185-15) tires on this board and it is a safe bet that a number of them are doing this on the factory 5 1/2" wheels. If you can get a 205/65-15 that you like, I doubt there there would be any any problem running them.
SteveP

Hi all,
We have just had the topic of tyres discused on the tr forum in the UK try http://www.tr-register.co.uk on the TR6 section it might help.
Cheers BAZZ.
b Wallbank

When talking to one tire shop here in Stockholm about prices for the different alternatives to my stock 165 X 15 the man asked me "why don't you buy 165 X 15??" I have assumed that they where no longer available but that's not so, Continental, Hankook, Toyo, Firestone and Vredestein all carry this size, the aspect ratio is the classic 80+. He quoted me SEK 650 ($80) ea. (Hankook Centum K702)including rim liner, inner tube, fitting and balancing. Not wide, but I don't mind having the original look.

Goran.. :-))
G Wennergrund

This thread was discussed between 19/02/2004 and 02/03/2004

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