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MG MGB Technical - Tire recommendations

Hi all,

One of the first things I'll be doing once the my B has been revitalized from years of storage/neglect is to buy a new set of tires. Back when I was working on the car regularly (somewhere around the turn of the century), people were often recommending Goodrich T/As if my memory is correct. What would you recommend today as a good semi-performance tire to mate with wire wheels? Thanks in advance.

-TRS
trs

hi ive tried expensive tyers in the past and have found the budget tyers are very good as they are made from a softer matarial and only doing around 3000 miles they last for years .why not go for 185/70/14 they fit well on a 5.5 inch width rim thanks daren
daren

An excellent tire and well priced is the Sumitomo HTR200. Check them out at ww.tirerack.com
Derek Nicholson

I am very pleased with Michelin Xm-1's. Grippy, very low rolling resistance, quiet, very good in the wet (which was a nice suprise). They also seem to never wear out. based on their tread wear rating I should get at least three times the mileage compared to tyres that were only 20% cheaper.

http://www.michelin.com.au/tyres/passengerCar_energyXM1.asp
Peter

I run Goodyear Assurance on my MGC. Used Goodyear Eagle GTs before that.
rick ingram

I wasn't pleased with the wet weather performance of the Goodrich T/A. Sumitomo HTR200 has excellent grip but is a weak tire, mainly the sidewalls. I've always been happy with Michelin but every time I need a set their models have changed and I have to research them all over again.
Steve Simmons

Thanks for the advice everyone.
The Sumitomo's seem to be a nice tire according to the reviews on tirerack.com. Steve, what profile were you running on your car with the HTR200s? Wet performance is not a huge issue since this car will not be a daily driver.
trs

I had an unusual tire episode during a 2,000 mile run from Virginia to Florida and back last week with my 1980 MGB LE daily driver with overdrive. The car has the LE wheels. The car had a slight to moderate vibration at about 60 mph during the drive to Florida. I took the car to a Michelin tire store in Florida and the manager said that all four tires had slipped slightly on the rims and showed me that the tires were out of round as they sat on the rims. You could see the wobble as the wheels spun on the balancer. They busted the tires, centered the tires on the rims, and meticulously balanced the wheels. That took the vibration out of the car.

The dealer said that the new Pirelli tires on my car had a smaller bead than normal which allowed the tires to move on the LE rims and create an out-of-round condition. He also said to be sure and understand where and when the tires were made before purchasing, as the tires made in South America and the Middle East for major tire companies had less than good quality control, and discount tire dealers will sell you older tires that have sat on their rack for years if they can. He showed me that the new Pirelli tires on my car were made in South America three years ago. He said that my vibration problem would eventually come back, and recommended that I install a quality set of Michelin tires prior to the car's next long road trip.

This was an education from a dealer that did not push to sell me his product. He noted that the tires on the car had most of their tread and that I could still use the tires for local driving until I needed to replace them for a long road trip. I will take his advice and put the Michelins on ASAP. I use Michelins on all of my other vehicles, but took a chance on the Pirellis. Live and learn.

Chuck
Chuck Hassler

I run 185/60R14 on a '67 BGT. I found I had to run higher pressures with the Sumotomos to keep them from flexing all over the place. You can see more info on the tires I've run recently at http://www.mgnuts.com/mg/tidbits/tires/
Steve Simmons

This thread was discussed between 02/04/2007 and 04/04/2007

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