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MG MGB Technical - Tire size on 1973 MGB

Can someone please confirm what the correct tire size is for a North American 1973 mgb roadster please?

I have had various answers from 155/14, 165/14 to 185/14 - but which one??

Also, do you have supplier for them?

Thanks

Paul
Paul R Barrow

Paul. It depends on whether you want a show car tire or a driving tire.

Clausager notes: "Also in 1965, the optional Road Speed tyres were deleted and the MGB instead became available with radial tires for the first time. The first tupe of radial tyre was Dunlop SP41, size 155-14 on roadsters and 165-14 on GTs. From March 1968, the SP41 was gradually replaced by the new SP68, which became the universal fitting by April 1969." So, if you are looking to duplicate the factory type tire, something on this order might be available from Coker Tire through the internet.

If you are looking for a good driving tire, the 185-14 was standard on the North American Limited Edition models and works well on both my 68 GT and my 79 roadster. Michelins of some description, depending on what is available in your area, seem to handle better and hold up longer than most of the other tires I have tried over the years and were the standard tires used on the later models.

Les
Les Bengtson

Les,

As a driving tyre I think you mean the 185/70R14. A 185R14 would be much to 'high'.

Paul,

On my (ex)1973 MGB I had 165R14 tyres because I think they look better. Knowing that you prefer crossply tyres on the MG Y, I'd recommend the 165R14 for you.
Willem vd Veer

Hi Les

Definitely a driving one.

What is the difference between 155- 165- and 185- then please and does it make a difference if the tires are a mix of 165- and 185-?

Thanks

Paul
Paul R Barrow

Thanks Willem but sadly 165R14 are virtually unobtainable over here. Not the end of the world as this is actually not my car - it is a friend's, and I only like bias ply on cars that had bias originally. If it were my 1963 Pull Door MGB then that would be a different matter!

Paul
Paul R Barrow

I may be telling you things you already know, but just in case you don't, the 155, 165, 185 refers to the tread width in mm. It is a really bad idea to mix different width tyres on the same axle, and really I would want all the same on all four corners.
On a 1973 car the original would be a 165 x 14", full profile, which is generally described as 80. If you decide to use a wider tyre, I had 185/70 x 14 on mine and they were very good. They also have almost the same rolling radius as the original 165/80 x 14 so the speedo reading isn't altered significantly.
Mike Howlett

Paul,

It is a frequent topic tire size for a B. You could search archives and find a lot of infos.

There was an article in former British Car Mag. on tire sizes and for MGB it was 185/70x14 which was the best fitment. But, there is a but, if you have wire wheels with 4.5" width it is slightly narrower than normal width 5.0"-6.5" for that tire size. I used that on my B-GT for many year without any problem. But with wire wheel there is another issue: stiffness of sidewall.I prefer flexible sidewall like Pirelli's which behave more like an original tire than some Yokohama I bought once and were uncorfortable.
Some reported stiff sidewall could damage wire wheels with low profile tires like /70, I did not noticed that.

If you want to find some other tire combination you could use a calculator for tire sizing:
http://www.stuegli.com/tiresize.htm

Cheers,


Jean G.
Jean Guy Catford

I have a 65 Roadster with the disk 4J14 wheels. My 165R14s are old and need to be replaced. This is the widest you should fit on these narrow rims. They certainly look period.

165R14's I know of are made by Vrederstein (sp?). I think Coker and other internet companies sell these. Last I looked they $US114 each plus shipping and mounting.j A lot of money for not much tire.

I guess I should look into different wheels and have more choice. In any event $$$.

Robert McCoy

Great guys and many thanks.

From the dialogue I think I will be going with 165/14s. Interestingly the car had 4 165/14s and 1 175/14 (yeah really off the wall size) and the 175/14 was the one that was shot away (aka totally worn out/bald) so I will be buying the owner a replacement 165/14. I will offer the choice of a Vredestein Sprint Classic - 165HR14 or a Michelin XAS - 165HR14 per http://store.cokertire.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=165HR14.

Many thanks again for your help, and a peaceful and happy 2012.

Paul
Paul R Barrow

Paul,

The most popular here are vredestein classic 165x14 slightly pricey but available at any tire dealer selling that brand by special order..

Cheers,

Jean G.

Try this site:

http://www.tiresunlimited.com/ALL%20TIRES/Vredestein/vred_sprint_classic.htm
Jean Guy Catford

This thread was discussed between 06/01/2012 and 07/01/2012

MG MGB Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGB Technical BBS is active now.