SS Tires?

[Seattle Dan]

I need tires for my Giulia SS and am hoping for recommendations on size/brand & source. I've researched the Giulietta/Giulia thread which got me worried about about the SS since the wheel wells appear to be a bit more vulnerable to being "bumped" than those cars. A couple of local tire stores weren't really of much help - nice, but didn't really come up with anything.

So, I thought I'd ping this thread for advice. The car has original Pirelli's on it now - the left rear has a fatal leak and the other three are only good for quick trips to the gas station. I don't really need a performance tire (probably more fun w/o one in fact), just something to put some miles on the car with.

As the car has all its mechanical's rebuilt, I'm anxious to drive the car! Especially now that spring may have finally arrived up here in the Northwest.

Thanks for any advice. Hope this isn't too routine of a question.

Dan

[geh458]

Try http://www.coker.com/, they have a good selection of vintage style tires in lots of sizes.

[Nicola]

Give Joe at G2 a call. He'll not "steer" you wrong in Seattle.

[180OUT]

SS's are definitely tire challenged. You are right about the close proximity of fender lip to the tires. Also, IMHO, SS's are one of those cars that don't look particularly good with anything other than the 155/15's they were fitted with. I'd go with the Verdsteins. I was on the site that sells them and they actually had 155/15's for a reasonable price. Do a Goggle search for 155/15 tires and see what you come up with.

[alfazagato]

I am very pleased with the Vredesteins on my Giuliettas. Size is 155 x 15 and best of all they are inexpensive.

[Il Vecchio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by geh458 Try http://www.coker.com/, they have a good selection of vintage style tires in lots of sizes.

[mdivasc]

I have Vredstein 155/15s on mine and they seem to work well with the original steel Fergat wheels. And yes I know the bumper needs chrome, soon to come.....
I ordered them from British wire wheel.

[dkhoe]

I recall trying to put on 185x15 for rear tires, which is where you'll see the biggest clearance issue. It worked but I had to jack up the rear of the car (to drop the axle down) in order to get the tires to mount over the drum brakes. YMMV, but I think I have seen several SS's driven around with this size tire.

If you'd like to stick with the original size 155x15, over on the 750/101 group they had several discussions about Vredesteins and BF Goodrich (various times in 2007, and Jan 2008). One person commented that he liked the BFG's better, and they're available from Costco.

[Pat Garrett]

Try the "Tire Rack" for 155/50X 15. they work well on the Giulia Veloce Spider and should be fine on the SS and the price is good.

[Seattle Dan]

So, I went with the 155SR 15's Vredesteins. I ordered them from Tires Unlimited - delivered total was a little over $300. Nice guys and easy to deal with.

I'm sure there are other sizes/brands ect that are more optimal, but I'm happy with the fit and look.

Unfortunately, the car sat for about four months and now the clutch is frozen!! What a PITA. I've tried all the tricks to unstick it:

1)put rear wheels on blocks, start it in gear, rev it & brake at the same time....no luck. Interestingly enough, I was able to shift into other gears this way. Wasn't able to at first...?

2)Pry the clutch disk from the flywheel from the inspection holes. I think I did this - from the small holes I can see two organic pieces of material with a thin metal disk in between. I've tried prying the furthest side facing the rear end. Some movement....but not enough I guess.

3)Started in 2nd gear (after warming it up well first) and drove around the block in 2nd - gunning the engine (and sometimes braking at the same time) up to 4500 rpm. No luck. Should I keep doing this until something gives?

Any one got any other ideas? The prior owner claimed the engine/tranny had just been rebuilt prior to my purchase and it appears that the clutch is new as well. I didn't put many miles on the drivetrain until winter hit and the tire issue got raised.


The tires felt a whole lot better by the way, for the 1/4 mile I got to drive them....sigh.

[JPF]

hate to ask this, but did you have the clutch pedal pushed down when you were trying these things? you didn't mention that explicitly...

-jason
WA, USA

[Seattle Dan]

Hi Jason,

I forgot to mention that - yes the clutch pedal was all the way in. Today, I even extended the amount of travel on the rod that connects to the throwout fork when the clutch is pushed in (thinking the additional pressure/travel would help free it).

It was kinda interesting, in a wish this wasn't really happening sort of way, to be driving in 2nd with the clutch fully depressed and accelerating.

Your question got me thinking though - should I just drive it with the clutch in the entire time until it breaks free? I didn't do that - only for 50 to 100 yard bursts. I guess a follow on question - am I doing anything detrimental in doing any of this?

Thanks again for any advice...

Dan

[alfazagato]

Try driving in first to a reasonable speed, depressing the clutch and braking savagely. Has worked fr me in the past.