Hi all,
I've come to the point where I want to fit some nice new tires to my '85 Spider Graduate. When I was on holiday in Italy last year driving in wet weather the car started feeling a bit iffy: no wonder with tires dating from 05/05. I read quite some topics here on the forum with a lot of useful advice (although the debate of classic vs. modern tires doesn't seem to converge into consensus). However, I do have a couple of questions that I didn’t seem to find the answer for in those topics. Note: I’ve got the steel 14” rims and currently 185/70R14 tires.
I am kind of leaning towards going for a classic tire, because I can imagine that the handling would indeed improve. However, something that I didn’t seem to find is how the modern and classic tire compare in terms of braking in a straight line (imagine doing an emergency brake on the motorway on holiday). I would imagine that the modern tire has a wider contact patch (because it is more “square”)? Does the modern tire have a benefit here?
Going for a classic tire leaves me the choice for either the 165R14 (Michelin XAS and Pirelli CA67) of the wider 185/70R14 (Pirelli CN36). I think I can follow the idea that the narrower tire would be more fun to drive. But I imagine that the wider tire would have a benefit in straight line emergency braking? So would the best compromise between handling and safety be to buy the classic tire in the modern size? It would also match the size that Alfa put on originally for cars of this period.
Then on the subject of tubes vs. tubeless. Are there any downsides to chose a tire that requires tubes (apart from having the additional cost of the tubes)?
For the Pirelli’s it is not clear to me whether to do or don’t require fitting tubes. A well known tire website lists the following information for CA67:
RECOMMENDED TUBES Michelin 14D13
TUBE OR TUBELESS TL (Tubeless)
Describing it as a tubeless tire and at the same time recommending a tube seems contradictory. Does anybody know whether the CN36 or CA67 require tubes?
Kind regards,
Niels
I've come to the point where I want to fit some nice new tires to my '85 Spider Graduate. When I was on holiday in Italy last year driving in wet weather the car started feeling a bit iffy: no wonder with tires dating from 05/05. I read quite some topics here on the forum with a lot of useful advice (although the debate of classic vs. modern tires doesn't seem to converge into consensus). However, I do have a couple of questions that I didn’t seem to find the answer for in those topics. Note: I’ve got the steel 14” rims and currently 185/70R14 tires.
I am kind of leaning towards going for a classic tire, because I can imagine that the handling would indeed improve. However, something that I didn’t seem to find is how the modern and classic tire compare in terms of braking in a straight line (imagine doing an emergency brake on the motorway on holiday). I would imagine that the modern tire has a wider contact patch (because it is more “square”)? Does the modern tire have a benefit here?
Going for a classic tire leaves me the choice for either the 165R14 (Michelin XAS and Pirelli CA67) of the wider 185/70R14 (Pirelli CN36). I think I can follow the idea that the narrower tire would be more fun to drive. But I imagine that the wider tire would have a benefit in straight line emergency braking? So would the best compromise between handling and safety be to buy the classic tire in the modern size? It would also match the size that Alfa put on originally for cars of this period.
Then on the subject of tubes vs. tubeless. Are there any downsides to chose a tire that requires tubes (apart from having the additional cost of the tubes)?
For the Pirelli’s it is not clear to me whether to do or don’t require fitting tubes. A well known tire website lists the following information for CA67:
RECOMMENDED TUBES Michelin 14D13
TUBE OR TUBELESS TL (Tubeless)
Describing it as a tubeless tire and at the same time recommending a tube seems contradictory. Does anybody know whether the CN36 or CA67 require tubes?
Kind regards,
Niels