[Richard/SIA]

I know I have seen several threads on tires here.
It seems search is not working for me.

Putting a set of Ronal Basket-Weave 6x14" on the '79 Spider.
It currently has 205/60 on the original rims which I believe are 5.5" wide.

Looking at tire charts it seems 225/60 is an exact diameter match for 185/70 but wider.
Will 225's clear OK?
Car may get a set of yellow springs put in since I already have them laying around.
Would sort of like the tires to help protect the basically irreplaceable Ronal rims so long as everything will clear.
Not going bonkers on this Spider as my 82 year old mother will also drive it.

 

[jarrington]

I don't know if 225s will clear or not but you sure won't need that gym membership any longer if you go with something that wide.

 

[dougal]

If you are utterly determined to completely ruin the handling of a light rear wheel drive car that was designed to fit a 155HR15 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67 originally then fitting a 225 section tyre would be the simplest and quickest way to do it.

Alfa did move onto fitting larger tyres either 165X14 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67 or 165HR14 Michelin XAS at the end of the '60s. Incidentally at about the same time (1968) that Alfa started to fit the 165R14 tyres some other, more suited cars, started fitting wider low profile tyres. However Alfa did not fit low profile tyres they stuck with 165R14 because that is the way these light sports cars handle the best.

of course the perception that fatter tyres is better was something Alfa did eventually pander to by offering a 185/70R14 tyre option much later for people who truly wanted a fatter tyre. Currently Pirelli make the only period tyre in this size 185/70VR14 PIRELLI CINTURATO CN36 which will be the best tyre to fit to a 6" rim. there is no reason to fit a wider tyre, unless it is a dramntically modified car for the race track

A 225 will be dreadful. you will need to change the camber and stiffen the springs and maybe fit power steering. All fine for racing, however on the road, it is the wrong car for that tyre.

there; that usually gets everyone revved up.

Oo forgot this bit:

If you are frequently suffering wheel spin, or locking up your wheels under braking you consider 1 of 2.5 options

1/ learning to drive
2/ buy a different car
2.5/ fitting wider tyres but 1 of the above is probably better

 

[barboncino105]

225s are way to wide for a 6" rim. stay w the 185s. car will handle better and corner better.

 

[Richard/SIA]

Pirelli never were cheap, now spectacularly expensive.
Seems there is only one U.S. dealer so monopoly priced at $150.00 each.
Plus shipping, mounting, balancing, so nearly $1000.00 for a full set of five!

Beer budget here, but I will stick to the smaller size.

 

[GV27]

Buy 'em from Dougal then! $123/tire and FREE shipping.

Vintage Tyres | Longstone Tyres

PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ CN36 | Longstone Tyres

 

[Bjorn S]

I like the 205s on mine

 

[Richard/SIA]

Buy 'em from Dougal then! $123/tire and FREE shipping.

Vintage Tyres | Longstone Tyres

PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ CN36 | Longstone Tyres

Free shipping to the U.S.?

 

[rogerspeed]

I like the 205s on mine

I'll second the 205/60/14 size, any wider rub gets to be a problem

 

[chrisbinsb]

Tires for 6" rims? 185/70 or 225/60-14?

For the clueless among us (me) why would a 225 require change in camber and stiffer springs?

For what it's worth, I just changed from 195/60R15s to 205/55R15 on my phone dial wheels which I plan to swap for rotas. I'm not finding any notable increase in difficulty turning and the handling is definite better though that may be more due to how old the previous tires that came with the car were. Will know better when I have the rear suspension sorted out.

If you are utterly determined to completely ruin the handling of a light rear wheel drive car that was designed to fit a 155HR15 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67 originally then fitting a 225 section tyre would be the simplest and quickest way to do it.



Alfa did move onto fitting larger tyres either 165X14 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67 or 165HR14 Michelin XAS at the end of the '60s. Incidentally at about the same time (1968) that Alfa started to fit the 165R14 tyres some other, more suited cars, started fitting wider low profile tyres. However Alfa did not fit low profile tyres they stuck with 165R14 because that is the way these light sports cars handle the best.



of course the perception that fatter tyres is better was something Alfa did eventually pander to by offering a 185/70R14 tyre option much later for people who truly wanted a fatter tyre. Currently Pirelli make the only period tyre in this size 185/70VR14 PIRELLI CINTURATO CN36 which will be the best tyre to fit to a 6" rim. there is no reason to fit a wider tyre, unless it is a dramntically modified car for the race track



A 225 will be dreadful. you will need to change the camber and stiffen the springs and maybe fit power steering. All fine for racing, however on the road, it is the wrong car for that tyre.



there; that usually gets everyone revved up.



Oo forgot this bit:



If you are frequently suffering wheel spin, or locking up your wheels under braking you consider 1 of 2.5 options



1/ learning to drive

2/ buy a different car

2.5/ fitting wider tyres but 1 of the above is probably better

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dougal]

Pirelli never were cheap, now spectacularly expensive.
Seems there is only one U.S. dealer so monopoly priced at $150.00 each.
Plus shipping, mounting, balancing, so nearly $1000.00 for a full set of five!

Beer budget here, but I will stick to the smaller size.

Hi

that just isn't expensive for a quality tyre. (however i wouldn't suggest letting the money you spend on tyres eat into your beer budget. don't pay the mortgage instead)

here is the cheapest way to buy a set of 165HR14 Cinturato CA67 tyres Set of 5 165R14 PIRELLI CINTURATO? CA67 | Longstone Tyres

we can't do the 185/70VR114 tyres any cheaper because they are already an incredible bargain that is going to have to go up in price some time next year. 185/70VR14 PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ CN36 | Longstone Tyres

 

[dougal]

For the clueless among us (me) why would a 225 require change in camber and stiffer springs?

I'm going to attempt this but it is tricky and i am possibly not clever enough to fully understand it let aalone explain it. However here we go.

More modern tyres are sort of better because they can give more ultimate grip on a car that is set up to suit them, but on a classic car they are not right because they are the wrong shape and have a carcass designed to work in a different environment.

if you look at a modern car parked with lots of steering lock you will notice that the front wheels stick out of the wheel arches at a funny angle, that is called caster, which among other things improves the self centreing of the steering which makes the steering incredibly heavy which is overcome by clever powersteering. Caster is needed because otherwise the modern squarer tyre has parts of it's foot print further away from the steering components than it is designed to be which creates tracking on uneven roads.

When a modern car corners hard they don't roll anywhere near as much as a classic car.

When a classic car rolls the wheels stay parallel to the side of the car. where as modern cars have clever things like a shorter top wish bones that means as the car leans and loads up the outside wheel it adds in adverse camber. this adverse camber works to keep the enormous wide flat Sharp shouldered modern tyre foot print flat on the road. where as when you put that tyre onto a classic car without advers camber and harsher rims when the car rolls it climbs up onto the corner of the tyre than lets go more violently than a rounded shoulder classic tyre.

Don't get me wrong, these differences are subtle. you aren't going to crash at the first corner you come to but they will handle better on a more appropriate tyre for the car. and don't get me wrong if you are going on the perfectly smooth track racing, then yes harder springs, adverse camber wider wheels etc. and also there are lots of very clever companies out there that have come up with some excellent modifications for these cars. buit you can ened up chasing your tail having to do lots of mods to a car that really wouldd just handle better again if you just took off the wide wheels with inappropriate tyres.

Look i've drawn some pictures.
So the first picture is someone who has misguidedly fitted square shouldered modern tyres on a classic car and the car is rolling under corner, and they are the edge of the tyre.
the second picture is a more rounded tyre carcass so it doesn't let go so dramatically as it rolls onto the shoulder of the tyre because it maintains a more relative foot print.
then the last picture is a modern fangle car that gets adverse camber as the car rolls

 

[ghnl]

Look i've drawn some pictures.

I thought the last sketch was illustrating the stagger as used by NASCAR (go fast, turn left; go fast, turn left; go fast, turn left)

 

[Richard/SIA]

Hi

that just isn't expensive for a quality tyre. (however i wouldn't suggest letting the money you spend on tyres eat into your beer budget. don't pay the mortgage instead)

here is the cheapest way to buy a set of 165HR14 Cinturato CA67 tyres Set of 5 165R14 PIRELLI CINTURATO? CA67 | Longstone Tyres

we can't do the 185/70VR114 tyres any cheaper because they are already an incredible bargain that is going to have to go up in price some time next year. 185/70VR14 PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ CN36 | Longstone Tyres

And shipping to 89410 commercial address in Nevada, western U.S.A.?
I expect that freight would be very high, and slow.

 

[GV27]

Buy 'em from Dougal then! $123/tire and FREE shipping.

Vintage Tyres | Longstone Tyres

PIRELLI CINTURATO â„¢ CN36 | Longstone Tyres

Yes, that's in the US. Dougal can explain how they do it - my guess is they get shipped directly to you from a Pirelli distributor in the US. But that's just a guess....

 

[chrisbinsb]

Thanks! Going to have to study this more to see if I really understand, but I think I have the basics. Love the diagrams, the smiley and frowny faces are perfect

I'm going to attempt this but it is tricky and i am possibly not clever enough to fully understand it let aalone explain it. However here we go.

More modern tyres are sort of better because they can give more ultimate grip on a car that is set up to suit them, but on a classic car they are not right because they are the wrong shape and have a carcass designed to work in a different environment.

if you look at a modern car parked with lots of steering lock you will notice that the front wheels stick out of the wheel arches at a funny angle, that is called caster, which among other things improves the self centreing of the steering which makes the steering incredibly heavy which is overcome by clever powersteering. Caster is needed because otherwise the modern squarer tyre has parts of it's foot print further away from the steering components than it is designed to be which creates tracking on uneven roads.

When a modern car corners hard they don't roll anywhere near as much as a classic car.

When a classic car rolls the wheels stay parallel to the side of the car. where as modern cars have clever things like a shorter top wish bones that means as the car leans and loads up the outside wheel it adds in adverse camber. this adverse camber works to keep the enormous wide flat Sharp shouldered modern tyre foot print flat on the road. where as when you put that tyre onto a classic car without advers camber and harsher rims when the car rolls it climbs up onto the corner of the tyre than lets go more violently than a rounded shoulder classic tyre.

Don't get me wrong, these differences are subtle. you aren't going to crash at the first corner you come to but they will handle better on a more appropriate tyre for the car. and don't get me wrong if you are going on the perfectly smooth track racing, then yes harder springs, adverse camber wider wheels etc. and also there are lots of very clever companies out there that have come up with some excellent modifications for these cars. buit you can ened up chasing your tail having to do lots of mods to a car that really wouldd just handle better again if you just took off the wide wheels with inappropriate tyres.

Look i've drawn some pictures.
So the first picture is someone who has misguidedly fitted square shouldered modern tyres on a classic car and the car is rolling under corner, and they are the edge of the tyre.
the second picture is a more rounded tyre carcass so it doesn't let go so dramatically as it rolls onto the shoulder of the tyre because it maintains a more relative foot print.
then the last picture is a modern fangle car that gets adverse camber as the car rolls

 

[dougal]

There was some careful thought in the facial expressions.

1/sad face of someone driving a classic car that has had their fun spoiled by inappropriate tyres.
2/ person fully enjoying the progressive hand;ling of a lightweight European classic sports car
3/ Dull/board. where is the joy in a modern car. it does the driving for you. why bother getting out of bed in the morning. don't get me going on the modern world. here i sit in front of computer screen again. in a minute i'm going to walk out of this office and take a pre war car apart instead i prefer the real world with spanners and dirt rather than the virtual world of keyboards and megabytes

However i suppose the modern world does mean i can ship Pirelli Cinturato https://www.borrani.com/pirelli-tyres.html virtually anywhere in the world that wants them free of shipping charges. we even only charge GBP 150 to Australia and Japan for a set of tyres.

In the US the distributer for the is Lucas Classic Tyres Pirelli Cinturato

We will not tread on the toes of other distributors of the Cinturato range of Pirelli Classic tyres. However an internet sale, is after all an internet sale, so we do ship whatever orders we can the are done online.

 

[BMX]

There was some careful thought in the facial expressions.

1/sad face of someone driving a classic car that has had their fun spoiled by inappropriate tyres.
2/ person fully enjoying the progressive hand;ling of a lightweight European classic sports car
3/ Dull/board. where is the joy in a modern car. it does the driving for you. why bother getting out of bed in the morning. don't get me going on the modern world. here i sit in front of computer screen again. in a minute i'm going to walk out of this office and take a pre war car apart instead i prefer the real world with spanners and dirt rather than the virtual world of keyboards and megabytes

However i suppose the modern world does mean i can ship Pirelli Cinturato https://www.borrani.com/pirelli-tyres.html virtually anywhere in the world that wants them free of shipping charges. we even only charge GBP 150 to Australia and Japan for a set of tyres.

In the US the distributer for the is Lucas Classic Tyres Pirelli Cinturato

We will not tread on the toes of other distributors of the Cinturato range of Pirelli Classic tyres. However an internet sale, is after all an internet sale, so we do ship whatever orders we can the are done online.

You can actually have fun in a "modern" but it needs to be something that's under powered with skinny tyres, case in point - my powerful but admittedly dull Mk4 golf broke on the way to Bournemouth (a cross country route with no duals or mways) so we decided to take my Wife's 15 year old 1.0 Micra instead, while it wasnt as much fun as my Alfa I really enjoyed thrashing it to within an inch of its life and hanging on for dear life round the corners.... it was a revelation for me but having said that the Golf remains my DD, 300 lb/ft and 55 mpg has its appeal ..

 

[alfaparticle]

I would go for a 195 or 205 on an S2 Spider and I would not be too concerned about an exact diameter match as the speedometer is probably not that accurate. You can sometimes improve the accuracy if you know the % error with the current tires.
Some of the cheaper tires have excellent grip but wear out faster and I go for those on my Alfas as I do not drive high miles on them and I don't want to be on old rubber. Check out Falkens.

 

[Bjorn S]

I would go for a 195 or 205 on an S2 Spider and I would not be too concerned about an exact diameter match as the speedometer is probably not that accurate. You can sometimes improve the accuracy if you know the % error with the current tires.
Some of the cheaper tires have excellent grip but wear out faster and I go for those on my Alfas as I do not drive high miles on them and I don't want to be on old rubber. Check out Falkens.

got Falkens on the Alfa and my Volvo C30...like them, and not pricey...