Recommended tyre for Dolomite 1850 for a reasonable price.

[manny]

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced tyre for the Dolomite 1850. I’ve read other previous threads recommending the Pirelli but I simply can’t justify ( or afford) their price. The car will never see winter weather or rain (unless caught out) in the great British summer. What are others rolling on please.

[shaunroche]

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced tyre for the Dolomite 1850. I’ve read other previous threads recommending the Pirelli but I simply can’t justify ( or afford) their price. The car will never see winter weather or rain (unless caught out) in the great British summer. What are others rolling on please.

Very cheap and very good value.

https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/uniroya ... -2003242/

[manny]

Cheers Shaun I’ll take a look

[hoops]

I've been on this exact search in the past month for my 1850, although at 175/70R13 size to go with 5.5" wide alloys.
The main ones that came up recommended were the Uniroyal RainExpert3, Falken Sincera SN832 and the Continental EcoContact6. The Falkens seem hard to find now in 175/70R13 size but available in 155/80R13 as standard on the 1850.
I went with the Continental option just on a recomendation of a good friend, and got on a good deal. Black Friday is coming up soon so might be some good deals coming,

[Dougal Cawley]

Hi

I do find this difficult to comprehend. Fitting cheap unsuitable madern carcass tyres makes such derogatory effects on the handling of the car, i am constantly supprise people are prepared to compromise their car so much just to save a couple hundred quid spread over, with many classic, 5 years.

the correct size for you car is 155R13, unless you are going racing the 155HR15 XAS or the Pirelli Cinturato CA67 are the best tyres for your car, and currently we have a special offer on a set of 4 of the Pirelli for just £ 367 + Vodka And Tonic on this web page toward the bottom

https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/uniroya ... e-2003242/

this is outrageously good value. It is a performance bespoke sports car tyre made by one of the worlds best tyre manufacturers precisely for light rear wheel drive classic cars exactly like yours and handle dramatically better with your long travel suspension than everything except that XAS which is comparable.

Even if you think you want to go for the wider 175/70VR13 CN36 a set of 4 is currently only £ 536 + VAT

It amazes me people think that these are expensive for what you are getting. I don't mean that blowing a monkey on the visa doesn't make a big dent, but it is one of the most critical bits of your car, good tyres just are expensive. i paid over £200 per corner for generic tyres for my modern 20 year old BMW. People spend loads of money on their cars, but then scrimp on their tyres. They buy expensive wheels and then put wrong shaped modern cheap tyres on them. Its the wrong way round. the tyres are more beneficial than the wheels. the brakes and suspension are only as good as the tyre that transfers that effort to the tarmac.

This is a back to back tyre test where they test 2 classic tyres by Pirelli and Michelin against 2 modern tyres. Modern tyre design should give an enormous advantage, because computer modeling helps test rolling resistence and noise and should give enormous benefits in moving water, but just look at these results.

https://www.longstone.com/images/tire-t ... e-test.pdf

[Oli_88]

This post is well over 2 months old. You're a little late to the party.

The way you communicate does your credibility no favours at all. You harp on about derogatory effects on the handling of the car. Is this from personal experience of a Dolomite on modern tyres? From a different vehicle? Modified like a lot of ours are?
Or purely from what the Pirelli salesman told you to say?

The way you word it, you'd think all our cars with modern rubber would fling themselves into a hedge at every opportunity. Whether it's a modern Avon, Uniroyal or a Goodride.

I will concede, for the period correct crowd, where everything has to be as close to original as possible, they make sense.
The rest of us... I have my doubts.
Especially those like myself, significantly lowered and on bigger wheels than stock. Sorry.

[Craig m]

I've been on this exact search in the past month for my 1850, although at 175/70R13 size to go with 5.5" wide alloys.
The main ones that came up recommended were the Uniroyal RainExpert3, Falken Sincera SN832 and the Continental EcoContact6. The Falkens seem hard to find now in 175/70R13 size but available in 155/80R13 as standard on the 1850.
I went with the Continental option just on a recomendation of a good friend, and got on a good deal. Black Friday is coming up soon so might be some good deals coming,

The Uniroyal Rain tyres were absolutely brilliant on my XR2 in the 80’s and 90’s.
Fiestas came with Pirelli P6 on them and they were shocking in the rain.
I tried to get 185/60/13 last year for the XR but don’t seem to do that size.
Anyway, I’d recommend the Uniroyals.

[cliftyhanger]

Longstone keep harping on about that test.
What we would like to see is their "classic" offerings up against the uniroyals and some of the other good modern tyres. That would be useful.
FWIW I have just fitted a set of Falken sn110 to my sprint. The sidewalls are pretty soft, which I think is a good thing on a classic car. Grip seems excellent in the recent weather, but as the engine is running in (done 850 miles in the last 8 weeks) grip has not been fuly tested.

EDIT found this. Seems the best classic tyres are Dunlop Sports Classic, but a medium priced modern tyre outperforms it.
https://www.tyrepress.com/2021/03/class ... r-old-hat/

And this shows a variety of classic tyres, dunlop again top dog.
https://www.tyrepress.com/2019/07/origi ... orts-cars/

[hoops]

I've been on this exact search in the past month for my 1850, although at 175/70R13 size to go with 5.5" wide alloys.
The main ones that came up recommended were the Uniroyal RainExpert3, Falken Sincera SN832 and the Continental EcoContact6. The Falkens seem hard to find now in 175/70R13 size but available in 155/80R13 as standard on the 1850.
I went with the Continental option just on a recomendation of a good friend, and got on a good deal. Black Friday is coming up soon so might be some good deals coming,

The Uniroyal Rain tyres were absolutely brilliant on my XR2 in the 80’s and 90’s.
Fiestas came with Pirelli P6 on them and they were shocking in the rain.
I tried to get 185/60/13 last year for the XR but don’t seem to do that size.
Anyway, I’d recommend the Uniroyals.

I ended up with the Continental EcoContact6 in the end (175/70R13), on recomendation from a good friend. As its winter I've not done many miles yet but pretty happy at just over £300 a set (Inc VAT and fitting).
I liked the look and reviews of the SN832 but could not find anywhere that could supply and fit in the correct size at the time.

[Dougal Cawley]

This post is well over 2 months old. You're a little late to the party.

The way you communicate does your credibility no favours at all. You harp on about derogatory effects on the handling of the car. Is this from personal experience of a Dolomite on modern tyres? ............

Yes

This is the car my Dad bought a bit ago on modern tyres. It was horrid the balance was much improved with the Cinturato CN36.

We then fitted it with the Dunlop Racing tyres, because i got it fitted up with a roll cage and went racing with my Dad which was epic. the Dunlop Racing crossply tyres turned it into an over steering monster it was fabulous on the track, but the CN36 is the road tyre.

[Dougal Cawley]

I've been on this exact search in the past month for my 1850, although at 175/70R13 size to go with 5.5" wide alloys.
The main ones that came up recommended were the Uniroyal RainExpert3, Falken Sincera SN832 and the Continental EcoContact6. The Falkens seem hard to find now in 175/70R13 size but available in 155/80R13 as standard on the 1850.
I went with the Continental option just on a recomendation of a good friend, and got on a good deal. Black Friday is coming up soon so might be some good deals coming,

The Uniroyal Rain tyres were absolutely brilliant on my XR2 in the 80’s and 90’s.
Fiestas came with Pirelli P6 on them and they were shocking in the rain.
I tried to get 185/60/13 last year for the XR but don’t seem to do that size.
Anyway, I’d recommend the Uniroyals.

I know what you mean but it isnt feasible to test against any tyre any one migh choose to fit regardless of how suitable it is. Those tyre tests are a very expensive exersise.

[Dougal Cawley]

Longstone keep harping on about that test.
What we would like to see is their "classic" offerings up against the uniroyals and some of the other good modern tyres. That would be useful.
FWIW I have just fitted a set of Falken sn110 to my sprint. The sidewalls are pretty soft, which I think is a good thing on a classic car. Grip seems excellent in the recent weather, but as the engine is running in (done 850 miles in the last 8 weeks) grip has not been fuly tested.

EDIT found this. Seems the best classic tyres are Dunlop Sports Classic, but a medium priced modern tyre outperforms it.
https://www.tyrepress.com/2021/03/class ... r-old-hat/

And this shows a variety of classic tyres, dunlop again top dog.
https://www.tyrepress.com/2019/07/origi ... orts-cars/

I think the term Harping is a tad harsh. It is the most relavent data on this subject available.

the 2 tests you list there are weird.

The Mercedes one isn't relative because they don't test any Pirelli in the test. and it is a very different car to your Dolly. However you might note the Michelin is the best dry tyre.

The Austin Healey one they test a completely wrong size tyre on the car, that test is the earlier CA67 not the CN36. though i would suggest that is an excellent tyre in the size 155HR13 Cinturato CA67. You might note that the CA67 got the best wet score remarkable for a 1952 classic tyre. Specially considering the computer modeling used to help move water and make a modern tyre quiter and improve rolling resistence. If you see the brake down of the scores in this test it is the noise and rolling resistence that tips the balance of the dry score to the advantageof the completely modern Dunlop Sport Classic.

The Dunlop Sport Classic is not so moderately priced these days, that is if you can even get hold of them. However one thing is for certain they look stupid with that daft side wall, possible sillier thant the Vredestein.

The scores on this test where they are done on the wrong size tyres on an Austin Healley are quite satisfying. yes the totally modern Dunlop Sport Classic pipped the genuine classic tyres to the top dog post, just. The Vredestein did all right as a modern tyre, but look at the rest of the dross. Look how bad the next 4 modern tyres do out of 8 tyres the 2 genuine classic tyres drew for second place.



However generally in these tyre tests this magazine does the Pirelli generally wins.

https://www.longstone.com/images/tire-t ... -final.pdf

the truth is if all these tyres were the same price you would be buyig the Pirelli Cinturato or the Michelin

[Oli_88]

This post is well over 2 months old. You're a little late to the party.

The way you communicate does your credibility no favours at all. You harp on about derogatory effects on the handling of the car. Is this from personal experience of a Dolomite on modern tyres? ............

Yes

This is the car my Dad bought a bit ago on modern tyres. It was horrid the balance was much improved with the Cinturato CN36.

We then fitted it with the Dunlop Racing tyres, because i got it fitted up with a roll cage and went racing with my Dad which was epic. the Dunlop Racing crossply tyres turned it into an over steering monster it was fabulous on the track, but the CN36 is the road tyre.

That's a nice looking car, what else has been done beside the cage?
This little snippet, is all you really need to say.
If you want the period correct look, buy the Pirellis. Then your experience of changing out a modern tyre for them.
No need for any of the other fluff.

[Dougal Cawley]

Not enough was done to that car. It handled nice and predictably, but to be really fast we needed to throw loads of money at the engine, and actually strip it out, but we still wanted to use it on the road. But Dunlop Racing tyres were great fun. I also raced a Lotus Elite road car on the Cinturato CA67. That was fabulous. It was wet, i just drove around much faster cars in the corners then watched them drive away on the straights.


If you want the period correct look, buy the Pirellis. Then you experience the benefit of changing away from a modern tyre as well.


Unless you have stiffened and lowered your springs then your car rolls massively more in the corners than a modern car (you'd probably want an extra stiff anti Roll bar as well).
Your car is rear wheel drive.
your car is light compared to a modern car.
You don't have loads of caster a modern car has.
You don't have the swaths of adverse camber that modern cars add in as they slightly lean in the corners.

Your car wants different features in a tyre. It is working in a completely different enviroment.



this picture, though badly drawn, does show the issue. (the one bit i have got wrong is the 3rd image where i have allowed the modern car to lean to similar angles as the classic car which it just does not.)

what it shows is that as a classic car leans on a classic tyre carcass, it is designed to have the contact point roll around the shoulder of the tyre. A modern tyre is designed to operate in an enviroment where the clever car keeps the footprint flat, and when it is leant on like, like a classic car does, then it lifts a large portion of the foot print off the road.

With proper classic tyres the line between grip and complete loss of grip is a broarder line. That way you can drive a rear wheel drive car on the throttle the way it was supposed to be driven. yes the back end will start to move earlier, but it will continue to grip, where a modern tyre when pushed will drive round a corner like a 50p peice, grip, let go, grip let go.

That is just one feature there is also faster steering with more feed back through the wheel, less tramlining, etc. etc.