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MG Midget and Sprite General - Best tyres for sprite/midget

at the moment it has pirelli 155 sized tyres on steel rims (think original) and im not sure on much more info on the tyres. on way back from midget 50 a wet sloping roundabout we turned and the car turned initially then decided to go straight on. good job we wasnt going fast managed not going straight into a lampost. just wondered what everyone else was using and what do most people reccomend using. (i know an old car old brakes and rear wheel drive will sometimes do unexspected thing) haha.
D Sartain

old tired and hard tyres and/or lack of regular use can do that - tyres not at correct pressure - and "diesel spill" - and -

on a recent thread on here Yokohama A-Drive (I have these) came out well but there were others and one against the A-drives

tyre size chart here - http://www.kouki.co.uk/utilities/visual-tyre-size-calculator

info on tyres here - http://www.kouki.co.uk/utilities/visual-tyre-size-calculator

if Lawrence comes along he'll tell you it's a load of rubbish about tyre age and use - if he's right it must be your poor driving :)

PS I'm now happy with my modern tyres at 2 psi above owners Handbook stated pressures for 1973 :)

(that 24 psi front, 26 psi rear for normal driving not fully loaded)

sorry, just seen your a learner driver - you learn there :)
Nigel At

Another problem with old tyres is not knowing when they will go pop.

This is where my BGT came to rest after doing a 360 spin - luckily, I was on the M50 and not the M5. We were lucky that it stopped where it did, as it was immovable until the delaminated tread could be unwrapped from around the rear axle.

Geoff E

Geoff would you mind if I use that photo please as an illustration for new to classic car ownership, very low mileage users and just recommisioning after upteen years

cheers, Nigel - elf and safetee nartsee

as Lawrence would describe me
Nigel At

Following from Nigel's recommendation he mentions in another thread, I bought some A.drive Yokos in 165/70 R13 and I'm chuffed to bits with them.

Haven't tried them in the (really) wet yet, but they're a very good tyre for the price. Grippy enough to hang on, but not so sticky that I'm yearning for more power to have a bit of fun.
OrangeSpyderMan

Continental EcoContact's score very well in (mostly German I admit) online tests, particularly for wet grip. Much higher than A-Drives in fact. I have them and while I've never pushed them they seem pretty good.

I've got some as-new A-drives on another set of wheels but they're too big and rub my arches (175/65 - bought in error by the PO) so I can't comment on them.
Jordan Gibson

Shudders at that picture! That is why I am binning what look like they were brand new tyres when the Midget was decommissioned in 1992 (They've still got whiskers!)Got enough on my plate without dodgy rubber to contend with!
Ally

tyres that suit heavy german cars may not be so good with lighter old British sports cars but if Jordon has them on his car and is happy with them then there's an alternative recommendation

I'm certainly for tyres with as much wet grip as possible

Alley you posted whilst I was typing - give your 1992 tyres to Lawrence he'll view them as new and worthy of use on HM highways, plus we can test the theory :)
Nigel At

Feel free to use the photo Nigel.

This was the story ... my car was low mileage(<28000) when I got it and had only done about 1,500 miles in the previous 20 years. All my tyres had loads of tread, but one valve started leaking so I put the spare on ... and forgot to change it back.

The four "main" tyres were dated as 1991. The spare didn't seem to have a date, so I guess it was a 1980 original.

Three weeks later, I drove our daughter in the car to be married. I guess, in slightly different circumstances, she could have been an orphan.

Geoff E

I am going to take them off the rims with an angle grinder - just so no-one can use them!! Am neurotic about tyres after 5 years with the F, which is seriously fussy about tyres. Had many an "Oh Sh*t" moment before I worked out the optimal tyre/size/pressure/weight of right foot ratios!!
Ally

I have a prejudice against Eco named tyres (Conti EcoContact or Michelin Energy amongst others) because (in my simple mind) better economy means harder tyres and a 700kgs car is already not that hard on soft tyres unless you're "giving it the beans" all the time.

Keep in mind that I have no evidence whatsoever backing this up, just gut feeling that modern heavier cars react to these things better than old ones. Especially mine, where the biggest economy I could make would be to put some vacuum advance on and get rid of the stupid big chokes in the 45 DCOE that feeds it.

I'm not saying you're not right to enjoy them, it's just my 2 spyder-cents :)

OSM.

OrangeSpyderMan

I would also recomend to check if all the bolts and nuts of the rear suspension are propperly thightend and the shock absorbers are topped up with oil and work correctly
If not you can also get the same problems as you discribe.

Pascal
pjw Seezink

Sarah has 145 Michelin Classics on the original steel wheels her Sprite and I've got 145 Pirelli P3000's on the black wires on the Midget and 145 Vredestein Sprints on the spare Midget wires. I'd be happy to recommend all 3 sets which have been great so far (I particularly like the period rally style tread of the Vredesteins and which have great grip in the wet).
Mothy - '65 GAN3 and '65 HAN8

Cheers Geoff

unless you rotate the tyres I can never see the sense of having a spare that's always just going to sit in the boot either as it was the best at a change of tyres or as a brand new one that's never used

I've not carried a spare for 20 years and hundreds of thousands of miles just a foot pump and accurate gauge and cans of never used Tyre-Weald - I use my classics as dallies all year round and over this time have had 3 puntures that were pumped up once each and got me home easily each time

Ally,
can you hear that . . . ?



. . . it's Lawrence sobbing at your needless destruction :)
Nigel At

I'm struggling to understand why a squitty little 165/65R13 tyre might be construed as being best suited to heavy German metal, but I'm sure folks have their reasons.

As to the Eco thing, I once spent a perilous four years teetering around on rock hard Michelin Energys on my old Focus. They were absolutely lethal, especially in the wet. That gave me a healthy mistrust of 'eco' branded tyres. As far as I can tell the Contis make very few claims of being particularly efficient - I think the eco tag is just marketing. I was all set to get a set of ADrives before I bought them, but I read quite a few reviews (ADAC and the like) which clearly put the Contis ahead of the Yokos.

Just sayin'

Oh and OSM - I'm in the daft Weber 45 club too :o)
Jordan Gibson

Another factor here is that if you have rain after a long dry-ish period, which I seem to recall was the situation on the day at Midget 50, there is bound to be a build up of oil and rubber on the road surface making the going quite slippery. Not so noticeable when travelling in a straight line perhaps, but on a wet sloping roundabout where there is more junk deposited anyway. Even with the best of tyres you have to be a bit cautious.

Dave
D MATTHEWS

Jordon,
I was more think of the model of tyre and the tests/reports/blogs usually being on heavy saloon cars

I put and actually meant >>if Jordon has them on his car and is happy with them then there's an alternative recommendation<<

I'm not questioning your choice of tyre on previous threads I've put about the vast variations of suspension set up, suspension types, driving styles, personal preferences, ect.

please handbags away before you know who gets here :)

ETA: Dave, plus D is a learner driver, though that may not have contributed
Nigel At

D-
We imported a set of Dunlop SP 30's from Trinidad for Son Danny's Spridget. They're much smoother and far quieter than Pirellis, plus they grip well in both wet and dry conditions. Can't comment on wear as the car has been on the road for only about a month now.
Stephen Strange

I have Conti Eco-contacts on mine, and they're great. Not particularly hard compound, they've almost run out on the back of the K after 1 year of K-ing and 1 year of being on the front.

Also was recommended Avon CR322 by my tyre bloke, was a bit dissapointed as he didn't have the RainExperts I wanted, but the Avons are really good.

Had some 155 michelin energy E3B on before the contis, they were OK but looked too narrow...

not tried any Yokos yet, but may do soon, as the contis are getting low.

:)
Rob Armstrong

Ive been running Michelin Energy tyres for years now on my 1500 and the K.
Never had problems about them being to hard or not gripping.
The set I have on now is from june-2005 has done +/- 60.000km's and only have 2mm thread left.
Plan to get new tyres at christmas although a weekend of Nurnburgring in october might speed it up. :)

Ive heard great comments from friends about Toyo's, anyone on here has them on the spridget?
Arie de Best

I've got one Toyo and the other three are Avons. Which means I'm going to change them soon and at least get a new matching pair for the front. I've been looking to see if Yoko A drives are available in 165/13/70 but It doesn't look as if they are (at least as far as I can see). If not I'll probgably go for another set of Avon (CR322 or something)

Gary & Gaps

Gary,
Yokohama UK list them on their web site - http://www2.yokohama-online.com/gb/tyre-products-dimensions.php?tyreID=1059

have you tried places that do or specialise in performance tyre for them

our local one does all ordinary tyres and performace tyres and is also a performance tyre specaialist so sells them a good prices

I checked them out once and wasted an afternoon ringing round to find theirs was at the lowest price anyway

cheers
Nigel At

Many thanks Nigel.
Gary & Gaps

This thread was discussed between 07/08/2011 and 08/08/2011

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