[dwomby]

This is very preliminary, as I won't make any changes for months yet, but I am looking for advice and opinions on wheels and tyres for a 408 Mk1.

Currently the car has its original 16" wheels and hubcaps shod with Michelin 185R16 tyres with tubes. The tyres look fine but are years past their reasonable lifespan and should be replaced.

I could just replace the tyres with others sized to fit the stock wheels (Michelin, Vredestein, etc.) but they do look a bit skinny. I don't think I can go for much wider tyres beacuse of a) the wheel arch inner lips and b) the low speed steering effort (no power steering). I am not keen on tubed tyres either as when they deflate, the tend to deflate fast.

So, if I want to go slightly wider and ditch the tubes, I am thinking something like 205/75R15 on new 15" wheels with 5.5" rim-to rim and 46mm offset. I can buy one wheel to test the fit if need be. I also want something that looks the right and that seems to rule out most alloy or chromed aftermarket wheels.

I have read about the 16" MB wheels Stefano Pasini fitted to his 409 and a comment that LJK Setright ran 205/70R15 on 6" wide Minilites with some rubbing.

What are others folks running on their V8s that I should perhaps consider? Any experience or opinions would be much appreciated.

Thanks

David