411 Tires

[Peter Grace]

Am looking for some advice on 411 tires, my main issue being availability of tires here in NZ.

Have been running BF Goodrich Lifesavers, which haven't been imported to NZ for some years. These both burst within a couple of hours of each other, somewhat inexplicably, on a tour of the South Island a few days ago.

Also have two Avon Turbospeeds in the garage here at home, but some hundreds of miles away from where the 411 languishes, waiting for me to sort out what I am fitting on it. The Turbospeeds are at least ten years old so are probably no good. I would also have to truck them some hundreds of miles to where garage where the 411 is.

The garage owner is suggesting I buy some cheaper tires, as he says it is crazy spending $500 per tire when I have only motored 10,000km in the last ten years. He says at that mileage the tires will perish before they wear out.

Any thoughts? Much appreciated.

Peter

[peter dowdle]

the series 1 have narrower wheels i believe

[legavroche]

My Series 1 is fitted with Pirelli P4000 205/15 tyres which I find very satisfactory. Many 411's are so fitted - 185/15's were originally specified.
Regards,
Gavin

[Peter Grace]

Thanks Peter and Gavin. Yes, the 15" were the issue we were most concerned about and whether a wider tire might scrape the wheel bay when the wheel was fully turned? I will check out the Pirellis.

[GREG]

My series one has series two wheels fitted 205 tyres -- if there is any fouling on the front inner wheel bay, a wheel spacer can be fitted from 3mm to 8mm depending on what you need up to 225 tyres with suitable wheels are possible !

[Peter Grace]

Thanks Greg

The Pirelli P4000 205/15 tyres are no longer made, according to a google search, and certainly haven't been available in NZ for 5 years, according to Pirelli.

They are recommending the P4 tyre, which is 15 inch but seems a much simpler (read cheaper) tyre.

Does anyone have experience of this, or an alternative?

Cheers

P

[peasantslife]

Peter, Tyres should not really be bought on price alone....In Europe and US markets tyre manufacturers are obliged to give customers some other information to assist with the purchase choice. Inevitably a reasonably well supplied rapid fit will be able to get many more options in a day or two than they hold on the shelf..Initially you need to determine the diameter and then width you wish to use, and also aspect ratio as this affects gearing and hence your speedo accuracy. I suspect your car would have been on crossply originally? In which case normally a 85% aspect ratio radial ply tyre works best.....
In the EU the three indicators are 1) Rolling resistance - how much energy it takes to drive the wheel forward. This affects fuel economy. 2) Wet Grip, put simply how easy it is to lock a wheel in slippery conditions. 3) Drive by noise. This affects in car refinement. The US indicators are a little different a) Traction is similar to EU Wet Grip. b) Temp, or how the tyre copes with dissipation of the heat that occurs through distortion as it is rolled so you can look at that as a sort of Rolling Resistance indicator. c)Wear which is supposed to rank the tyres potential for longevity against others.
So, think about your usage and depending on the tyre market your choices come from you should be able to make a rational decision.
What would I do? Go to the scrap yard and buy a pair of suitable tyres for your trip home. You don't need much over legal tread, but not cut or cracked or blowing eggs and not too old-say 5 years. Yes there is a 4 digit code for that too WeekWeekYearYear. You will have bought time to think about options and do research, and maybe you will want to use the old Avons in the garage. If they have been kept in a black bag and kept cool they may be old but perfectly usable for a year or two. Oh, and just take it easy until you get nice new boots!