Tyers for a Bristol 407

[pasini s]

Hello Greg,
out of curiosity, I rang my insurance broker and asked about the matter.
They would not accept a low speed rated tire on a car insured by them. I
fully agree that cross-ply tires are not safer than those 'taxi' tires but
the law requirements in Italy are extremely strict about tires and in case
of an accident there would be trouble if I had fitted taxi tires with a low
speed rating.

During the long and exceedingly tiresome process of registering the 409 in
Italy, the MoT inspector confirmed that they require tires of a speed rating
exceeding the declared top speed of the car (this applies to vans too,
incidentally, so those fast Mercdes-Benz 'Sprinters' use special tires) and
thus the Austone tires were not approved, even if I pointed out that they
were good enought to pass the British MoT. I passed the inspection with the
Avons.

I am using 38-39 psi now on my 409....maybe too hard, but this summer is
very hot and I have been always told that when temperatures go near 40°C it
is better to keep the tires a bit overinflated. Or is wrong? Surely the ride
is a bit hard....

Cheers

Stefano