Spitfire 1500 replacement tyres

[Kevin R]

I need to replace all 4 tyres on my Spitfire 1500 which has Minilite alloys.  I currently have Pirelli P3000 155/80 R13 78T tyres and have not been particularly impressed with them in general  use and handling on twisty B roads.

Classic tyre suppliers recommend the Michelin 155 HR13 XAS as they were designed specifically for older cars but they are very expensive compared to the more mainstream options.

Does anyone have experience of using these tyres and are they worth the premium ?

Thank you in advance for any advice

[yorkshire_spam]

I run Falken Sincera SN832 Ecorun (175/70 R13 ) on my Spitfire 1500 and I'm very happy with performance and price. I'm afraid when it comes to tyres and brakes I'm happy to have something that looks a little "modern" but is safer.

Sorry, no experience of the Mitchelins you mentioned.

[Clive]

I know 2 people who have the XAS. One for the classic look, the other because he was led to believe they were very good tyres.

To be fair, both have been happy with them. However, I very much doubt they offer any advantages (apart from appearance, and that is a bit marmite) over a good quality modern tyre. You can get a set of 4 decent tyres for the cost of a single XAS....

The falkens mentioned by Sam above are well known to be an excellent tyre, head and shoulders above almost any other in the wet. They have a soft sidewall, so that may well help with our light cars. I fitted a set of Toyo tyres to my sisters car (modern, small hatch) and having driven that to test them, they were very good too, but I think the falkens are ahead in the wet.

If I were buying, I would be getting a set of falkens... (in fact, I will be in a few months time)

[poppyman]

Plus two for the Falkens, I don't find any of the premium makes good any more as they seem to be designed for economy more than grip so they are very hard. I recently put a set of Hi-fly budgets on my modern (made by goodyear) amazing grip wet or dry. Some people call cheaper tyres "ditch finders" but that is poor excuse for driver error. You know how your car is handling..... Just my take on it Kevin.

Tony. 

Edited May 17, 2021 by poppyman

[sparky_spit]

Plus three for the Falken SN823 tyres.  I've had some on for the last 2 years and they are excellent all round tyres, especially in the wet. 

[Clive]

1 hour ago, poppyman said:

Plus two for the Falkens, I don't find any of the premium makes good any more as they seem to be designed for economy more than grip so they are very hard. I recently put a set of Hi-fly budgets on my modern (made by goodyear) amazing grip wet or dry. Some people call cheaper tyres "ditch finders" but that is poor excuse for driver error. You know how your car is handling..... Just my take on it Kevin.

Tony. 

That is interesting. My daughters car had a pair of hi-flys fitted to the front when the car was bought, about half worn (car had 13k on it! but the car seems to eat front tyres) and I found them less than satisfactory. They got changed for the falkens.... The continentals that were on teh back are now on the front (wear them out before 7 years is the plan) and the are good. I have Michelin Crossclimates on my spitfire, very pleased but not available in 13" sizes. Uniroyals have a good reputation too.

However, when we had a C max, both front tyres got pothole damage and had to be replaced (half worn conti's) and as we were going to trade the car in, I bought a pair of Westlake Budget tyres, not expecting much. But they were about the same as the conti's. Maybe being new helped rather than 15K on them. They seemed to wear faster too, we ended up doing 5K on them, and about 1/3rd of the tread had gone. For users doing low miles that is no bad thing.

[Scrappy]

Wasn't a Nissan Note was it Clive, i had one that ate front tyres no matter what was on it.

Alf.

[Clive]

1 hour ago, Scrappy said:

Wasn't a Nissan Note was it Clive, i had one that ate front tyres no matter what was on it.

Alf.

Pug107. Not exactly a heavy or powerful car. Maybe down to daughters driving style....

[ferny]

100% recommend the Falkens. I fitted some back in 2015 or 2016 and at the time they were so new there were only four available in the country. They were also only £40 each then as well. The wet performance is outstanding and the dry very good.

 

They don't hold up well to getting hot as they go hard and they're only rated as T (118mph) which may or may not be an issue for you. I had 6" strips of tread missing in multiple areas after one afternoon... 🤐

 

The Hankook I put on to replace them are fine, but I hate their feel. Toyo are also very soft in 70 and 80 profile flavour.

Edited May 17, 2021 by ferny

[yorkshire_spam]

5 minutes ago, ferny said:

I had 6" strips of tread missing in multiple areas after one afternoon... 🤐

You young hoodlum!

 

[Tim Bancroft]

Big fan of Uniroyal RainExpert, have 175/70 13s on my GT6 with 5.5J rims...very good. Not sure if smaller sizes are available though.

[Kevin R]

Thank you all for your observations and advice - I will definitely try the Falkens which are less for a set of 4 than the cost of one Michelin XAS.

I had Falkens on one of my Moderns some years ago and was happy with that set.

I have had the Spitfire for 4 years now and the current set of Pirellis are virtually unworn, however I have just located the date stamp and find that they were made in 2002 so need replacing !

There has been quite a lot of publicity recently about date  checking your tyres and it is a good idea if like me they are the ones that came with the car.  It might also be worth checking the manufacture date of a new set since our cars a less likely to wear out before they need replacing.  A set that has been on the shelf a year or two  may lose you an a year or two further down the line before they are worn out.

 There are some signs of cracking on mine but the ride is not very compliant and the grip is not brilliant although that could well be the ageing of the compound.

It will be interesting to compare the Falkens so I will most certainly report back.

Thanks again

[FloydP]

53 minutes ago, Tim Bancroft said:

Big fan of Uniroyal RainExpert, have 175/70 13s on my GT6 with 5.5J rims...very good. Not sure if smaller sizes are available though.

I’ve just put a set on the stag and have had them on the last couple of moderns I really rate them but the outside edges do wear pretty quickly.

[Ben Hutchings]

+1 for the RainExperts, and if you can get them RainSports. Having said that my experience is pretty slim as I’ve stuck with Uniroyals since 2005. 

[Ben Hutchings]

Just looked at the age of my RainSports and... yea I better replace them!

For Falken Sincera SN832, £39 each is best I could find (Demon-Tweeks) which is good. Anyone found better?

If I could get RainSport3 for anywhere near that cost I would, but happy to go with Falkens following the recommendations here. 

[yorkshire_spam]

2 hours ago, Ben Hutchings said:

For Falken Sincera SN832, £39 each is best I could find (Demon-Tweeks) which is good. Anyone found better?

I paid just over 50 each for Falkens fitted, balanced and old tyre disposal with a mobile fitter, so I'd say that's a bargain price!

Edited May 22, 2021 by yorkshire_spam

[Nick Jones]

Another vote for the Falkens. Mine have just survived their 4th track day (and have done 2x10CR as did various running about) and were still outstanding in the wet (very wet!). Now they are well scrubbed in, they are pretty good in the dry too.

Even still have some life left....

[Ben Hutchings]

2 hours ago, yorkshire_spam said:

balanced and old tyre disposal with a mobile fitter

Ah yea the £39 was delivered only. I'd have to go to a local tyre place to get them fitted and balanced etc. 

[Ben Hutchings]

5 minutes ago, Nick Jones said:

Mine have just survived their 4th track day

Sure have @Nick Jones! (Ken sent me a selection of his shots, I'll post them properly somewhere when I get time!) 

[Nick Jones]

Cool pic 🙂.

That TR4 was the only one who would play with me. He asked if I had a 2.5.... 🙂

[Spitfire6]

On 17/05/2021 at 22:32, FloydP said:

I’ve just put a set on the stag and have had them on the last couple of moderns I really rate them but the outside edges do wear pretty quickly.

Too much toe-in? excessive positive camber?

[Ben Hutchings]

Mine arrived today! I like the traditional tread pattern, and that’s a proper fat sidewall isn’t it! Just need to find somewhere to remove the old ones, then I’ll give the wheels a tidy up, then refit. 

[thescrapman]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trintion-Manual-Changer-Portable-Vehicles/dp/B08R3ZD98B/ref=asc_df_B08R3ZD98B/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=463218305272&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8399930018241817983&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045047&hvtargid=pla-1151560449016&psc=1

[Clive]

16 hours ago, Ben Hutchings said:

Mine arrived today! I like the traditional tread pattern, and that’s a proper fat sidewall isn’t it! Just need to find somewhere to remove the old ones, then I’ll give the wheels a tidy up, then refit. 

Ben, I had 2 sets of alloys blasted/powderercoated at City Wheels in brum. £20 a wheel. Even I thought it was a good deal (I was travelling nearby to drop off, and collect a couple of weeks later. They also do the tyres off/on malarkey for a small extra charge)

[Kevin R]

Pleased to see this thread is still running.  I fitted a set of the Falkens to my Spitfire 1500 following the Club recommendations just prior to doing the NC500 and have been really impressed in all conditions and terrain.

I tried to upload footage (without success) of driving around a narrow 270 degree hairpin with them - no dramas.  My previous set of tyres would refuse to turn in and go straight ahead if the approach speed was even slightly too quick - much scarier than oversteer.

Despite some spirited driving they gave me no frights over the 1300 mile trip -  good value and excellent.

Thanks for all the recommendations.