Alloy tyre Size

[Roy_S]

I've read a few posts about different tyre sizes and as I get ready to replace all the aged tyres on my Stag I wanted to make sure I make the right choice. Appriciate that choice here willl have an element of compromise as the original fitment were 14 inch 185 or 175 with an 80 or 82 profile that these days are either rare, expensive or both.

Bullstarz gave a great web link to check the difference between different sizes, from that I learnt that the profile 55/60/70 etc does not relate to the same height across 195/185/175 but is in fact a percentage of the tread width.

The below is from https://tiresize.com/calculator/

Standard Stag tyres as originally fitted to the alloy wheel:
New one.JPG

It seems the choice today most make, is between the two sizes below.
New Sizes.JPG
My choice originally was towards the 185 but as above shows this is over 1 inch less in height than one of the originals. The 195 is closer but still the revs/mile is some way off the older fitted average of 788 but some said it does not make that much difference to the speedo.

There is a closer match if you go to a 215/75R14, but this to me looks too wide for the alloy rim? Add to that the effect on the car with an inch more rubber on each corner which I know some say can upset things.
Bigger.JPG
My car is a 77 manual with OD, what are others running or have tried they can give feedback on.

[sujitroy]

The 215/75 may be a bit too wide on the original alloy wheel and interfere with the drag strut when turning.
Sujit

[Peter707R]

The “original” spec was, as you say, 185 and 175 but you have used 185 and 195 - the 175 option will reduce the variance somewhat. Might be worth using percentage variances on wheel rotations and translate this int impact on RPM’s at any given speed - 5% at 3k rpm is only 150 rpm , I suspect you’d be hard pressed to notice the difference (from the sat nav not speedo as the latter wouldn’t be affected).

[StagJonno]

I moved from 185/ 70 / 14 to 195/70 /14 which I thought would give a better speedo reading. However, the steering lost some of its "pointiness" and fun when tackling twisty B roads.My speedo actually reads ~10% low (so 30mph reads as 27 on the speedo). The age/ condition of my speedo may be having some effect. When I come to replace in a couple of years time, I'll be going back to 185/70/14.

[wilf]

Just put new 195 70 R 14s on mine, runs fine, I use it as more of a cruiser than a sporty thing. And yes, the speedo under-reads a tad.

[stag8manod]

I am running 195/70/14s (Michelins) on standard alloys but with a 3.45 diff behind a man/J od and the speedo is corrected with an S od drive gear. According to TomTom at 100kph it is spot on.
Cheers Ian A

[Roy_S]

The �original� spec was, as you say, 185 and 175 but you have used 185 and 195 - the 175 option will reduce the variance somewhat. Might be worth using percentage variances on wheel rotations and translate this int impact on RPM�s at any given speed - 5% at 3k rpm is only 150 rpm , I suspect you�d be hard pressed to notice the difference (from the sat nav not speedo as the latter wouldn�t be affected).

Sorry, had so many windows open when editing the picture together, I've corrected the original post, thanks for letting me know.

[Tonywhite]

I always fit and recommend 185/70 14 Avon’s at �65 a corner good value

[DJT]

Having driven over 100,000 miles in my Stags, I would not deviate from the OE size of 185/80/14H on standard wheels. I did try 195/65/15H EAGLE NCT tyres on minilight replicas for a while, but went back to OE. 185/70 in the handbook is misleading as (according to James Taylor) only a handful of U.K. Stags were supplied with those tyres in March 1973. Otherwise they were for Federal Stags, presumably because of the then almost universal 55mph speed limit. U.K. Stags were fitted with 175/80/14H late in production for reasons known only to BL.

There are various options for 185/80/14H available.

MAXXIS ME3 or Hankook Optimo - both around 70GBP
Vredestein Sprint Classic - around 150GBP (my choice)
Michelin MXVP - around 220GBP

There are others, including T-rated (be careful to avoid van tyres!)

Speak to your local independent tyre shop. They may be able to get them at a better price, as mine did when I last bought Vredestein.

There was a good article on tyres in the June SOC magazine, written by Nigel Cross who was one of the Triumph development team. I am looking forward to his next instalment.

[Roy_S]

The 185/80 might be a good call, I can see on MyTyres they have the Maxxis Mecotra 3 for �54 each, the Vredestein Sprint Classic were �308..! At least it has given me a ball park to as the local tyre shop to get me a price. They seem to be in the ball park size wise as well.
185-80.JPG
185-80 label.JPG

[sujitroy]

with all these combinations will the spare tire fit in the hole and the boot board sit flat. I have regular wires on 190/70x14 and the boards don't fit flat.

[wilf]

My spare is also a 195 70 R14 on an alloy, and that fits fine.

[Roy_S]

OK so decided to go the Maxxis Mecotra 3 185/80 R14 91T.
Now the issue is finding anyone that stocks them in near the GU9 area, if no luck I'll order from MyTyres as they will deliver free and charge �52 a tyre. Local tyre shop charges �20 to fit and balance.

[marshman]

Not a bad price from MyTyres. I usually get tyres from Camskill but have noticed recently that they are not as competitive as they once were when you factor in the delivery costs. Just looked and the Maxxis tyres are �50.30 but then there is a �15.80 delivery charge for the 4 tyres so a couple of pounds more expensive than MyTyres.

[Roy_S]

Not a bad price from MyTyres. I usually get tyres from Camskill but have noticed recently that they are not as competitive as they once were when you factor in the delivery costs. Just looked and the Maxxis tyres are �50.30 but then there is a �15.80 delivery charge for the 4 tyres so a couple of pounds more expensive than MyTyres.

Thanks for the feedback, I usually get the prices from MyTyres before I ring a couple of tyre shops, I expect they get tyres cheaper than I can and given that a fit & balance on it's own is �20 a go, if they are near the price I'll buy local, it's not worth it for a few pounds difference. Transporting 4 tyres down in the car is interesting.

But as I can't get a local supplier it's MyTyres to the rescue.