On the way down I noticed how bad the ride was.   The car was quite bouncy and not very enjoyable to drive.   While the car didn’t do any long trips, I was using it quite a bit on short trips to troubleshoot the running issues, so it seemed strange that the tyres would be flat spotted.     I checked the pressures on the tyres and they were all fine, perhaps even a little higher than they needed to be.

On the way back I had the same issue even after slightly reducing tyre pressure.  I also noticed a crease on the tyre sidewall, it was very slight, but still noticeable.     As the tyres were 8 years old this year, I had planned to change them anyway, so I decided to get a new set right away.  I was worried that the tyres were starting to separate internally.

On the last set of tyres, I made a mistake.   Instead of looking up the original tyre size, I just replaced what was on the car.   This was wrong.   The tyres on the car were 195/70 R14.   This was too low profile.    Depending on the source, the tyres were originally either 185R14 or 195R14.    The technical data book for 1966 says 185R14 and the Mercedes public archive says 195R14. They also have some old bias ply sizes.   This is what it looks like my car was delivered with per the data card:  7.75 14 Continental.

185R14 is now a hard size to find.   195R14 isn’t hard to find in a light truck size, but almost impossible in a car size.   Light truck tyres are not suitable for a classic luxury car, they are going to provide a terrible ride.   However, 195/75 R14 is available in a few decent options.   This is very close to the original size and in my view a pretty good alternative.    I went with the Hankook Kinergy Eco 2 K435.  This is the same tyre I have on my 450SLC, albeit in a different size.   I’ve been quite happy with these tyres on my 107.

I went with five tyres in the end.   The spare tyre pre-dated my ownership of the car.   I couldn’t see a date code on it, and by the tread the tyre reckoned that from the tread it was from the late 70s or early 80s.   It looked quite good, but I wouldn’t have wanted to drive very far on it.   The tyre fitter also mentioned to me that one of the tyres had started to separate internally, so I’m glad I changed them.   Tyres shouldn’t be used if older than about 8 years old and mine were getting up to that age later this year.

As well as the tyres, I had the car aligned.   I’ve have a few issues with the car feeling like its wandering at speed.   I’ve had a few issues with older cars not being aligned against the right specs, so I photographed the relevant pages of the technical data book.    since fitting, I’ve only driven the car a short distance, but the steering feels better.

The post New tyres for my W111 250SE appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The big downside of the 15s over the 16s is the tyre availability.     The table below outlines possible sizes I could have considered.    They are all compared to the overall circumference of the original wheel/tyre combination.

The easiest and most obvious choice would have been one of the 205 sizes.   Both are a fairly standard tyre size still used by many mainstream cars.   As an example, 205/65R15 is the standard size of the later R107 models with 15″ wheels.   I have the Michelin Energy XM2 tyre on my 560SEL in this size and it seems like a good tyre.

However, for the AMG wheels I wanted something wider with a bit more grip.   Certainly, looking at old AMG catalogs, they mostly offered the wheels with wider tyres.    I was immediately able to rule out two sizes – 225/55 and 235/55.  There were no tyres at all available in those sizes.

The next most obvious size would have been 215/60R15.   This is only 0.4% different to standard, so had the least speedometer impact.  However, when looking for tyres in this size, the availability of anything I would want to use was terrible.   There were some light truck/van tyres available, but they would have given the 450SLC a terrible ride.   There was one model that looked promising at first – the Radar Dimax classic tyre.   This tyre is advertised as specifically designed for classic use.  While I didn’t find any reviews of their classic tyre, I found pretty poor reviews of Radar tyres in general.   I couldn’t find anyone who had tried these tyres at all, let alone liked them.

Finally, I settled on 225/60R15.   These seemed closest to the size AMG would have used then new for 15″ AMG Penta wheels.   I was able to verify with somebody who used this size with Penta wheels on a 450SLC, which gave me confidence.

The tyre selection was not great in this size either, but there were a few options.    In the end I went with the Hankook Kinergy Eco2 K435.  The Eco2 name put me off a bit, as I assumed they were probably optimized for long tread life and fuel consumption vs performance.   However, they got by far the best reviews I could find in that size.   It also helped that there was a buy three, get four deal on at the time.

The tyres are now mounted and ready to go on the car.   I also have the correct centre caps ready.   The 450SLC is about to go in and have the front subframe mounts changed, so I’ll fit the new tyres after that.

The post Choosing tyres for my 15×7 AMG Penta wheels appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

When I first purchased by 250SE I nearly spun it in the rain on an innocuous corner.   The tread in the tyres looked fine, and I had thought no more of it.   But on closer inspection they were about 15 years old.   The car was much better after I replaced them.   It is now the same situation with the E-Type, those tyres were from 2006 and they were terrible in the wet and even squealed in the dry.     Even worse, the 300SE had an unmatched set of Pirellis with the wrong size on the front axle.   They were also old and getting unsafe.

The general rule of thumb is that Tyres should be replaced before they are 10 years old and preferably earlier.    On classic cars that do limited miles, that means the tyres are being replaced with plenty of tread.    They are still worn out though.

My experience has been that at least on the sort of cars I drive, very high end expensive tyres are not worth the extra money.   I’m sure they are worth it on modern high performance cars though.   I’ve also found ultra budget tyres to be a false economy, but the midrange tyres generally work reasonably well, especially when treadwear is not the primary concern.    On the family E350 that my wife primarily drives, I sprang for Michelins as it makes more sense on that car.

I also wanted to save the two best tyres currently on the 300SE as spares.   I needed a spare for both the W126’s.   The 300SE stil had its original made in West Germany Michelin MXV on an unused steel wheel.   The car was original sold with steelies and plastic hubcaps, with the alloys fitted later.    The spare on the 560 was flat and bald.   The MXV would be great for a concours car on display but is not suitable as a road going tyre.

I had some spare alloy wheels, of which I picked the best two.    These are the wheels that originally came on the 560SEC.    The wheels with the worst curb rash will become the spares and I will still have a set to have refinished at some point.

On the 300SE I went with Hankook Optimo K415 205/65R15.   These are the correct size for the car and after the special were only $317 for a set.   This brought them down into the budget tyre territory on price.

This also gave me the opportunity to put on the correct lug bolts for the W126.    These have little extensions to make sure the ends sit flush with the wheel.    They look much better.  However, I have noticed is that the bolts are flush with the rear wheels, but not quite on the fronts.   I have not yet fully investigated this, but what it looks like is that the alloy wheels on the 300SE are aftermarket.      After a quick look at the two I took off as spares, I noticed they do not have a Mercedes part number on them and were made by Borbet.    I will need to research the difference in those wheels.

The E-Type was still sporting Sumitomo 205/65R15 wheels from when I purchased it.   The E-Type has upgraded 6″ Dayton wire wheels, instead of the the standard 5″.   This means the standard 185R15 tyres are probably a bit too narrow.   I first looked at a 195 wide tyre.   In that size, the ratio should be 75 which is a very irregular size.    In 205, the ratio should be 70, which is not common, but much more available.    There are a number of light truck tyres in this size, which must be avoided.

On the E-Type I also went for the Hankooks.   The Michelin’s in the size were an SUV tyre and quite expensive.    The Hankook’s are 205/70R15 H308’s, a passenger car tyre.    I got a whole set for just over $400, with the end of financial year promotion.   I will see how they go, but already they were a big improvement driving the car back from the tyre place.

After these latest tyres, the oldest set in the fleet is from 2015, which should last me a few more years at least.

The post End of financial year tyre sales appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

For the Citroen DS, that issue is what is the right tyre for the DS?   Michelin were the owners of Citroen during the entire production run of the DS.  During that time they pioneered the radial tyre, which was introduced in 1949.  The Radial was obviously standard fitment to the DS on release in 1955.   In 1965, Michelin introduced the XAS, which was the first asymmetrical radial tyre.  The premise was that the inside of the tyre needs to work differently to the outside of the tyre, in much the same way as your foot when you walk.   The XAS was standard fitment on the DS for the 2nd half of its production run.  Given most surviving D’s are from that time, the original tyre for most cars.

In 1972, Michelin launched the XVS, which is a high performance variant of the XAS. (The shoulder design differs and it offers a higher speed rating).   Michelin still manufacture both the XAS and XVS, although for many years the XVS was the only one available.   These tyres are very expensive, generally costing around AUD$350 each fitted.

The expense of these tyres naturally drive many owners to seek alternatives.   The size required for the DS is not common and there are only a few options.    the correct size for my car is 180R15.  The later injected cars specified 185R15.  These sizes are actually 180/80 R15 and 185/80 R15.  Many of the tyres available in this size are light truck tyres that are a very poor choice for the DS.   Other owners fit a slightly different size instead.

This is where the argument comes in.   Some owners will have nothing other than the Michelin tyres and consider them an integral part of the design.   They also raise the point that if nobody buys the Michelin tyres, they will stop making them and they won’t be available anymore.   This has happened with the better type of brake pads for the DS, when a cheaper (but not as good) alternative came out, sales dried up for the good ones and they stopped manufacturing them.   This is less likely on the tyres as the DS is not the only car that uses them. Prices already only cater to the well heeled DS owner.

The arguments on the other tyres (e.g. Federal, Vredestein, etc) is that tyres have come a hell of a long way since 1965 and a modern radial tyre is better in every way than a 1965 one.   Paying 3x more for something not as good, and on a car that likely does not drive many miles per year does not make sense.

But now there is a 3rd option.   Nankang, a Taiwanese tyre company make a replica of the XVS tyre under their Retro brand.  The tyre is called the Classic 001.   As it is like the XVS, it comes in the 185/80 HR15 size.   I have heard good things about the Nankang Retro and it offers the look and asymmetrical pattern for a price very similar to the alternative tyres.

My DS was fitted with XVS, and they were around 15 years old.   As classic cars are not driven daily, tyres need to be replaced not because they become bald, but because they get too old and the rubber becomes hard.   Drive a set of old tyres in the wet and you’ll see what I mean.

This was a good opportunity to replace them with the Nankang Retro tyres.   I had thought about having my wheels powder coated to the correct colour.   Unfortunately I didn’t have time and there are other things I would prefer to spend money on.   I also had the best of the current tyres put on the spare as it was old and bald.   My local tyre place was able to get them in and they have the ability to balance wheels without a center hole for the hub, which many tyre places do not have. The DS is a French car so must be different in every way, even simple things like how to balance a wheel.

Unfortunately it turned out the fittings to the balancing had been loaned to another shop and the salesman I had been talking to was not aware of this, but in any case the tyres were fitted and even unbalanced and a short drive back they feel better.

I also had the tyres replaced on the 250SE while I was there.   Tyres for Mercedes are not as contentious, although Mercedes did perserve with 14″ wheels for a long time.  14″ wheels does limit the selection, and there are some really rubbish tyres out there in this size (195/70 R14) or the easier to get 195/75.   I went with the Kumho tyres for the 250SE.   I went on a long club run in the evening and they went very well.

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