Dino Tyres

The Italian street homologation document for the 246 GTS of 1972 lists the tyres as 185 VR 15 Firestone tubeless or Michelin X.

 

here's the original sheets which do show 185's as the tire fitted.

From what I can find in my literature 206's were originally fitted with 185's and the 246 got the larger tires. I don't know if any early 246 cars had the 185's, I'm sure Matthias will chime in at some point.

Dave
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Michelin X 185VR14 up to#00528, then 205/70VR14 after according to compendium. So all 206GT had the thinner tire and some of the L-series cars also.
I have a completely original X tire (205/70VR14) date coded 1970 if you need a photo of tread etc.
It's the spare that came with my L series.

 

Were Pirelli CN36's ever fitted? What looks to be the original spare has one.

 

Here's a few photos...
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The Michelin MXV P 185 HR 14 is NOT suitable for a Dino. Its speed rating is only up to 130 MPH.

 

True, in theory, but who amongst you has had their Dino much north of 100 MPH in the past 20 years.

I've done some track days in my other cars, and a couple of the attendees had Dinos, but none made it to the track. Around town, even in spirited driving I think a 130 MPH tire would be more than sufficient.

I originally put Sumitomo (HTR 200?) tires on my Dino while I waited for my XWX's from Coker. They were basically for a Ford Taurus, but worked more than adequately, even at speed, on the Dino.

D
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It's not just over 130 mph that an H rated, up to 130 mph tyre won't be suitable. It will not be designed to cope with the acceleration, cornering forces and braking of a car capable of OVER 130 MPH. Besides, an insurance company may void a claim in the event of an accident on a car shod with inferior tyres.

 

oh come on.

This is a car that is slower 0-60 than the current crop of Toyotas.

My Ford Edge is almost as quick 0-60.

Handling? What's the max G force a Dino could do in 1970? I'm sure it's less than my wife's Nissa Leaf. (About that, I kid)

Most modern cars are fast, handle better, and stop quicker and with more force than the Dino. to think that it needs better than an H rated tire for what the folks here generally use them for is just silly.

Now, having said that, I sprung for the XWX Michelins for my car back in the day. which are rated to 149 MPH with their V rating.

To think that an H rated tire on a Dino, under anything other than track driving conditions is dangerous is pretty far fetched.

But lets ask the expert. Longstone Tyres? What say you?

D

 

I stand by what I said. The cars that the Michelin MXV-P 185HR14 is designed for are mainly saloon cars of around the same period that don't exceed 120 mph with much slower acceleration, inferior brakes and suspension not needing such a sophisticated and high performing tyre. The Dino is a 148 mph sports car requiring tyres to match the performance of its components.

 

Since I find my driver's license very handy in getting to work, I do not drive any of my cars over 80mph at any time. When I drive my Dino it is on weekends and I keep a healthy distance from any other cars that could stop suddenly.

Any tire becomes dangerous at about 7-10 years of age because they get hard and don't stop well anymore. Otherwise an H rated tire is fine for how I drive the Dino.

 

In fitting H rated tyres to a Dino you are compromising the performance and safety of your car and endangering the lives of not only yourselves but other road users.

I some countries it is illegal to use tyres of a lower speed rating than the maximum capability of the vehicle.

This may make interesting reading: http://www.btmauk.com/data/files/Replacing_Car_Tyres_1_June_2011.pdf

 

I don't do it all of the time but I definitely do it some of the time.

When I raced vintage cars (FJ and F1), I took note of how closely race mechanics focused on wheels, tires and suspension components.

As the owner and primary caregiver for my Dino, it's up to me to make sure my tires and wheels are up to the task. Replacing my tires every 7 years (regardless of mileage) with suitably rated Michelin XWX rubber and crack checking those magnesium Cromodoras when the tires come off is part of my Dino ownership regimen.

Having seen the aftermath of tires that have shredded and wheels that have gone to pieces at even modest speeds, I want to do all I can to prevent that. X rated tires are the only option from my POV if you want to preserve the look, ride and safety originally developed for the Dino.

My $0.02.

 

I am very skeptical of this statement. How can it possibly be dangerous as long as one does not exceed the tire's rated speed and load?

 

See above. An H rated tyre will be designed to cope with the lower stresses placed upon it of lesser performing cars than a Dino. It will not be up to the job of working properly in combination with the higher grade and more sophisticated suspension and brake components of a 150 mph car.

 

Okay, I do not want to get into a big argument here, but the Dino is a 40+ year-old high performance car. In almost every objective parameter; braking, cornering, and acceleration, any number of modern day 4-door mid-priced sedans can match or surpass what the Dino is capable of. Furthermore, to say that major advances in tire construction, technology, and materials have been made in the last 40 years would be an understatement. If the car is intended to be driven to its limits, then of course one should go with the V-rated tires, but to say that Pantdino is risking his and others' lives by commuting to work or doing mildly spirited driving on modern H-rated rubber is an exaggeration. My own personal experience is that I ran my old Dino on Sumitomo H-rated tires for three years with no problems whatsoever. That's not to say that some insurance company might not try to weasel out of a claim on pretext of the tires being inadequate, but I personally have never heard of this happening.

 

It may be an exaggeration but to me H rated inferior tyres will not give the correct level of handling and ride so you're not really experiencing the Dino in its entirety with the wrong tyres on it. The tyres are a very important aspect of a cars handling characteristics. Would you put the brakes of a slower car on a Dino? Would you put a cam chain and pistons in the engine that are only rated to 6000rpm because you're never going to go over 6000rpm and use the full 7800rpm? It's a similar thing. The H rated Michelin MXV P that fit the Dino are designed for mid range sedans of 40 years ago. How many miles did you do in your Dino?

 

No more than 1500-2000 miles per year, I would say.

 

Did you have it long?

 

Yes, my father bought it new in London in 1974. After he died in 2009, I kept it about a year and a half and then sold it to someone in the UK, right before prices went through the roof. I honestly don't miss it that much. It was costing me a lot to own as little things kept going wrong, and then there's the issue of driving a RHD car in the US, particularly one with restricted rear quarter visibility (it's a GTS), which can make less than right angled intersections a bit scary.

Getting back to tires, at the end I fitted 16" Superformance wheels and modern Bridgestone high-performance tires. The new owner didn't want them, so they were sold separately. The car went back to the UK on the Sumitomos. Surprisingly, I got some photos of it after it had been with the new owner close to a year and the Sumis were still on it.

The car I still own from that era is a 1970 Morgan Plus Eight, but that's another story!

 

I see. A friend of mine here in the UK actually bought your old Dino a couple of months ago.

 

Yes, I'd heard it was for sale again. Please don't tell me what he paid for it!

 

Out of curiosity, has 148 mph ever been tested by a magazine or was that a factory number? I don't think the Dino's top speed is anywhere near this...maybe the needle reads that high, but I doubt any GPS measurement does.