Tire blow out - rim refinishing question / ideas on new tires.....

I think that the Vredestein is an excellent tire. I don't have them on the Dino, but I've had a set on the Morgan for about a year and I've been very impressed.

Like you, I refuse to pay $400 for a tire, which means no XWX. When I last had to get tires for the Dino, I did not yet know about the Vreds, so I opted for the Sumitomo HTR 200.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Sumitomo&tireModel=HTR+200&vehicleSearch=false&partnum=07HR4HTR200&fromCompare1=yes&place=0

They're incredibly inexpensive ($49.00!) and actually work quite well. The downside is a modern (as opposed to period-correct vintage) appearance, and the fact that they're HR rather than VR rated (a moot point in my case as I don't plan on driving in excess of 130 mph). Had I known about them at the time, I might have opted for the Vredesteins. Dave M. found a source that will give F-chatters a discount and ship the tires. Here's the link:

http://www.tiresbyweb.com/pc-5109-131-vredestein-sprint-classic.aspx

$225.00 puts them squarely in between the Sumis and the XWX.

In the meantime, I'm perfectly happy with my Sumitomos. Given the incredible value, I'll probably stick with them at replacement time.

As for your wheels, there are places that specialize in refinishing. You definitely want powder-coating.

 

AJ,

I'm glad to hear you and your car are OK. I'm also eager to hear your impressions of the Vredestein tires.

Manny

 

Here's a photo of the Vredestein in the actual 205/70-14 size.
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No, at least not in that size. That is just a photo I found somewhere on the Web. I know that somebody on here bought a set for a 246 a while back. If you do a search on "Vredestein", you can probably find out who it is. Maybe you can talk him into taking a photo.

Otherwise, I can take a photo of one on the Morgan. It's a completely different size (185-15, same as the TR-6), but it should give you a good idea of the sidewall appearance. Let me know and I'll be glad to do it.

 

I'm sure Vredesteins may be fine, but I had a catastrophic sidewall failure of a Vredestein bicycle tire about 2 yrs ago. Who knows if this represents an across-the-board indication of quality, but after that experience, they'll always be "Brand X" to me. Expensive or not, I'll stick with Michelins.

 

I know it's snotty of me, but I just can't get past the look and feel of the original XWX's. If a set costs $1600 and lasts from 3 to 8 years, that seems like a small amount given the value and annual expense of owning a Dino. Assuming you're not driving at the limit, it is 100% cosmetic, so this is a shallow person's viewpoint, admittedly. Even a crappy car is probably worth over $150k these days, so 1% of the cost to get correct rubber seems OK to me. I have never driven a Dino on other tires, but if they take anything away from that big,sticky feeling warm XWX's give me, then I'd feel cheated. (There's a joke in there somewhere...)

 

I doubt that the bicycle tires come off the same production line...

 

I basically agree with you. It's just a question of priorities, I suppose, and perceived value for money. I just spent roughly that same amount on a camera lens, as an example. I don't know whether Michelin has "improved the breed" with some modern tire wizardry, but the old "sticky feeling" XWXs used to disappear very quickly on the back of the car. Even with assiduous rotation, as I recall, they never lasted anywhere beyond 3 years, and that's with very little driving (and not near the limit). I'll be interested to hear how yours hold up. Yeah, okay, maybe I'll return to XWXs some day, though with the way the Dollar's going, they may be $800 by that time!

 

I have never understood the persons who look at the tire thread and say that is not correct for that car, its just a chunk of rubber that wears out. I also believe that modern day thread patterns and tires are most likely better than they were in the old days and I am always looking to improve my cars driveability, if the wrong tires improve it so be it.

Now, I have owned old concours type show cars where ok the tire matters but I got rid of those when I learned the joys of actually driving your investment rather than showing it off to others at car shows.

I drive my Dino, it has Pirelli's on it now and it drives great, next tires will most likely be Kumho's but who knows what will be available at the time.

Happy to say that I have never driven a tire that is more than 6-8 years old because I wear them out before then and choose the best handling tire to replace them, not the ones that look good.

All this to say to Andrew both the Vredestein and Kumho's are fine tires for street driving, enjoy the car.

 

Right on! You have the idea Mike. If you are going to win prizes at Pebble, go for close to the original. If not, go for driveability and practicality. On the road! You and your Dino will be the better for it. Plan to wear the tire out in 30,000 miles, 6 years maximum. Will always be on good modern rubber. And your Dino will be happy too.
John

 

From what I understand, one should not receive concours demerits for more modern tires, as long as they are of the correct size. Of course, to a great extent, it depends on the individual judge, and I suppose that in the case of two absolutely equal cars, if one were on period-correct tires and the other were not, it might be the deciding factor.

Although they were not top-level "anal retentive" concours, my car has won two trophies in the past year with the Sumitomos. One was at an FCA regional event, and the other was at Hilton Head "Car Club Day" (the Saturday before the main event). I should add that I'm not a concours guy, and in both of these cases I was there just to have a good time. (I'm not saying this to brag, of course.)

It would be interesting to do a track test of the various types of tires available...

 

Here's just a photo to show what happens when a tire explode.
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Restoration on the early knock off style rims are difficult as they are usually magnisium (so I'm told). I sent my L rims to Motomotion in Ohio who restored and powder coated them. I had new 205/70/VR14 V-steins drop shipped to them and they mounted/balanced them. The price was good, quality was excellent with a quick turnaround.

I'm very satisified with the look. I'll let you know about the performance next month.
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Andrew,
As for the wheel resto, Impactco (Michael) spoke highly of Wheel Concepts in Newbury Park...a reasonable drive to Ventura County.
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/sho...t=newbury+park

Here's their site.
http://www.wheelconcepts.com/AboutUs.htm
Coop

 

In 2007 I bought a set of Vred.s and they sure are sticky (good!) and drive very well.
I bought the XWX's in Jerry's deal in Dec 2005 and have on my spare wheels. Why they are nice & original there is a bit of sidewall flex when you drive at "extra legal" speeds.


PS - it was great to chat with you at Bella Italia