Club 80-90 Forums

Damn it's time to buy new tyres

At the moment I have Enduro 185R 14C 8PR 102's fited

Any recommendations and sizes would be appreciated

The same.
185 X 14C.
Dunlop ST LT30
Cheap means dangerous.

The mid price Barum Vanis 185R14C is worth considering. Check out local independent suppliers as well as those online. I buy my tyres from an indepdent garage & they supply & fit tyres cheaper than any online company. Their prices are ''all in'' with no hidden extras. If you want a more expensive tyre then consider the Continental Vanco 2.

VW fitted standard 185 R 14C's but the option tyre was the wider 205/70R14 97's.
The wider tyres do look better but are more expensive with less choice....they do look cool tho!
Semperit do a 205/70 R14 98XL if you can find them......Simon used to stock them at one time.

Martin

There was a thread fairly recently about std profile 195's and 205's (rather than 70 profile) these have a larger radius and so get a (small) boost to the gearing = (small) improvement to MPG and (small) improvement to the cruising speed) and actually makes the speedo more accurate ! To me the major advantage would be they look cooler under the T25's rather empty looking arches when using 185's

I have std 185's on at the mo, but when I need new, I will fit the Carrat Alloys I have and put the biggest tyres on that are "correct" (and safe of course) for those rims.

That would be 205 R14C's.....

What you said makes some sense of course but don't forget the slightly higher circumference is effectively higher gearing and will result in less torque in top gear. This effectively courses earlier down shifting when driving into a headwind or up a slight hill and will offset the very slightly better fuel consumption whilst in top gear.

In other words...you don't get anything for nothing...where you gain in one hand, you loose in the other and you might find yourself reving you engine in a lower gear for longer because it won't pull in the next.
The only time this really works is when your engine is actually more powerful....ie: after a 1.6TD to a 1.9TD transplant or fitting a Scuby lump.
All very slight and subtle changes I would have though as we are only talking a few percent here.
Martin

Thanks for all the advise was planning to stick with stock 185's now considering 205's