Yes ~ with tyres that have sidewalls that "balloon" with inflation or have substantial built in rim protectors you can run into trouble with sizing on width.

 

Sadly, Gregory is not a magnate, wealthy or otherwise. But the Universal tires for the Mk 2 with correct tread pattern and year-correct (1966) 5/8 inch whiteband cost $232 USD each. With shipping, the total for 4 tires is over $1100.00 ...and with the USD/CAD exchange rate of 30% more or less, plus taxes, the cost for 4 tires to my door is about $1500.00 CAD and then there is installation and balancing.
That said, these tires are more than satisfactory: smooth, quiet, handsome and "correct" in appearance and vintage. These Universals on my car are now 11 or 12 years old, and inspection reveals no cracking or obvious aging of either sidewalls or tread - amazing - but the car is always garaged when not in use, so ozone/sun damage is not a factor. I am fully aware of the belief that 6 or 7 years is the safe limit. At this point the cost, visual condition and driving feel do not justify replacement "just in case".
Of course, life has a way of make you change your mind.

 

thank you all for the help. I found this Tire Size Calculator which also has a real-time adjustable Speedometer graphic,

https://tire-calc.com/comparison/205...5-75-r15-inch/

the speedo gives a WARNING that 205-75-15 Diameter differs by more than 3%. Is it dangerous!!! when compared to 205-70-15 regarding SPEEDO CALIBRATION SPEED. Yes I understand the r is for Radial.
(should it say "IT IS dangerous" instead of IS IT dangerous?)

I am going to look for 205-70r-15 whitewalls and hopefully it will not be a fight trying to fit or remove the rear wire wheels over the hubs.

 

there is a big difference with whitewalls. The car looks a lot more classy and "formal" with whitewalls. With blackwalls it looks "sad". But this is only in the early Small Saloons. If you use whitewalls in the XJ, they don't look right. The XJ looks better with blackwalls.

 

Due to long term expat assignment causing my restoration to languish my tyres are just over 20 years old and externally fine ~ 1000Kms on them now. Had no real UV exposure. I'm about to change them for a new set of Michelins but have to think what a shame to throw them out. At least they gave the car something to stand on for final restoration.

 

I bought my Avons in 1980 or 81 and they still look excellent! They have done a few thousand miles and reached close to max speed on the autobahn. Since 1984, they been indoors and covered only a few miles.

 

I am considering these Milestar 205/70r/15.
Opinions please

https://tirereviewsandmore.com/milestar-ms775-reviews/

the reviews are not that bad. They cost around $90. each and like JeffR I can't spend a lot because I have the engine repair to consider. I am not going to race the S type anyway.

AND the redhead is paying. She is inlove with the car. She calls the shots. You know how women take over. And she is demanding 3-point seat belts in Champagne color. I am to transfer the original front lap belts to the rear seat. Oui madame.

About the engine: we are going to remove the engine and transmission, mount it in a stand with radiator, starter, gas can, etc and run it. Mechanic wants to hear the engine before deciding what the issue is. I told him it is crankshaft bearings, he says he decides that, not me. He works on 4.2 and 5.3 liter engines, as well as V8 conversions.

In theory, The car might be on the road by June.

 

Never heard of them. I understand we all have budgets to worry about.

Where I come from you usually get what you pay for. (not always)

There are some things I won't compromise on. Tires & brakes & related are very close to the top of the list if not the top. You have got to be able to stop the thing safely.

Other failures are of less importance.

 

Glyn, the tires are made in Taiwan. I read one review that stated one tire was out of round. But buying them from a local store I can request replacement if I get a bad one. my concern is more the size of the tire for the S type. 205/70r/15 What do you think of that size?

 

I agree. And disagree

Spending more money doesn't always ensure greater safety for all driver or situations. A gentle driver tootling around on sunny weekends, driving as though there was a bowl of goldfish on his front seat, probably won't gain an extra measure of safety by spending a lot of money on a high performance and/or premium name tire. A modestly priced tire, even if not a widely known brand, may very well be perfectly safe for the conditions at hand.

And, specific driving conditions do come into play as well. For example, in my neck o'the woods we get a lot of rain so "wet traction" capability is a prime safety consideration. With the myriad of choices out there a person (like me ) may well find that that tires with the best wet traction ratings may not be the OEM tire, nor a particularly expensive tire, nor perhaps even one of the premium name brands.

It's a given that a poor quality tire won't be safe. That is, a particular brand that is known for actually failing. Tread separation, carcass failure, things of that nature. These should be identified and avoided, obviously. Pretty easy to do in this day and age.

Cheers
DD

 

I agree! I just take into account the worst case I might be faced with and it can affect your insurance cover.

 

at $84.00 each plus whatever it costs me to find someone who can install them in wire wheels and with tubes ( which I will need to buy separately), this job is not going to be cheap. Plus I will need to buy 5 tires, not 4.

 

The Taiwanese make many things very well as do the Koreans. A lot of the local guys run their Jags on 185X15 Hankook Optimo's. I just don't like the huge branding on the sidewalls. As you say you can always get a replacement if a tyre shows immediate defects.

I have no issues with 205/70/15 tyres. As long as you are happy to put up with the rear removal issue on wires. I quite like Jeff's 195/75/15 idea.

With my car I want to put it in the concours once to have it rated so I will be fitting original size 185/15 Michelins. I live in a mild climate & these cars are great to drive on Michelins. Yes I'm a Michelin fan. I either order my new cars with Michelins or drive them straight out of the showroom to my favourite tyre store & get Michelins fitted & a credit for what is on the car. My daily driver is at present on Michelin Pilot Sport 4's.

I have had a lot of interaction with Michelin over many years in my oilco job. They even partially sponsored a race team I ran for over a decade for our company on top of my day job.

Michelin spends more on research annually than any other tyre company.

Make sure the tyre shop you use has the correct balancing cones or you will have to take your own.

 

only one place I know here that can mount tires on wire wheels, I hope they are still open.

 

Any tire place should be able to mount tyre on wire wheels even with inner tubes but it is the balancing of the wheels that is difficult. Most modern garages do not hold the cones required to balance them and they cannot be balanced using a modern balancing machine as the contact between wire wheel and machine is in the wrong place. See Glyns diagram above. I bought my own cones a couple of years ago. Expensive but at least I know my wheels are balanced correctly as I take the cones with me so the garage can use them on their machines.

 

The cheaper ones like I have that are all you need.






The fancy kit from MWS ~ Really made for a balancing shop.

 

well I studied and studied and decided on 205/75r/15.

gave up on the wider tires because of the rear wheel openings.

the funny thing is that the 195 tire is larger diameter than the 205.