What's your favourite old school tyre from the past
Discussion
If you started driving in the early 80's like I did, low profiles were THE tyre to have. I remember buying my 1980 MK2 RS2000 when it was 3 years old and it still had the original 175/70x13 Pirelli CN36 fitted. I couldn't wait to get them off and put some 185/60 P6's on, then when they wore out(quite quickly if I remember) replaced them with Capri 2.8 205/60 Goodyear NCT's. Plenty of street cred with those fitted at the time and the obsession with premium brand performance tyres has stuck with me to this day.
Funny thing was, those CN36's that I chucked away were worth a small fortune in years to come to the concours boys although they have recently been remanufactured by Pirelli.
Funny thing was, those CN36's that I chucked away were worth a small fortune in years to come to the concours boys although they have recently been remanufactured by Pirelli.
2172cc said:
If you started driving in the early 80's like I did, low profiles were THE tyre to have. I remember buying my 1980 MK2 RS2000 when it was 3 years old and it still had the original 175/70x13 Pirelli CN36 fitted. I couldn't wait to get them off and put some 185/60 P6's on, then when they wore out(quite quickly if I remember) replaced them with Capri 2.8 205/60 Goodyear NCT's. Plenty of street cred with those fitted at the time and the obsession with premium brand performance tyres has stuck with me to this day.
Funny thing was, those CN36's that I chucked away were worth a small fortune in years to come to the concours boys although they have recently been remanufactured by Pirelli.
My mate in AVO OC put P6's on his RS2 back in '83.......and we all thought he was the dogs whotzit, as they were so expensive, and the rest of us could only afford £25 a piece Firestone S660.....which were truly awful things.Funny thing was, those CN36's that I chucked away were worth a small fortune in years to come to the concours boys although they have recently been remanufactured by Pirelli.
The thing was a few years later after selling my RS2, I bought a Mex, all original, and in good nick with just faded original paint, and bubbly front wings. It was a two owner car, only 65k miles and was running a decent branded set of 175/70 tyres.
What a car to drive, the balance was perfect on those 175/70 and original spec suspension and I was converted to realising that manufacturers know best when it comes to tyre sizes etc. So many people used to oversize a RS Escort, for no sensible reason....more rubber does not always make a better car.
I really regret selling that Mex so quickly - should have kept it, but wanted another RS2.
That memory meant I never fitted anything bigger that 185 section on my Sunbeam-Lotus as well, as the few I drove with 205 or bigger always felt overtyred.
jon- said:
This is a strong call, but my personal favourite is the Bridgestone Potenza S02.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Bridgestone/Pote...
Partly because of its "racecar" like performance, partly because it was OE on a few TVRs, but mostly because it was the last time Bridgestone actually made a decent performance tyre
There's a man who knows his tyres http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Bridgestone/Pote...
Partly because of its "racecar" like performance, partly because it was OE on a few TVRs, but mostly because it was the last time Bridgestone actually made a decent performance tyre
I wondered if anyone else was going to mention those jon- !
Such a great tyre imo
aeropilot said:
2172cc said:
If you started driving in the early 80's like I did, low profiles were THE tyre to have. I remember buying my 1980 MK2 RS2000 when it was 3 years old and it still had the original 175/70x13 Pirelli CN36 fitted. I couldn't wait to get them off and put some 185/60 P6's on, then when they wore out(quite quickly if I remember) replaced them with Capri 2.8 205/60 Goodyear NCT's. Plenty of street cred with those fitted at the time and the obsession with premium brand performance tyres has stuck with me to this day.
Funny thing was, those CN36's that I chucked away were worth a small fortune in years to come to the concours boys although they have recently been remanufactured by Pirelli.
My mate in AVO OC put P6's on his RS2 back in '83.......and we all thought he was the dogs whotzit, as they were so expensive, and the rest of us could only afford £25 a piece Firestone S660.....which were truly awful things.Funny thing was, those CN36's that I chucked away were worth a small fortune in years to come to the concours boys although they have recently been remanufactured by Pirelli.
The thing was a few years later after selling my RS2, I bought a Mex, all original, and in good nick with just faded original paint, and bubbly front wings. It was a two owner car, only 65k miles and was running a decent branded set of 175/70 tyres.
What a car to drive, the balance was perfect on those 175/70 and original spec suspension and I was converted to realising that manufacturers know best when it comes to tyre sizes etc. So many people used to oversize a RS Escort, for no sensible reason....more rubber does not always make a better car.
I really regret selling that Mex so quickly - should have kept it, but wanted another RS2.
That memory meant I never fitted anything bigger that 185 section on my Sunbeam-Lotus as well, as the few I drove with 205 or bigger always felt overtyred.
Freds said:
Little Pete said:
Goodyear Rally Special 195/60/13. My first rubber love!
I used these on my Mk 2 RS Escort in the early 80's. They didn't last long...........Happy days 
2172cc said:
aeropilot said:
2172cc said:
If you started driving in the early 80's like I did, low profiles were THE tyre to have. I remember buying my 1980 MK2 RS2000 when it was 3 years old and it still had the original 175/70x13 Pirelli CN36 fitted. I couldn't wait to get them off and put some 185/60 P6's on, then when they wore out(quite quickly if I remember) replaced them with Capri 2.8 205/60 Goodyear NCT's. Plenty of street cred with those fitted at the time and the obsession with premium brand performance tyres has stuck with me to this day.
Funny thing was, those CN36's that I chucked away were worth a small fortune in years to come to the concours boys although they have recently been remanufactured by Pirelli.
My mate in AVO OC put P6's on his RS2 back in '83.......and we all thought he was the dogs whotzit, as they were so expensive, and the rest of us could only afford £25 a piece Firestone S660.....which were truly awful things.Funny thing was, those CN36's that I chucked away were worth a small fortune in years to come to the concours boys although they have recently been remanufactured by Pirelli.
The thing was a few years later after selling my RS2, I bought a Mex, all original, and in good nick with just faded original paint, and bubbly front wings. It was a two owner car, only 65k miles and was running a decent branded set of 175/70 tyres.
What a car to drive, the balance was perfect on those 175/70 and original spec suspension and I was converted to realising that manufacturers know best when it comes to tyre sizes etc. So many people used to oversize a RS Escort, for no sensible reason....more rubber does not always make a better car.
I really regret selling that Mex so quickly - should have kept it, but wanted another RS2.
That memory meant I never fitted anything bigger that 185 section on my Sunbeam-Lotus as well, as the few I drove with 205 or bigger always felt overtyred.
Little Pete said:
Freds said:
Little Pete said:
Goodyear Rally Special 195/60/13. My first rubber love!
I used these on my Mk 2 RS Escort in the early 80's. They didn't last long...........Happy days Good man ! Mine was a 1980 Custom, terracotta with chocolate brown Recaro trim. DHD 787 V. Bought at 12 months old and owned it for 2 years.
Freds said:
Little Pete said:
Freds said:
Little Pete said:
Goodyear Rally Special 195/60/13. My first rubber love!
I used these on my Mk 2 RS Escort in the early 80's. They didn't last long...........Happy days Good man ! Mine was a 1980 Custom, terracotta with chocolate brown Recaro trim. DHD 787 V. Bought at 12 months old and owned it for 2 years.
Funny enough my RS2000 was Terracotta with chocolate brown trim as well......ADR 520W bought from Mike Youngs in Ilford.
Think the P6's were already on by the time this picture was taken in around 83/84
2172cc said:
Freds said:
Little Pete said:
Freds said:
Little Pete said:
Goodyear Rally Special 195/60/13. My first rubber love!
I used these on my Mk 2 RS Escort in the early 80's. They didn't last long...........Happy days Good man ! Mine was a 1980 Custom, terracotta with chocolate brown Recaro trim. DHD 787 V. Bought at 12 months old and owned it for 2 years.
Funny enough my RS2000 was Terracotta with chocolate brown trim as well......ADR 520W bought from Mike Youngs in Ilford.
Think the P6's were already on by the time this picture was taken in around 83/84
Little Pete said:
2172cc said:
Freds said:
Little Pete said:
Freds said:
Little Pete said:
Goodyear Rally Special 195/60/13. My first rubber love!
I used these on my Mk 2 RS Escort in the early 80's. They didn't last long...........Happy days Good man ! Mine was a 1980 Custom, terracotta with chocolate brown Recaro trim. DHD 787 V. Bought at 12 months old and owned it for 2 years.
Funny enough my RS2000 was Terracotta with chocolate brown trim as well......ADR 520W bought from Mike Youngs in Ilford.
Think the P6's were already on by the time this picture was taken in around 83/84
We journeyed down there for my friend to buy his RS1800 back in the mid 80s
Here's a few of our old ones plus a Sunbeam works rep
I remember getting Avery good deal on a set of Avon Turbospeeds for my RS - little knowing they came in 2 compounds and I'd been sold the soft one.
Lasted about 3k miles
( 2.1, twin 44s, LSD etc )As mentioned, a lot of us went for the square shouldered NCTs
matchmaker said:
And anyone remember the Dunlop A2? A tarmac rally tyre developed from a crossply racing slick. Phenomenal grip - in the dry at least.
Yep mentioned above. First time we tried them was on the Welsh rally. The amount of grip was unbelievable, even on the gravel, and the wear rate was amazing. We did that entire event apart from 4 stages on one set.Downside was that the grip wasn't progressive near to the limit, they had a tendency to let go suddenly, and of course as the grip up that point was so good, when they did let go you were going a lot faster. Squeaky bum time.
Anyone remember Kelly tyres ?
I had a set that were so soft, after a hard run you would leave bits of rubber stuck to the ground where you parked it.
Only lasted 4000 miles and were s
t in the wet, but quite grippy when warm.
I remember they bought carcasses from someone then put their own tread on ?
Edit, the company is still going !
I had a set that were so soft, after a hard run you would leave bits of rubber stuck to the ground where you parked it.
Only lasted 4000 miles and were s
t in the wet, but quite grippy when warm.I remember they bought carcasses from someone then put their own tread on ?
Edit, the company is still going !
Edited by Gary C on Saturday 21st January 18:49
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