205/60VR14 - No Longer Available?

[darkbluewedge]

I'm having difficulty finding new tyres for my wedge. They are the original Tasmin 205/60VR14 and I was running Bridgestone RE71s but they are NLA.

Can I still get the V rated tyre or is it possible to get my insurance company to agree to use the H rated tyre instead?

Tyre supplier said he could get me Yokos in a H.

Cheers,

DarkBlueWedge

[wee man]

Here are some H rated, they have no V's.

www.blackcircles.com/public/order?view=standard

Wee man.

[micha]

the v-ones arent produced anymore since years....and h-rated ones are, like you already stated, "illegal".

so you have 2 chances: try to get a written contract with your insurance that they will accept the h-rated ones (i dont guess they will do) or change the alloys to 15inch ones...

depends where you live, also these 15 inch ones must be certified for the use on TVR cars (here in germany it is like that)....and so you have the next problem.

its the same problem with lotus elcat/elite/excel....as i also own such cars, too...i´ve twice your problem.

[adam quantrill]

How about 225/40R14 Toyo Proxes T1-R 82V Tyre.

This is about 10% smaller rolling radius.

[micha]

10%..............not allowed!!!!!!!!!!!!


max is 2,5% and the tyres-size must be certified by the car AND wheel constructor, otherwise its again "illegal" and you will have the same trouble insurance-wise.

also 70,10 euro (incl.shipping) is compared to the original size relatively expensive.

www.tyresave.co.uk/tyresize.html

Edited by micha on Monday 2nd April 22:03

[micha]

the alternative is 195 / 65-14 V (all below prices include shipping when ordering 4 pieces)

Bridgestone
Potenza RE 88
195/65 R14 89V NZ 92,90 EUR

Toyo
PROXES CF 1
195/65 R14 89V 63,50 EUR

Hankook
OPTIMO K406
195/65 R14 89V 4PR 69,20 EUR

Kumho
KH15
195/65 R14 89V 70,70 EUR

Semperit
SPEED-COMFORT
195/65 R14 89V 78,80 EUR

[micha]

interesting: the toyo costs same ammount in pound as in euro...so its 50% more expensive in uk!!!

[adam quantrill]

micha said:

interesting: the toyo costs same ammount in pound as in euro...so its 50% more expensive in uk!!!

Yeah, you don't need to tell us we're being ripped off - again!!!

Where does your 2.5% figure for rolling radius come from Micha - is this a local regulation?

Over here we just inform our insurance co.

Plenty of wedges have 225's fitted as standard. I even have 245's on the 400SX, the insurance co is quite happpy with this.

[JR]

darkbluewedge said:

I'm having difficulty finding new tyres for my wedge. They are the original Tasmin 205/60VR14 and I was running Bridgestone RE71s but they are NLA.

Can I still get the V rated tyre or is it possible to get my insurance company to agree to use the H rated tyre instead?

The situation for tyres and wheels in Germany is very different to the situation here so if you live in the UK don't worry about micha's posts.

The original tyres were Goodyear NCT.

I doubt whether you can get V rated 205/60/14s now.

Legally in the UK you need a tyre which is "suitable for the car and the use to which it is being put."

Insurance contracts have to be executed "Uberrima Fides, this means Utmost Good Faith." If you are in any doubt, drop them a line - it is not usually a problem.

The Falken ZE 512 is a nice tyre.

Happy motoring, Jonathan

[darkbluewedge]

Thanks for the comments.

I found this list of H rated tyres on the internet in 205/60R14 in decending cost:

Toyo F5/F3
Yokohama S306
Fulda Assuro
Falken ZE512
Champiro
Federal S621
Nankang
Jupiter DH1160

Anyone else recommned any of these?

Whats the score with the MOT, will it pass with H rated tyres fitted? Or in this case with 2 V and 2 H tyres...

[JR]

Toyo F5/F3 Don't know
Yokohama S306 Normally found on low powered euroboxes
Fulda Assuro Had Fuldas on my 350i once. Wear quickly and wet grip very poor.
Falken ZE512 Good reputation, esp amongst Cerb owners
Champiro Don't know
Federal S621 Don't know
Nankang Quite good track reputation
Jupiter DH1160 Don't know

No problem with MoT as long as each axle is balanced, "suitable for the car and the use to which it is being put," condition of tyre and depth and spread of tread.

[jchase]

ISTR that the SVA test allows your speedo to be upto 5% higher on road speed, but it is not allowed to under read by any amount. I would assume that the tyre sizes would also follow this, so assuming the manufacturer designs the car with 2.5% over read on the speedo, you would be just about okay with 2.5% either way on rolling radius.

Also, my old Alfa Montreal used Michelin XWX 195-60-14 tyres, and they are still manufactured for italian exotica - the tread design is from the 70s, which means they actually work in the wet. I had no problems on the montreal driving through standing water at over 120mph! (on the autobahn of course) , the monty was about 1100kg so they should suit the Wedge.

-jim

[JR]

jchase said:

ISTR that the SVA test allows your speedo to be upto 5% higher on road speed, but it is not allowed to under read by any amount. I would assume that the tyre sizes would also follow this, so assuming the manufacturer designs the car with 2.5% over read on the speedo, you would be just about okay with 2.5% either way on rolling radius.

Neat maths except that the Vehicle Construction and Use Regulations require a vehicle speedometer accuracy to be in the range of -0->+10%. The implications are that it must never under-read - for obvious reasons - but may over-read by up to 10%.

[adam quantrill]

Well in any case if the rear tyres have changed by 10%, you can also change the speedo drive in the gearbox to suit, to bring the speedo reading back into line.

My suggestion was for a smaller radius, so the speedo would be 10% too high (on top of what it was before).

On the other hand, change the wheels. Rather than go to 15" which have similar problems, go to 16 or 17" where the choices are much better.

[JR]

adam quantrill said:

On the other hand, change the wheels. Rather than go to 15" which have similar problems, go to 16 or 17" where the choices are much better.

Allowing the use of the very popular and cheap 205/55/16.