tyres

[dhla40]

Hi

I have just bought a 1976 S3 coupe that needs new tyres and I would like to hear some opinions on the best size and pressure to use and any preferred make.  I have some old alfa wheels with 185/70/14s that are quite good, would these be too big?

Sean

[Richard Fridd]

i suggest the best option is to use original make/spec tyres as these are part of the suspension design.they obviously look the part too.185s really need a 6" rim.those campos in spares for sale section look very tempting!

[lancialulu]

Stick with 165 14 std or 80 ratio. Michelin do an energy tyre which i find similar to the XAS (which I think you still can get via Omicron or Longstone). I also have tried Dunlop sp200's which were fine. You need a compliant side wall. Low profile (even 70%) defeats this requirement.

happy motoring with delicate Fulvia steering!

Tim

[dhla40]

I got full set of tubeless 165-80/14 made by falken, are the pressures listed in the original handbook ok for modern tyres or have people found they need to be higher(or lower)?

Sean

[St Volumex]

Hi Sean,

We cannot get any 165-80-14" tyres for Fulvias in South Africa, but have found that 175-80s work fine. 

The original pressure in the handbook is fine, but I usually run ours at about 2.1-2.2 bar even though this is a little hard for town driving comfort, the payoff in roadholding and fuel economy is worth it.

Low profiles are no good (see Tim's comment) and anything too wide will end up fouling the suspension.

Kindest regards,

[chriswgawne]

There seem to be lots of threads for Fulvia tyres so apologies if this isn't in the best one.
I have just fitted a set of 5 Falken Sincera SN832 165/80 R14 with an A rain rating to our GTE saloon as the existing tyres were pretty old, albeit with a lot of tread left in them.
It absolutely poured with rain last night for the first time for many weeks (so excellent for our vines) so I went for a drive and was very pleased with the roadholding. The new tyres look better in my view than the 155/82 x 14 originals filling the wheel arches slightly more, the steering is not affected and the circumference is only 3% greater which is, if anything, a benefit as from time to time we wish the car had a 5th gear.
I bought them from pneus-online for €291.79 delivered (in 2 working days) and had them fitted by an excellent fitter locally for €40 + €10 tip.
They were by no means the cheapest tyre and when balancing the wheels, the maximum weight needed was 20 gms which is a reflection on the quality of the wheels and also the quality of the tyres.
Chris

[dhla40]

Those are the same as I fitted which were fine but tended to squeal a bit on corners (or maybe I was going too fast ) so I have now fitted falken 175/70/14 which for me are the best balance between grip and ride comfort.

Sean

[Neil]

I fitted the same tyres on my S2 coupe in the same size as Chris, they do generally have good grip and squeal when cornering hard as per the old Michelin's I had fitted back in the 1980s (ZX/MX).  In the wet they are not too bad either, they were challenged at LMC Trackday at Goodwood earlier this year, but most tyres would have struggled in the wet/hail when trying to drive beyond normal road conditions, they do stick to the road very well.  

Sean, did you fit the 175/70 to Fulvia steel wheels or Cromadoras?

Neil

[dhla40]

5.5J and 6J cromodoras, some sources say 175 are the limit for 4.5J steels but I have not tried this.

Sean