Fulvia tyres

[JollyClubUK]

Looks great Glyn sits perfectly on the tarmac.

[Wangler]

Nick - if you're feeling like treating yourself to an expensive Christmas present:

https://ricambilanciafulvia.it/en/product/lowered-rear-leaf-springs-fulvia-corsa-available-soon/

[Nick2022]

Hmmm......tempted

[andyps]

Hi Nick,

This is very timely since I am in the middle of replacing my S2 1600HF tyres and also deciding on the future of my wheels (Cromodora 14x6J).

The Owners handbook specifies Michelin XAS 175 14.  Their profile is not explicitly given, but in its absence you can assume that is 80%.  I have been using a 175/80 Firestone tyre, but the Michelin XASs are now available from Longstone Tyres (Wangler has provided a link) and I have just bought a set. Putting them alongside the Firestones is interesting - the XASs have an asymmetric tread pattern (the outer and inner faces are marked) and a rounded shoulder - the Firestones are quite square in comparison.  My Firestones are also over 20 years old (with surprisingly little wear, so they must be a very hard compound), and I am hoping the new tyre will make the steering a bit lighter at low speeds on grippy surfaces.

There is a really interesting interview with Dougal from Longstone Tyres on the latest episode of The Intercooler podcast where he talks about why period correct tyres suit classic cars so well. Link to the podcast here - https://www.the-intercooler.com/library/podcasts/all-podcast/

[GlynW]

There is a really interesting interview with Dougal from Longstone Tyres on the latest episode of The Intercooler podcast where he talks about why period correct tyres suit classic cars so well. Link to the podcast here - https://www.the-intercooler.com/library/podcasts/all-podcast/

Thanks, Andy.  The tubed/tubeless question has also been addressed by Dougal from Longstone Tyres on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWJ-tWP3iU0.  This link was originally posted by Beckerman67 in a Fulvia Forum thread in April 2023, but it is worth adding here, just for completeness.

[waterman42]

Nick - if you're feeling like treating yourself to an expensive Christmas present:

https://ricambilanciafulvia.it/en/product/lowered-rear-leaf-springs-fulvia-corsa-available-soon/

Well I was gearing up to doing the business with the silentblocs and heavy weights in boot as per earlier description until reading this. If the adjustment can be done by the method described, why buy these springs?     

[lancialulu]

Nick - if you're feeling like treating yourself to an expensive Christmas present:

https://ricambilanciafulvia.it/en/product/lowered-rear-leaf-springs-fulvia-corsa-available-soon/

Well I was gearing up to doing the business with the silentblocs and heavy weights in boot as per earlier description until reading this. If the adjustment can be done by the method described, why buy these springs?     

Best to try setting the rear springs IMHO..
Also been following this tyre business as I run tubeless wire wheels on my TR6 after tube blowouts on tubed wire wheels and for the last 20 years I have run a variety of tubeless tyres on original cromodoras and campagnolas on 3 Fulvias and do 10,000 km a year without issue. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, what!

[Wangler]

I don’t know, but my thinking, which I’m quite happy for someone to shoot down in flames, is that you are compressing something to an abnormal extent (that is to say more than the weight it has naturally got) then locking it in position.

To me, that doesn’t really seem a satisfactory engineering solution. Surely is better for it to sit as it should do (or as perhaps you want it to) without the addition of any weights to make it do achieve it. The springs and all the attachments are under permanent stress when you compress them and then lock them all into position. I just don’t like the sound of it.

[lancialulu]

I don’t know, but my thinking, which I’m quite happy for someone to shoot down in flames, is that you are compressing something to an abnormal extent (that is to say more than the weight it has naturally got) then locking it in position.

To me, that doesn’t really seem a satisfactory engineering solution. Surely is better for it to sit as it should do (or as perhaps you want it to) without the addition of any weights to make it do achieve it. The springs and all the attachments are under permanent stress when you compress them and then lock them all into position. I just don’t like the sound of it.

Its what Lancia designed. I think they knew a thing or two.

[nistri]

When playing with rear springs and weights it is advisable to check the correct operation of the brake limiter valve of S2/3 cars. IMHO the red coupe that looks too high at the back is in fact far too low at the front.

[Wangler]

I don’t know, but my thinking, which I’m quite happy for someone to shoot down in flames, is that you are compressing something to an abnormal extent (that is to say more than the weight it has naturally got) then locking it in position.

To me, that doesn’t really seem a satisfactory engineering solution. Surely is better for it to sit as it should do (or as perhaps you want it to) without the addition of any weights to make it do achieve it. The springs and all the attachments are under permanent stress when you compress them and then lock them all into position. I just don’t like the sound of it.

Its what Lancia designed. I think they knew a thing or two.

Fair point - I did ask for it!

A question though. If you were to take an unmolested original Fulvia and undo all the links etc. ready to compress the springs with weights, by how much would it rise?

[nistri]

Despite my fairly high mileage I never had the need to replace or reset the rear springs even though I did replace a number of bushes. At the front it looks as if the car needs new rubber buffers that link the transverse spring to the suspensions. These deteriorate often and should be seen as consumables. Please note that, on the market, there are short and long buffers; however, the original ones are the long ones and hopefully should be made with rubber material that does not perish very quickly. Modern replacements can be of poor quality.