I am very happy with the Dunlop SP4n tires on my MGA. I just bought
another new set last June, and have been recommending them to friends. I
now want to buy two more as spares for the Alaska trip in June, but they
now seem to be out of production, permanently.
I'm not impressed with the tread style on the newer SP20's. With a
narrower tread and straighter pattern they look great on my friend's TD,
sort of vintage looking. In fact they impress me as looking very similar
to the original bias ply nylon tires that were standard on the car when
new. Maybe it's just intuition, but the tread looks less aggressive to
me.
Has anyone had driving experience on both the SP4n and SP20 tires for
comparison? Does anyone have a better than subjective opinion as to how
the SP20's handle? Looks like I may have to buy SP20's now, and I'm more
than a little apprehensive.
I really hate mixing tire styles on my MG. The last time I tried that it
really screwed up the handling. With type X on the front and type Y on
the rear, it's very easy to tell which tires grip the road better. If
the front tires grip better than the rear, you run the risk of looping
the car on the first tight turn. If the rear tires grip better, the car
under steers and doesn't like to go around corners.
Has anyone purchased SP4n tires more recently than last June? Does
anyone know where there may still be two of these (165R15) still in
stock? And as a last resort, does anyone have a couple of SP4n tires
(165R15) with at least half the tread still intact that they would like
to sell? (UPS shipping within the US is not a problem).
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA
|