[Healeys] 100-4 Tires

[WILLIAM B LAWRENCE]

Yeah, the main problem I’ve had is with the width.  Wider tires don’t work well with the tighter opening.
________________________________
From: gradea1 at charter.net <gradea1 at charter.net>
Sent: Saturday, September 19, 2020 5:57 AM
To: 'WILLIAM B LAWRENCE' <ynotink at msn.com>
Cc: 'Bob Spidell' <bspidell at comcast.net>; 'healeys at autox.team.net' <healeys at autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: [Healeys] 100-4 Tires

Here is the factory original 590-15 Dunlop Road Speed mounted on the standard 48 spoke rim. This is an early car and it has the "big" fenders and the "A" springs, so the clearance is tighter than the later cars. They do fit and have not seen any scrubbing, but try to put your hand in to roll the car and watch out for pinching!  I have to carefully roll it from the rear tires.

Also, here is picture of the Michelin 165SR 15 radials mounted on the stock 60 spoke wheels on my BJ8 which, by the way originally, when new, likewise came with Dunlop 590-15 bias tires. I still have the spare.

As a driving set for the 100, I bought Michelin165-15 to use on tours, but due to the covid have not tried them out. They will have good clearance as they are much shorter than the 590s.  The bias tires are a bit scary and unless you use tire guards under them when storing the car, they run with a flat spot for about 5 miles. Hank


-----------------------------------------

From: "WILLIAM B LAWRENCE via Healeys"
To: "Bob Spidell", "healeys at autox.team.net"
Cc:
Sent: Friday September 18 2020 12:18:08PM
Subject: Re: [Healeys] 100-4 Tires

I have Vredestein Sprint Classic 175-70 R15s on mine and I think they look too short. If I were to do it again I would go for Vredestein's 165 HR 15s They are 80 series and notably taller than the 175-70s. I got mine from Vulcan Tire and the price was right. I tried larger tires and always had clearance issues.

Bill Lawrence
BN1 #554
________________________________
From: Healeys <healeys-bounces at autox.team.net> on behalf of Bob Spidell <bspidell at comcast.net>
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2020 2:47 PM
To: healeys at autox.team.net <healeys at autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: [Healeys] 100-4 Tires

Depends on the rims. I believe original rims for a 100 are 4 inches wide (with 48 spokes); if you look at tire guides the largest tire recommended for that size rim, in a radial, is a 165/70-15. A larger tire on a 48-spoke wheel would probably break spokes (when I put 185/70 tires on my BJ8 with 60-spoke wheels I broke several spokes). When I bought tires for my BN2, there were very few options in that size--actually, only one because it doesn't get driven all that much and I didn't want to break the bank--which Walmart special ordered for me. They are Nexen brand, made in S. Korea. I think they look good, handle well and were about $60/ea at the time (see attached).

A few days ago I pulled the wheels to top up the shocks and discovered the spines are worn on both the wheels and the hubs (I'm a little disappointed in myself for not catching that, but we were deep in a restoration and trying to get it back on the road).  Looks like a new set of hubs and wheels is in my future; I'm debating going with 4.5" rims with 175/80s. I'll give Allan Hendrix a call when it's time.

Bob


On 9/18/2020 6:08 AM, Charles Schott via Healeys wrote:
Can anyone recommend a correct looking tire for the 100-4? The guy I'm restoring the BN2 for can get a substantial discount at Coker, so tires they sell would be preferable. Thanks.

Regards,

Charlie

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://autox.team.net/pipermail/healeys/attachments/20200919/d67b2a70/attachment.htm>