MG MGB and MGB GT Tech Talk
Searching Tire Rack, I've narrowed my choice down to four tires in 185/70R14. Does anyone have experience with any of these tires? I want a good all-around tire (handling most important, ride and noise second, don't care about longevity).
BFGoodrich Radial T/A
Bridgestone B381
Firestone Firehawk Indy 500
Bridgestone Turzana LS-T
Check out the Sumitumo's HTR 200's I believe... I love 'em
Ed Sweeney wrote:
> Check out the Sumitumo's HTR 200's I believe... I love 'em
I belive they are the best choice. I have them on my B. Had them on my Honda. They are cheap. They are H rated summer only tire. All all-season are a compromise. At least these are designed for summer only, which is what 90% of B owners drive in.
Best tire I have driven on in the rain. Quiet tire.
Paul
I was very happy with the Bridgestone Eager series, very aggressive tire, and the wear was ok for such a tire. I ran the 195/65/14. It gives a little wider tire but not that much taller. Great for autocross/slaloming if you want to drive home on the same tires that you compete in. 7 years ago they were about $70-80 ea. I need to get tires soon, I'll start looking in about a month or so.
Unfortunately I need an all-season tire because it will get driven in the rain. This morning I did five 4-wheel drifts driving through the canyons on my way to work. When the roads get wet here they get kinda exciting. These are going on my daily driver GT, not on the convetible which gets driven a lot harder.
The Avid HS4 don't appear to come in 70-series. THe Sumitomos look like great tires but I've read a few user reveiws that say the sidewalls are weak. I'll be using 70-series so that's a concern. Anyone use these in 70-series?
One thing I noticed on the specs on those tires is that the Bridgestone B381 is 3-4 lbs lighter per tire that the other three.
I've got Cooper tires on both my Subaru and Miata. The original Bridgestones (I think) and Dunlops on the Miata both hydroplaned terribly. Put the Coopers on the Subaru and the problem was gone. Same for the Miata.
Can't remember....I'll check when I get home and let you know! To me, for a daily driver, wet weather traction is most important. Any tire out there will stick well enough to get me to and from work in the dry.....
I've had Michelin's (second set now) on my B since I bought it 20 years ago. I 'm very satisfied and we drive our car all summer regardless of the weather. It has been fine in the rain (even through the tail end of a hurricane in the Adirondak Mountains) and the handeling is great. I'd check them out before you buy anything. They have what a friend called an "aggressive looking tread". I got mine through Coker Tire.
George Herschell
Okay, so he's asking for a performance tyre. What about a decent quiet tire that lasts? and what about the same, but that's reasonable during the winter (wet. When it snows, the B doesn't go anywhere)
Steve S wrote:
> Unfortunately I need an all-season tire because it will get
> driven in the rain.
Like I said...the sumis are the best in the rain...3 large channels in them to get rid of water quickly...I can not break the tires loose in the rain at all. I was able to break the tires loose with my michelin mxv4 tires a LOT easier.
>
> The Avid HS4 don't appear to come in 70-series. THe Sumitomos
> look like great tires but I've read a few user reveiws that say
> the sidewalls are weak. I'll be using 70-series so that's a
> concern. Anyone use these in 70-series?
>
I have read that too. But after 4-5 years driving on them between 2 cars, with a few autocrosses on them...I have to say that they are super. Sure the sidewall might not be as stiff as a S-03 and the like..but it is an H rated tire...not a Z, W or even Y.
They will have stiffer sidewall than any S or T rated tire and perform better. There is no other H rated tire, other than the Firestone Affinity (lousy tire, tried them on another car).
There is no way these tires will lose traction with a B unless you are on ice or snow.
Tirerack.com customer rating listed it as #1 in that class of tire, including wet and dry traction
Don't discount them because they are only $39 each.
Paul
Steve.....Cooper Cobra. The Miata wears 185-60 14s, but they have that same tire in a 70 series. $318.53 total including stems, tax & lifetime balance & rotation.
The Miata is pretty close to the size and weight of your GT, so they should perform about the same. I'm real happy with the traction (wet or dry), and they are MUCH quieter than the Dunlops that came on that car. Too early to tell about wear yet, but the ones on the Sub have about 20,000 on them - and they still look new. When my 'B needs tires, that's probably what it'll get. I think they are a good value for the money - especially for the way most of us drive our cars.
Pirelli's that's probably what I will end up getting. I really like the way they look. I think that the Ultimate B has them, don't you Jeff? I remember seeing one in one of the pictures.
Paul,
What size Sumitomo are you running? They sound pretty good, especially when you factor in the price. Have you autocrossed with them as well? I'm thinking of going with the 195 70 14's.
-- Scott
Has anyone heard of Sumitomo Negotiators? My local tire shop says he carries that tire and it's on par with the HTR200. I can't ven find it in the catalog so it's either new or he's full of crap.
Anyone?
Scott, that's a HUGE tire for autocrossing. 195/70 will have an enormously tall sidewall. I'd go with something smaller (lower profile) for that purpose which will not only handle better but give better acceleration. I have a 195/70 mounted on a wire wheel if you want a photo. It looks like a truck tire compared to the tires on the MG.
Scott C wrote:
> Paul,
>
> What size Sumitomo are you running? They sound pretty good,
> especially when you factor in the price. Have you autocrossed
> with them as well? I'm thinking of going with the 195 70 14's.
>
>
> -- Scott
>
For the street I use the sumi 185/70/14. I have autocrossed on them. Not super like my r-compound Kumho.... but far better grip than my michelin MXV4 that I had on my Honda. If the event has fun-runs at the end of the day...I may use the sumis ....otherwise I use the kumho.
I wouldnt use the 195/70 way too tall. 185 would be similar to stock size. if you have dedicated rims for racing..go with 195/55 or 205/55 ( I use 195)
There are a lot of tires out there that people run...but most do not come in the 185/70 size.
I would not do serious autocrossing on them..unless you are on a serious budget. They are good for fun.. but not for stiff competition.
Paul
Thanks Paul. I'm not going to race the car at all competitively. What I'm looking for is something a little wider but not necessarily taller. I have 185 70's on the car now and it looks like another 10mm will fit no problem. What would you suggest size wise for a street driven car?
-- Scott
185-70-14 should make your speedo accurate and is the best match for the OE size. 175-70-14 will work well too. 195 will give too much speedo error.
Paul
175/70 works well for general use. 185/65 or 70 is great for added performance. 195/60 is the perfect compliment for the car if the suspension has been stiffened. Wider does not seem to do anything but prevent the tires from heating up properly unless you're racing.
Steve,
I didn't notice your posts earlier. It looks like the 195/70's are more than a half inch bigger in diameter than the 185/70's yet the 195/60's are almost an inch smaller in diameter than the 185/70's, I see what both you & Paul mean. There doesn't seem to be a good in-between in a 195 width. With my v6 I'll need as much bite as I can get because of the torque the engine is capabile of producing. Looks like I'll need to give this more thought before purchasing. Thanks again to you both for the input.
-- Scott
If installing a V6 I'd go with the 195s. Not only will you get more rubber on the roa but you will get a much better selection of high performance tires. You'll need a farily soft compound to keep tracion on the rear. Even with the additional power I would be wary of going any larger. An MGB is a very light car.
