Merrill

I have original 14" Bundt wheels (205/70/R14).

What is the best tire for me? Are there many choices?

abiby

Not a lot of choices for the stock size. I actually used that as an excuse to the wife for upgrading to 15" rims.

I'd recommend going on the tirerack site, drilling down through the tire reviews for that size and comparing what's available. When I was doing my comparison, I made a list of what was important for my car with price and road noise near the top of the list. I've been happy with my choice.

Dougal Cawley

Hi

I would recommend not fitting 15" wheels that will compromise the ride. i would also recommend not fitting modern tyres, they will compromise the handling.

modern tyres are designed for modern cars, which have a very different set up to a car that was designed in the '70s.

there is also an excellent choice of tyres

https://www.borrani.com/tyres/205-70...helin-xwx.html

&

https://www.borrani.com/pirelli-tyre...cinturato.html

Bothe period carcass design which suits these cars, both i believe original equipment and bothe excellent quality. there is no reason to fit anything else except if it is cheap, but then of course it isn't as good.

myway

Why not use 15" wheels? Mercedes did on the '86'-89 107. They also had 15x7 Bundts for the 107. AMG used 16x8 wheels on the 107.

Dougal Cawley

I would suggest that wasn't the only thing they changed. There would be other subtle adjustments to the suspension and probably steering to make them suit these tyres. Or shall we say; take advantage of what modern tyres have to offer. cars and tyres have evolved together. putting modern tyres on an old car doesn't make it better.

An AMG car is different thing altogether, built for a different job. What we do know, is that the ride in an AMG car is not as good as a standard road car. AMG sacrifice a comfortable ride to make it better as a track car.

If i were to change one thing on my, much more modern, Mercedes, it would be throw away the stupid massive AMG wheels and put it back on the 16"s that Mercedes recommend for my car. However people ignore the consequences and go for the bigger wheel because it looks cool.

However i don't think an old Merc looks cool on a bigger wheel, in fact quite the opposite. The reason to go for a 15" wheel is to buy cheap tyres.

Taller side walls give a more comfortable ride.

Rounded shoulders, and thinner foot prints track less and give more progressive handling.

But the good news is that we have a good selection of period tyres in the size 205/70VR14 from 2 of the worlds best tyre manufacturers Pirelli Cinturato & Michelin XWX there is no need to change.

myway

AMG was a company that offered alacarte options. Not all were performance. The 16x8s ride fine IMO.

What about the 15x7 Bundts made by Fuch. Same company that made the 14x6.5 Bundts. MB offered the 15'' for 107s back around 1979 or so. They are still available. 15" tires are readily available in the US and less expensive than what you linked. There is really no need for VR rated tires in the US unless you are going racing.

Dougal Cawley

Hi

True, there are plenty of cheapo 15" tyres available, but they will give a more harsh ride than a 14" tyre. you just can't change the laws of physics.

Yes if you want a cheap tyre that is possibly the way to go, but if you want the best ride then 6" of side wall absorbs more vibration than 5.5"

Also i would suggest that part of the reason you can get cheap tyres is because they are from lesser tyre manufacturers than Michelin and Pirelli.

I would also suggest that just because the law doesn't state that you have to have a V rated tyre in the States, i would still suggest that you want to fit a tyre that is appropriate to the car. tyres shouldn't be bought on price.

(However, i can imagine that everyone who reads this post is thinking; "listen to that righteous tosser, he would say that, he is just trying to sell us tyres". it is a relevant point, i am making the effort to post on this forum, to sell tyres (well to inform you of what you can buy) but in your heart of hearts you know i'm right really.)

Incidentally you can buy these in the States from http://www.lucasclassictires.com/Pir...turato_c54.htm

myway

Well in my heart of hearts I think you are being ridiculous. There is nothing wrong with going 15" and 15" V rated tires are easier to find. I think V rated is not necessary here in the states.

Dougal Cawley

Hi

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with 15" tyres, it is just that 14" tyres will give you a more comfortable ride, and especially so, on the earlier cars that were definitely set up to run on a tyre with that height of side wall and immportantly that style of carcass design to give the car the right feel.

It is also worth noting that only the 205/70VR14 tyres Pirelli Cinturato CN12 http://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/page...rato-cn36.html and Michelin XWX http://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/page...helin-xwx.html have a suitable carcass. And i'm not talking about speed rating, they have the rounded side walls that give cars of that period the right ride.

So for instance when you move onto a 7" rim instead of a 6.5" rim and 15" instead of 14". the wider rim and lesser side wall height gives greater rigidity to the tyre, but that is only beneficial on a more modern car that is able to take advantage of these tyre technologies. And that always comes at the expense of the comfort that the tyre itself contributes to. A modern car on the incredibly wide and low profile tyres that we run on today are a completely different beast to a '70s designed car.

My suggestion is that when Mercedes started fitting a 15" tyre as standard equipment there were other changes that were made to the steering and suspension of the car to make it more able to take advantage of what the modern tyre technology was offering.

The car and the tyre have developed together. When the tyre developed the car had to change to take advantage of what a tyre offered, likewise when the car developed the tyre developed to suit it.

15" tyres and V rated tyres are cheaper to find.

It is not difficult to buy these tyres. You can buy them from here http://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/page/mercedes-tyres where we have made a start on making a fitment guide for Classic Mercedes, which granted isn't much cop yet but we will get there. we ship them all over the world, often the carriage is free to most places. you can also ring us 0044 1302 711123. It is easy.

And if you are in the States just get them from Lucas tires http://www.lucasclassictires.com/205...057014CN36.htm

breastroker

Sorry but that is a dumb statement. I will not put any tire not rated at least V, preferring W and Z ratings. Say you are driving along in a 4200 pound 450 SLC at 75 miles an hour. Here in southern Nevada it isn't unusual to be 115 degrees in the shade. The asphalt can get hot enough to almost melt, easily over 180 degrees.

The better rubber compounds and construction of V,Z and W rated tires could save your car as well as your life.

Worse yet is when your tires on your classic car are over three years old. The rubber oxidizes and the risk of a blow out is many times a new tire.

Also 15 and 16 inch tires can give a better and more comfortable ride, not worse! Please tell me which laws of physics? This is about engineering and every year the engineering gets better.

myway

Sorry but it is not.

Dougal Cawley

I think the only reason to buy a tyre that is not V rated is because you can gert cheaper tyres.

And the not changing the laws of physics is about:

• tyres with taller sidewalls absorb the bumps of the road better and give a more comfortable ride
• wider tyres make the steering more heavy on non powersteering cars