Bridgrestone Insignia (review)

[murray720]

185/80/13

what a fiasco. i hate these tires, and even more so the tire shop i bought them from (but that's another story that i'll have to add later).

they don't track right AT ALL. i consistently have to re-adjust, even while going straight. it takes a lot of leaning to get set in a turn, and once set, don't even think about being on the gas or you'll fly right off the road.

i needed to replace the firestones because of age and i hate that the new tires cannot perform to an equal standard of the old. the surface area that touches the ground is at least 1 1/2" less than the firestones but the shop continues to tell me they'll flatten out in time. i can't imagine the width will grow 1 1/2 inches.

[BoneStock]

were your old tires 185's? I wonder if your camber is way off in the front and or rear which your old tires were 'used to'. THats about the only excuseable reason I can think of which would cause your old tires to handle better

[murray720]

I'm sure I need the alignment done and I would have had it done already if it wasn't for the crapy shop i went to. The thing is is that the old tires had a ton of meat left, and where they were worn they were worn evenly. I have two days left until Bridgestone's "30 day test drive" ends. I guess I can have the alignment done tomorrow then see how it drives for a day, but honestly I think it's a matter of extremely poor quality tires.

oh,
and the old ones were 185s

I want 14" Bunt Cakes (as someone suggested earlier)

[Mark DiSilvestro]

I had 175x70R13 Pirellis on an old Sunbeam Alpine. For 7 years, they were great tires but eventually rotted and one came apart on me. Unfortunately those Pirellis were no longer availible so I was persuaded to get Japanese Dunlops (without a money-back guarantee!).
They were marked 175x70R13 but were obviously thinner/taller than the Pirellis and the great handling I had previously enjoyed was gone!

Apparently different manufacturers interpret tire sizes differently. Different rubber compounds as well as the difference between worn, aged rubber and new rubber will also affect tire perfomance.
This is why I'm reluctant to switch to some off-brand or Japanese 13 inch tire, even though it would be the easy solution. Maybe I will keep looking for 14 inch rims.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[psfred]

The width of the rubber on the road isn't what the tire size means -- that is the widest part of the tire, and believe me, the tread width and depth VARY.

The cheaper the tire, the less tread there will be, both width and depth.

See if you can get some Firestone Affinity LH30s in that size -- very nice tires, decent price ($75 or so for 205/70/14). Lots of tread, nice and deep, very good handling.

Don't save money on tires, you will get killed.

Peter

[Mark DiSilvestro]

The problem is that our Fintails use 185/80R13 tires, an obsolete tire size and it's the tire manufacturers that are saving money on tires by not manufacturing a quality tire or only marketing cheapie tires in that size. If I want to put new Pirellis or Michelins on my 220S, I'm going to need a set 14 inch rims, otherwise I feel we're scraping the bottom of the barrel, tire-wise.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[Walter59SL]

Think Toyo!

800 Ultra in 185/80-13

$53+tax+shipping on line from a place in Los Angeles. $70 at Discount Tire installed with tax (I think.)

I've heard positive things and that's what I decided on for my 190SL.

Gotta run,
Walt....

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Walt,
Let us know how you like them. Maybe I can still avoid rim swapping.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[Walter59SL]

If you search on 185/80* you will get my older posts and you will see the various tire options. My car is not ready to drive yet. Waiting on some last items before we paint. Most likely I will not order the tires until I can actually use their 3 month try out period. If you don't like the tires you can give them back. It is sad we have to deal with this, but I do not want to spend close to $200 each for the Michelin 640x13 or the (not available) Mercedes Conti tire of that size and price.

Walt...

[murray720]

I just called Bridgestone and because of my, "Tire Man" drama, they may be willing to extend my 30 day test drive. I'm waiting for a call from corporate.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

I'm in no big hurry for tires at the moment. Between Euro-headlight restoration and other projects my tire search has stalled. It got chilly again this week, but if the weather is rain&snow-free tommorrow, I may run up to 'Mr Tire' and see if he's still got those Yokahamas.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[psfred]

Mark:

There are some small cars that still use 13" tires, but I'd bet they aren't 185/80s.

Stinks that it's hard to find decent tires for a good car.

The good thing is that 14" rims shouldn't be that hard to come by if they have the same offset as the W108.

Peter

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Murray's and my experience with replacement Japanese tires doesn't inspire confidence in the availible 13 inch replacement tires. If I stay with the 13 inchers, I'll need an 80 series.

If I decide on larger rims, 14 inch rims from a 230SL/250SL and W108s through 1967 would be ideal as those rims had the little 'tits' to secure the small hubcaps. 14 inch rims from later W108, W114/115 and possibly W123 might work but I'd have to fit later style hubcaps or modify those rims to accept mine.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[murray720]

Bad news
I went to get my alignment done this morning and it turns out I have a busted kingpin. I've seen one on ebay recently. Is this a project in which I should replace more of the front end, or is just replacing the king pin sufficient?

1963 220s (One-eyed Willy)

[BoneStock]

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