US October 2015, +2 tire options

[mbell]

Hi,

I know this is well covered topic but seems to be very much a moving target and changes over time?..

Yesterday I ordered a set of Vredestein Sprint Plus (165HR13) for my +2. I was contacted today by the supplier to let me know that Vredestein were stopping production of the tires. They only had two in stock and would be a month before they could get more shipped in from Europe. I need the tire sooner to get the car on the road so had to cancel my order. The pricing was ~$90/tire including shipping, the other suppliers were ~$115 a tire with shipping. At $115 + Fitting it is getting very expensive so need to consider my options gain.

Apart from the Vedestien Sprint Plus (and XAS) I am only finding tier 2/3 branded tires that it is hard to get any real data for quality on. Does anyone have an experience on 165r13 tires that are available in the US?

Thanks,

Mark

[theelanman]

I cant actually help with tyres in the US but thought Id point you here
I have been using these guys recently
they are based in Germany but deliver all over Europe
they dont actually list a USA option but I suggest you drop them a line......hey at worst they can only say no.......

https://www.tyreleader.co.uk/car-tyres-165-80-13/

the have 80+ tyres listed......

I have these on the steel rims
https://www.tyreleader.co.uk/car-tyres/ ... -87t-46012

and I have these on the alloys
https://www.tyreleader.co.uk/car-tyres/ ... 82t-407007

[vincereynard]

Good resource.

And they have my favourite - Conti Eco 3!

https://www.tyreleader.co.uk/car-tyres/ ... -83t-11127

They might be available in the US.

I actually was considering XAS but the price is just silly.

Vince

[mbell]

Thanks, I've pinged them to see if they can ship to the US as they have multiple options I would go with if available over here!

I need to see if I can locate any of them over here. I spent a decent amount of time searching US based online suppliers and this is the list of options I came up with.

Tier 1
Michelin XAS ~$258.00
Vredestein Sprint Plus ~$100

Tier 2
MAXXIS MA-202 ~$65

Tier 3
(EPTYREs) ACCELERA ECO ~$35
Nankang CX668 ~$45
Primewell PS850 Radial Tire ~$50
(EPTYREs) FORCEUM ULTRA ~$65
WESTLAKE TIRES SP06 ~$50
Vee Rubber: City Star V2 ~$50
Aeolus: GreenAce AG02 ~$40
Achilles: Platinum 7 ~$35
Deestone: R202 ~$35
Trazano H550A ~$60

I think there a very few of these I would really consider. So more digging required....

[Tahoe]

Are they discontinuing all of the Sprint Plus sizes? If they are that really sucks! That was/is the only tire left that is affordable and looks the part. I refuse to buy any of the other crap offered, and don't relish paying big money for the Michelins I managed to buy the end of the run Sumitomos and I'm wearing those out fast.

Anyone have a good alternative in North America?

[mbell]

All I know us what the supplier told me "they are stopping production on them". How true this is and how much of the range /sizes it might affect am not sure. He did say it was strange as he did sell quite a lot of them and he could get some more from Holland but would take a month, which is longer than I can wait. When/if the supply will completely dry up I have no idea.

I suspect the more expensive suppliers will still have some in stock. Just can't quite being my self to pay what they charge!

What seems to be shocking is the complete lack of options over here when Europe seems to have lots. I guess there must be some good reason they don't sell them all here (e.g. DOT regulations).

[mbell]

Just to update this. I decided to go with 175/70r13 tyres in the end. The main driver for this was just the generally availability of the tyres v 165/80r13 over here, especially for if I needed to get a replacement tyre while on a longer trip.

After a lot of reading of reviews I went for "Barum Brillantis 2". Barum is a owned by Continental and produces tyres in the Czech Republic. Brillantis 2 is summer tyre with a good amount of test results available online, motoring press reviews and user reviews with consistent feedback: Good dry grip, decent wet grip, good handling and low noise. The consistent negative is higher than expected wear, which I see as a good sign for an Elan/+2 as it indicates a nice soft tyre and isn't like I'll be doing a huge number of miles in the car.

At $38 a tyre from Discount tires I decided i could risk trying them and if they are not good it wouldn't be that much of an issue to replace them. I had them fitted on Wednesday and the fitters didn't report any problems getting them fitted on the +2 alloys. The car isn't on the road yet so not tried them but they do seem to be quite a soft rubber.

The fitters did point out that there has been some interference between my wheels and suspension. This seems to have been caused combination of a DPO fitting a too large diameter washer behind the the lower wishbone bolt and a wheel that is hard to get seated square won the hub. This wheel bent the over sized washer so that it would contact a correctly fitted wheel. I've adjusted the washer diameter and will take more care fitting the troublesome wheel in the future.

[Lordflashart]

I just bought a set of Vreds of a guy who is an eBay seller but also has a website. He is a reseller for Coker Tire I think.

Try this

http://www.collectorsautosupply.com/


Paul