2013 Matched Set (Non-Stock Sized Rears or Fronts) Tires

[dmc6960]

All four tires...








Made in Thailand.

[Dangermouse]

So is that good or bad?

[NightFlyer]

All four tires...
Made in Thailand.

Thanks Jim!

Majority consumer consensus appears to favor the Thailand made ZIEX ZE-912's over the Japanese made ZIEX ZE-512's - interesting!

I'd still rank the Falken's second best to the Vredesteins for our cars. One advantage to the Falkens is that they're definitely widely available. Vredestein has a limited distribution in the US and a majority of sizes of the Sportrac 5 (and specifically the sizes needed for our cars) currently need to be special ordered from Holland, although they do expect to have all sizes domestically in stock within the next two months. I'm lucky in that I'm just down the road from the largest Vredestein distributor in the county

[NightFlyer]

So is that good or bad?

All depends on what you value.

It appears that the Thailand made 912's are indeed a much better tire than the Japanese made 512's were. However, as far as labor and environmental standards are concerned, Thailand is much more exploitational than Japan is.

Again, I personally go out of my way to try to avoid purchasing products made with exploitational labor/environmental standards whenever possible, even if that means spending a few extra dollars. The price I got on my Vredesteins, which I don't actually have in my possession yet because the Sportrac 5's for the front had to be ordered from Holland, ran about $100 more for the set than the best online price I've seen for a set of the Falken 912's.

To each their own - but I'm sticking with the Dutch/German made Vredesteins for the D from here on out unless something better comes along. The Giugiaro design is an added bonus that I still think is unbelievably cool

FWIW, I run made in USA General Ultimax HP's on my DD and a majority of my other cars and couldn't be happier with them.

[NightFlyer]

Update on my Vredestein tire (tyre) purchase:

The Sportrac 3's in 225/60R15 have been sold out and the model has been discontinued in favor of the Sportrac 5's, so I was unable to get the Sportrac 3's for the rear as originally planned. I was told by my local Vredestein distributor that it would probably take 8-12 weeks before the Sportrac 5's would be available here in the states in the sizes needed for our cars.

So, I contacted Vredestein directly to see if we could get the 225/60R15 and 195/60R14 sizes of the Sportrac 5 sooner than that. I wasn't actually expecting a response from corporate, however, and to my utter surprise, they responded right away and are making sure that the Sportrac 5's in our sizes are being loaded onto the next US bound container!

The corporate rep actually appreciated the Giugiaro connection between our cars and their tyres, and also informed me that they were being hassled by S1-S3 Lotus Esprit owners here in the states for a proper 235/60R15 tire. Although there was no commitment, they may look into producing a 235/60R15 in the near future, so that we'll once again have a matching set option in the OEM sizes! How great would that be, in that not only would we actually have a matching set in the OEM sizes, but with Giugiaro designed tires made in Holland, as opposed to a generic designed tire made in an Asian sweatshop.

Given the fact that they're actually willing to listen and are accommodating my request to ship over the Giugiaro Designed Sportrac 5 in our sizes earlier than originally anticipated, I personally believe that owners should consider Vredestein to be the new standard for DeLorean tires

DMC vendors should definitely consider supporting Vredestein as their official tire provider.

For those interested in getting a matching set of Giugiaro Designed Sportrac 5's in the OEM 195/60R15 in the front and the compromise 225/60R15 in the rear, you can contact The Tire Factory, Inc., via either of their websites:

http://www.tirefactory.net/
http://www.tiresbyweb.com/

The Tire Factory offers free shipping and handling anywhere in the US, so there's no reason to settle for an inferior set of Asian made tires on your car.

Again, the Sportrac 5's walk all over the Falken ZIEX ZE-912 in both professional and consumer reviews.

[jawn101]

Maybe you should actually get yours and drive on them before we go declaring them the gold standard of the world...

It is promising that anyone would even consider doing a run of proper sized tires for us.

[DMCMW Dave]

I don't think you'll find a set of Cooper Cobras anywhere, they've been out of production well over a year now. Any you find (including the clones MasterCraft and probably Hercules) are old stock, be sure to check date codes!

[NightFlyer]

Maybe you should actually get yours and drive on them before we go declaring them the gold standard of the world...

It is promising that anyone would even consider doing a run of proper sized tires for us.

But of course - I should have my set in the next 4-5 weeks or sooner, and will be sure to update with my opinion of the tires and pictures.

It's very encouraging that Vredestein is willing to listen and consider. I would image that the more support they see for the current offerings, the better the chance of a possible run of matching OEM sized tires in the future.

I don't think you'll find a set of Cooper Cobras anywhere, they've been out of production well over a year now. Any you find (including the clones MasterCraft and probably Hercules) are old stock, be sure to check date codes!

No longer looking for a set of the Cooper Cobras or any of the clones - that was a different thread concerning RWL sidewalls. I ended up going with the Vredestein Sportrac 5's. See my other postings in this thread for more info, as well as a current list of all available matching sets in non-stock close compromise sizes.

[Farrar]

DESIGNED BY GIUGIARO

they say 'GIUGIARO' right on the sidewall!

'Giugiaro Design' and logo being used on the sidewall

Those Vredestein Giugiaro tires are absolutely awesome!

DESIGNED BY GIUGIARO

The Giugiaro design is an added bonus

Okay, I'll bite. Is Giugiaro really good at tire design, or does everybody just like the fact that the tires were designed by the same guy who designed the body and have his name on them? Sorry if I seem skeptical, but I'm not the kind of consumer who just runs out and buys something because it has a famous name on it, and I have never heard or read anything about Giugiaro's fantastic tires beating out the competition hands-down in performance and longevity tests.

I'm also amazed at how many people here seem to be driving their DeLorean at speeds exceeding the legal limit on a regular basis.

[jawn101]

Okay, I'll bite. Is Giugiaro really good at tire design, or does everybody just like the fact that the tires were designed by the same guy who designed the body and have his name on them? Sorry if I seem skeptical, but I'm not the kind of consumer who just runs out and buys something because it has a famous name on it, and I have never heard or read anything about Giugiaro's fantastic tires beating out the competition hands-down in performance and longevity tests.

I'm also amazed at how many people here seem to be driving their DeLorean at speeds exceeding the legal limit on a regular basis.

I'm with you on this. I've never even heard of this brand, and always thought of Giugiaro as an aesthetics shop. That's why I said maybe we should see how these tires actually work before we deem them the be-all, end-all of tiredom. Honestly the thread is starting to read a little like an ad for Giugiaro!