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

[DavidProehl]

Both tires, Conti and Vredestein are only available as 225 60 R15. Only Pirelli offers a 235 tire with correct size. But the P600 are only available for the rear and not for the front. A complete set with original dimensions from one manufacturer are not available. No discussion about SUV tires please.

Christian

Thanks for the clarification!

[NightFlyer]

It would appear that the Continental ContiPremiumContact2, a true summer tire, are indeed offered in a 60 profile with a 195 14" front with an H speed rating and a 225 15" rear with either a V or W speed rating. I'd also like to note that this entire tire line from Continental is now made in either the Czech Republic or Malaysia.

Continental ContiPremiumContact2 - Load: 86/96 Speed: H/V or W (Continental – Czech Republic/Malaysia)

http://www.continental-tires.com/www...-2.html?page=4

They are not offered for retail sale in the US by Continental, and would need to be imported (probably via a retailer, as Continental corporate isn't too good about responding to customer inquiries).

Per the uniform EU tire rating guidelines, the Continentals scored the following:

Rolling Resistance (efficiency): Grade E (bad)
Wet Traction: Grade B (good)
Noise: 71dB

The Vredesteins scored the following:

Rolling Resistance (efficiency): Grade C (pretty good / not bad)
Wet Traction: Grade B (good)
Noise: 71dB

Clearly, the Vredesteins will result in MUCH better fuel economy.

The same review site that gives the Vredesteins a near perfect 98% 'buy again' rating gives the Continentals a mere 63% 'buy again' rating.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Co...-Contact-2.htm

The sentiments expressed about the ContiPremiumContact2 on review sites appear to mirror that of other lines of Continental tyres - when they were made in Germany, they were good, but as soon as they started outsourcing to the Czech Republic and Asia (Malaysia), the quality greatly suffered.

On a personal note, I had a set of Continental ContiTouringContacts that came stock/OEM on my '08 Chrysler 300C Heritage. They were absolute JUNK and by far the worst tire I've ever had the displeasure of having to experience. In fact, they were so bad that there was a class action lawsuit over them and Continental actually had to pay me and other litigants in the class $360/each as a part of the settlement.

http://www.topclassactions.com/lawsu...ion-settlement

I appreciate the info and I'll be sure to the add them to the list, but I cannot in good conscience recommend the Continentals, and especially not over the Vredestein Giugiaro Design Sportrac 5's.

Conclusion: IMHO the Vredestein Giugiaro Design Sportrac 5's are the BEST matched set tires currently available for DeLorean owners.

[chrisp]

Hi NightFlyer,

i agree and are positive surprised!

Tire tests in German motorpress publications attests that the Vredestein Sportrac 5 are an exellent tire.
I would say this tire are one of the best solutions for our cars.

Thanks for posting!

Christian

[NightFlyer]

Hi NightFlyer,

i agree and are positive surprised!

Tire tests in German motorpress publications attests that the Vredestein Sportrac 5 are an exellent tire.
I would say this tire are one of the best solutions for our cars.

Thanks for posting!

Christian

Thank you for posting and informing us about the Continentals - completeness was the goal with the list.

Too bad Continental no longer makes that tire in Germany, as had they, it would have given the Vredesteins a run for the money. There have been too many complaints of quality problems though ever since they moved production to the Czech Republic and Malaysia.

Even though Vredestein is owned by Apollo of India, Apollo made the decision to keep Vredestein a wholly independent subsidiary. At this time, all Vredestein automotive tyres are manufactured in Enschede, The Netherlands.

[Rich]

There have been some posts already about these two tire models, reputed to be decent options "matched set" options at almost-OEM sizes for a D.

For those who want to look at the easy-to-read CE labels and a comparo have a look at these shots:

ZE-912 vs Sportrac 5.jpg ZE-912 EU Label.jpg Sportrac 5 EU Label.jpg

The CE labels are for random sizes. Noting that the DeLorean "almost-matched sizes" those tires both come in are 195/60-14 and 225/60-15 per The List in this thread. The CE labels pictured are for random sizes representing all sizes.

Vredestein, now owned by Apollo, may be a new name to some of us. I ran a set on an '80 Ford Fiesta S for a few years. It was no sports car at the time but I drove it pretty hard and those Vreds were great. In my book that keeps it on a par with any other "heritage" brand name on the Matched Set list.

[Rich]

...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 [225 and 195] 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.....

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

Thanks for this. Missed this earlier posting. Edited it a bit with an eye toward starting something.

Would love it if Vredestein would step up and offer 235/60-15's.

Who do we need to convince at Apollo Vredestein North America and at Apollo Vredestein BV in NL? Do you have a name or contact info you can share?

Might as well start with the person who has been collecting the DeLorean and Lotus requests there.

Just waiting and hoping silently for some mfgr besides Cooper to offer matched OEM sets for D's hasn't been working....

[Bill6298]

I've read through all of the tire threads but didn't want to start a new one. I didn't realize there are no longer matched sets in the original size tires. I have Yokohama tires in the right size, pretty good shape, but they are 12+ years old.

Is there any consensus on original size tires that don't match but have fairly close tread patterns? I'm less concerned with looks and more concerned about getting a quality tire with the best possible ride.

[eagle-co94]

I'd be scared to ride on anything with 12 year old tires. I don't think tire shops can legally sell anything over 5-7 years old.

[Bill6298]

My car isn't drivable quite yet. I'm looking to replace them and was surprised I can't buy a matching set of the OE size anymore. My preference is not to change sizes but that leaves the difficult job of finding non-matching tires that are close enough. I think I'm in the minority based on reading the threads. It seems most folks have just dropped down to 225 in the rear.

[eagle-co94]

Bill I'd love to get the proper sized tires but the closest I think is the Cooper Cobra for the rear (left) and the Cooper CS4 Touring for the front (right):
coppa1.ang.jpgcophh3.ang.jpg

The CS4's don't have white letters and they are two different tires with different treadwear ratings and different temperature ratings and I'm not comfortable with that. I'd be willing to to as high as a 255 tire in the back if that meant matching tires, but I'm at 275's with matching tires and that's just crazy. The 275's came on the car...I'd never buy them in that size.