What a difference new (not 17-year old) tires make!

[rileydawgg]

Put new tires on this weekend, set of matching Falkens -- Sincera Touring (apparently the only matching set of non-Cooper tires avail)... and all I can say is WOW. The old tires were Yokohoma AVS, and going through the paperwork from the previous owner, realized they were 17 years old. Yikes. I can actually steer the car under 15 mph now without giving myself a hernia, and it handles so much better. Also, the crazy vibration I had going over 60mph is also gone. Big thanks to Cameron and Danny at DMC CA for all their help too. It drives like a completely different car, and even though I know it's not the case, it actually feels faster too. Other than maybe the auto trans governor and working brake master cylinder, by far the biggest improvement to the car in the brief two months that I've owned it.

[David T]

Put new tires on this weekend, set of matching Falkens -- Sincera Touring (apparently the only matching set of non-Cooper tires avail)... and all I can say is WOW. The old tires were Yokohoma AVS, and going through the paperwork from the previous owner, realized they were 17 years old. Yikes. I can actually steer the car under 15 mph now without giving myself a hernia, and it handles so much better. Also, the crazy vibration I had going over 60mph is also gone. Big thanks to Cameron and Danny at DMC CA for all their help too. It drives like a completely different car, and even though I know it's not the case, it actually feels faster too. Other than maybe the auto trans governor and working brake master cylinder, by far the biggest improvement to the car in the brief two months that I've owned it.

Yes, replacing old tires does make a big difference. In my case the car ran VERY hard, like driving on tires made of rock. After replacing them the car rode SO much softer! Be sure to check the tire pressures, very often shops do not put the correct pressures in, especially when the fronts are different than the rears. I also like to torque the bolts, many shops use an air impact and tighten them till they break. Good luck trying to get them off with the toy in the car in the rain at night when you get a flat! BTW all tires have a date code molded in so you can read it directly off the tire to see how old it is (you don't need the old paperwork).

[OverlandMan]

I too have 10+ year old Yoko AVS tires on mine. This thread makes me want to take my future tire purchase off the back-burner, provided I get the rest of my mechanical issues sorted prior.

[Dangermouse]

I even noticed a big change when changing my 4 year old tires on my DD as the car had lived outdoors in FL and had become hard and cracked. New tire rubber is just so much more pliable

[louielouie2000]

Those Yokohama AVS tires sure were the darling of the DeLorean community about 15 years ago. Everyone just raved about them ceaselessly. I was never a fan- their ultra soft compound meant that they lasted about 10,000 miles if you were lucky. On top of that, they rode like crap even when they were brand new. I suppose stiff sidewallls must have been to blame. I can't imagine how awful a nearly 2 decade old set must be. I remember when I replaced my first DeLorean's Yokos with Michelin Pilots about a dozen years ago how tremendous of a difference it was, even back then. The car suddenly rode, drove, and handled like a dream. It's a shame you can no longer source a set of matching, correct sized tires for the DeLorean anymore. It looks like even the front tire size is getting scarce. :frown:

[rileydawgg]

Those Yokohama AVS tires sure were the darling of the DeLorean community about 15 years ago. Everyone just raved about them ceaselessly. I was never a fan- their ultra soft compound meant that they lasted about 10,000 miles if you were lucky. On top of that, they rode like crap even when they were brand new. I suppose stiff sidewallls must have been to blame. I can't imagine how awful a nearly 2 decade old set must be. I remember when I replaced my first DeLorean's Yokos with Michelin Pilots about a dozen years ago how tremendous of a difference it was, even back then. The car suddenly rode, drove, and handled like a dream. It's a shame you can no longer source a set of matching, correct sized tires for the DeLorean anymore. It looks like even the front tire size is getting scarce. :frown:

Yeah, having the 225s in the back instead of 235s is unfortunate, but these are so much better that it doesn't matter to me in the end.

[rileydawgg]

I too have 10+ year old Yoko AVS tires on mine. This thread makes me want to take my future tire purchase off the back-burner, provided I get the rest of my mechanical issues sorted prior.

I don't know how different 10 years vs 17 years is, but if they are anything like mine were... I can't recommend enough changing them. Also, you never know when Falken might stop making these sizes since everybody else has!

[Shark Pilot]

This thread has reminded me that I need new tires. Mine are at LEAST 11 years old and quite vibratey, not to mention starting to crack. Where can I get a set of new tires for this thing? TireRack has no matching sets.

[Henrik]

I ordered these from Tirerack. No, they are not 100% matched but that doesn't really matter. They are the correct size however. I love 'em.
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[Shark Pilot]

I ordered these from Tirerack. No, they are not 100% matched but that doesn't really matter. They are the correct size however. I love 'em.
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Ah I just looked at those actually. Good to see some validation. Was looking at this:

FRONT: http://www.cokertire.com/p195-60r15-bf-goodrich-t-a-rwl.html
REAR: http://www.cokertire.com/p235-60r15-bf-goodrich-t-a-rwl.html

They seem to match. You like the look and the performance??

[Henrik]

Ah I just looked at those actually. Good to see some validation. Was looking at this:

FRONT: http://www.cokertire.com/p195-60r15-bf-goodrich-t-a-rwl.html
REAR: http://www.cokertire.com/p235-60r15-bf-goodrich-t-a-rwl.html

They seem to match. You like the look and the performance??

Careful! That won't work :( The front tires have to be 14", not 15".

[Shark Pilot]

Careful! That won't work :( The front tires have to be 14", not 15".

Ooh right of course. Can't believe I missed that. Thanks!

[Henrik]

About the look and performance of the Goodriches I did buy:

Just have your installer turn them with the lettering to the inside and the look will be just right. Some people go for the skinnier 225 rear tire to find matched tires but I really like the look of the wider 235s. OK, some people may think you can't see the 10 mm difference but that is something I didn't want to compromise on...

As far as performance - I agree with everyones previous opinions: I am sure cornering is vastly improved but more than anything else the roundness eliminated an earlier source of vibration and made the car quieter.

Also, the way my old tires' age were really brought to my attention was a catastrophic blow-out. Not a slow puncture but a complete rupture! I am glad I was close to home and not on the freeway....

[Shark Pilot]

About the look and performance of the Goodriches I did buy:

Just have your installer turn them with the lettering to the inside and the look will be just right. Some people go for the skinnier 225 rear tire to find matched tires but I really like the look of the wider 235s. OK, some people may think you can't see the 10 mm difference but that is something I didn't want to compromise on...

As far as performance - I agree with everyones previous opinions: I am sure cornering is vastly improved but more than anything else the roundness eliminated an earlier source of vibration and made the car quieter.

Also, the way my old tires' age were really brought to my attention was a catastrophic blow-out. Not a slow puncture but a complete rupture! I am glad I was close to home and not on the freeway....

YIKES! Well that will motivate me to get the tires sooner. I see the tire tread appears uni-directional so the white lettering inside idea is really a good one! I didn't want to have one set with and one set without. Thanks again for the help. These sizes are a bitch to find.

[Dangermouse]

Have a browse through this

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?7285-2013-Matched-Set-%28Non-Stock-Sized-Rears-or-Fronts%29-Tires

might give you some ideas

[Henrik]

YIKES! Well that will motivate me to get the tires sooner. I see the tire tread appears uni-directional so the white lettering inside idea is really a good one! I didn't want to have one set with and one set without. Thanks again for the help. These sizes are a bitch to find.

Here is what my dry rotted AVS Yokohamas looked like just weeks before the blow-out.
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[Dangermouse]

That's what my 4 year old DD tires looked like too :eek7: