Tires Needed

[johnnypie]

Any suggestions for a good brand of tires to replace my originals with? Any info such as sizes, etc. would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Chris 16409]

Do a tire search on the forum, you should get a wealth of information. Basically tire manufactures are not making many tires in our sizes anymore. It's hard to find a matching set with the OEM sizes. Many people run a 225-60 R15 series tire in the rear instead of a 235 series tire. If you go on Discount tire direct or Tire rack, you should be able to find a matching set searching for 195's in the front and 225's in the rear.

[DMCMW Dave]

Many people run a 225-60 R15 series tire in the rear instead of a 235 series tire. .

We've had reasonably good luck with Toyo Extensa and Falken Ziex in those two sizes (195-60-14 front and 225-60-15 rear). Vredestein also has those two sizes in a tire branded "designed by Giugiaro" which is kind of neat with the DeLorean. That tire is about 2x the price of the other Asian tires, and are IMO somewhat noisier, but they are a much higher quality tire.

Choice get a lot wider if you don't care about the front and rear being the same tread pattern or product line (or even brand) personal decision I guess.

Stay away from Chinese tires.

[Chris 16409]

I currently using the Falken ZiEx 912's. but it seems they have been discontinued. I don't know what will be available in the next 5 years when I need new tires.

[acaciolo]

I have the Vredestein and they are awesome. They not only ride great, but they have a very cool Designed by Giugairo" graphic on the outside. Best looking tires I've ever seen. They are getting hard to find though.

tony

[Gregadeth]

I just put new tires on mine a few weeks ago. I went with BF Goodrich:

G-force Super Sport - 195/60/14 (fronts)
Radial T/A - 235/60/15 (rears)

This was the basically the only option for me that I could find, that met my 4 main criteria:
- Stock sizes
- Matching brand
- Made in USA
- Reasonably priced

Got them from tirerack.com. I think they were about $450 altogether (shipping included).

[81dmc]

Stay away from Chinese tires.

I can attest to this! DMCFL put 4 Kumho china bombs on my car. They are very low quality tires IMO. Will be switching to Falken Ziex tires soon.

[DMCMW Dave]

I can attest to this! DMCFL put 4 Kumho china bombs on my car. They are very low quality tires IMO. Will be switching to Falken Ziex tires soon.

Kumho is typically Korean - are they marked "China"?

[81dmc]

Kumho is typically Korean - are they marked "China"?

Mine are marked "China." I think they have plants in both countries.

[sdg3205]

Here's some news I have been debating sharing. I was afraid of raising expectations and also having some negative feedback on the brand and style.

I have been speaking to the marketing and customer service reps at BF Goodrich about re-launching the 195/60/14 radial TA. I have actually been hounding them for a few years and just recently I spoke with someone who said they were actually aware of the situation with our cars and were looking into the feasibility of bringing that size back. Naturally, we'd be back to having a matched set again with (at least what I consider) one of the best tire brands and styles. Anyway, it could all go nowhere but if you guys want to help me tip the scales ever more to our favour, send BF Goodrich a quick email (https://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/contact-us.page) with the same (true) sob story about our complete lack of adequate, stock, matched pairs.

I don't think it's impossible. Sounds like other classics are asking for the same thing.

[NJP548]

Dave,

Did they ever mention the minimum number of tires they would need in order to make a run of them?

Thanks.

-Nick Pitello

[dn010]

This would be great, I'm due for a new set myself...

[Mark D]

Here's some news I have been debating sharing. I was afraid of raising expectations and also having some negative feedback on the brand and style.

I have been speaking to the marketing and customer service reps at BF Goodrich about re-launching the 195/60/14 radial TA. I have actually been hounding them for a few years and just recently I spoke with someone who said they were actually aware of the situation with our cars and were looking into the feasibility of bringing that size back. Naturally, we'd be back to having a matched set again with (at least what I consider) one of the best tire brands and styles. Anyway, it could all go nowhere but if you guys want to help me tip the scales ever more to our favour, send BF Goodrich a quick email (https://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/contact-us.page) with the same (true) sob story about our complete lack of adequate, stock, matched pairs.

I don't think it's impossible. Sounds like other classics are asking for the same thing.

Thanks for sharing this. I emailed BFG with a letter of support in hopes that they'll bring back the correct size front tires. BFG Radial T/A's are pretty popular among other classic car enthusiasts and they seem to have a good reputation. I have All Terrain T/A's on my 01 Jeep Wrangler and they are excellent.

I would go out and buy a matching set of Radial T/A's for my DeLorean tomorrow if hey were available, especially if they were available with RWL front and rear. I hope they find that it makes financial sense to bring back our correct size.

[davidc89]

If we email them once a month and demand them to bring back the tires, they just might! It worked for Surge Soda....

[Jonathan]

If we send them a letter once a week and demand them to bring back the tires, they just might! It worked for Surge Soda....

It worked for Andy Dufresne too! They can't ignore you forever.

[DMCVegas]

Dave himself in another tire thread said that his shop is replacing about 15-20 sets of tires a year. That's just one DeLorean service center, and I'm sure that the others probably have numbers close to that as well. And then we have the rest of us individual owners here too. I think that there's a sufficient enough demand for them. And if you've got the only matching set of tires, I'm pretty confident that you've got our buying commitment.

Personally, while I prefer tires that are matched aesthetically, I'm not that keen on modifying sizes. Lotus chose those ratios specifically to assist with stability, and I've had a few close calls with loosing traction at speed where I needed that stability to snap the rear-end back in place and prevent a wreck. Even if they're mismatched Pirelli's, I'm sticking with the same sizes.

[whocruiser]

Recently replaced all 4 tires on VIN 1150. Was running Michelin Pilots in the proper 195 size up front & one-size-down 225's in back, as was supplied new by DMC Florida when I got the car from them 5 years ago. Went with proper sizes now all around, all made by Cooper, but mixing 2 different tread designs, with Cobras in back, and CS4's in front, and have been very happy with the results. Got them at Tire Kingdom (a fairly big chain in Florida, not sure if they are elsewhere) for $383 total including balancing, installation, disposal fees & taxes.

[NJP548]

I just submitted this to BF Goodrich:

Just curious what the minimum commitment of tires you would need to bring back the 195/60/14 radial TA? The DeLorean community is very strong and there is a desire to have a matching set of all four tires. If the minimum is around 1000 tires (500 cars) that may be feasible. Please let me know.

Hopefully I get a response back.

Thanks.

-Nick Pitello

[sdg3205]

I'll start a new thread about this so we can get the whole DMCT community in on it.

[Henrik]

Here is what I submitted to BF Goodrich just now:

"I would like to recommend that you bring back the BF Goodrich Radial T/A in the 195/60R14 size again. If you did, and given that you are still (thankfully) offering the 235/60R15 dimension, it would enable the Delorean community to source a complete, matched set of a high quality, proven brand; this re-introduction would surely spread very quickly in our very tight-knit D community The only front/rear matched alternatives today are a few cheap, low-end alternatives from China.

Your consideration would be much appreciated."

[DMCVegas]

With all due respect, ion today's, global market, most corporations are really not concerned with where their products are sourced from.

Now I can't speak for myself, but what I can say is that I do in fact have brand loyalty in return for being loyal to me. General Tire sponsored the Mint 400, so I have Grabber AT2s. When Cooper had DeLorean tires, my old Chevy Blazer immediately got Coopers for it's next set.

If B.F. Goodrich wants to start producing matching sets of tires for the DMC-12 to help us out, perhaps we should consider doing the same for them and commit to non-DeLorean purchases. We should remind them of not only the fact that we need tires, but that we also have more than one vehicle that needs tires, and this could help them out with brand loyalty.

Whet their appetites with some dollar signs. Let them know that this is also some good PR for them as well as a great marketing opportunity, and that'll perk their ears up.

[Henrik]

most corporations are really not concerned with where their products are sourced from.

Granted, but then again, that is not the point of the submittal.

[DMCVegas]

Granted, but then again, that is not the point of the submittal.

No, but if they already have suppliers or partners in China, let alone stakeholders, and you're kinda looking down on them, it may not get things off on the right foot so to speak. That's my point. Aside from the whole, "What's in it for me?" aspect that has to be covered as well.