Flat front tire - future plans for tires?

[82DMC12]

Hey guys, been a while...

Beautiful day in Kansas City so figured I'd take the D off the trickle charger and use it to run errands. It's been about a month since I drove it last. I barely got down the driveway before I realized something was very not right with the steering. Pulling back up into my drive I got out and found the pass side front tire was 100% flat. I rolled the air compressor out and filled the tire, then pulled into the garage and lifted the front up, taking the wheel off. No nails or anything. Hmm.

I took it to Discount Tire, thinking they could dismount it and figure out what happened - probably the valve stem? They said they wish they could help but the tire is over 10 years old and their policy says they can't touch it. But they can definitely sell me a set of tires - Uniroyal Tiger Paws in 195 and 225 for $511 out of the door.

I then took it to Big O where we realized that the schrader valve is the problem - a new schrader insert and I was good to go once again. I then drove all day with no issues.

Anyway this got me thinking - You can't get good tires in a matching factory size set like the Michelin XGT's (which is what I have) anymore. I only have about 10K on my set and they still look new, but true, they are getting old and while they don't show any sign of failure now, I'm probably getting close to borrowed time.

What's the consensus these days on tires? Are the Tiger Paws seriously the best we have now? Does anyone make the bigger wheels in factory style anymore?

[Michael]

I think my next set will happen in the next 3 to 5 years. (Currents are about 6 years old)

If the matching factory sizes are still NLA, I will try to find a set with an upsized front, maybe a 195 or 205/55 or 50. I would rather try that and hope for no rubbing at full lock than go down to 225 on the rear.

Now I shall sit back and await all the self appointed gurus tell me how dangerous it is to ride on tires that are over 7 years old and we will surely die even though most of us are nearing double digit age and a few are still rolling on their original NCT's without a care in the world.

[SamHill]

I don’t understand the hand wringing over nonmatching tires.

[Michael]

I don’t understand the hand wringing over nonmatching tires.

It's nothing to most, but for a man who polishes his coil springs and waxes his frame, non matching tires are the same as taking a SOS pad crossgrain.

[eight8toy]

Mine had new tires when I bought it 2 yrs ago. Falken Ziex tires, matching front and rears. I wanted white letters so got one of those tire pens and painted the letters, came out pretty nice.

Haven't waxed my DPI coilovers yet...

[82DMC12]

I donÂ’t understand the hand wringing over nonmatching tires.

Probably because that looks like garbage and it looks like you're too cheap to replace all four of them. I'm only ok with non matching set if they are same brand and very close in style.

[SamHill]

Probably because that looks like garbage and it looks like you're too cheap to replace all four of them. I'm only ok with non matching set if they are same brand and very close in style.

Yeah, totally ruins the look. I lay awake at night wondering if someone is going to be check the code in the tires to ensure they were produced at the same time. Mismatched tires are for Joe Dirt scumbags and I stand corrected.

[82DMC12]

Yeah, totally ruins the look. I lay awake at night wondering if someone is going to be check the code in the tires to ensure they were produced at the same time. Mismatched tires are for Joe Dirt scumbags and I stand corrected.

It literally does. There are no tires in matching OEM sizes, so everything you choose will be a compromise. Either size down the front (Uniroyals) or size up both sets (BFG Radial T/A's). Mixing up brands to get OEM sizes is simply the worst option we have and I would wager that most owners are not interested in that at all.

[Michael]

57980

[Michael]

Yeah, totally ruins the look. I lay awake at night wondering if someone is going to be check the code in the tires to ensure they were produced at the same time. Mismatched tires are for Joe Dirt scumbags and I stand corrected.

Rockin a set of tires that was made when Regan was in charge....now that's a man I would drink a beer with.

[SamHill]

Now I walk around my car... Left rear a new Fuzion... Right rear 10 year old Fuzion... I just gotta punch myself square in the nuts for this unmitigated trashiness. My wife wants to sleep with other men now. How can I blame her?

[DMC-81]

57980

:hysterical:


Now I walk around my car... Left rear a new Fuzion... Right rear 10 year old Fuzion... I just gotta punch myself square in the nuts for this unmitigated trashiness. My wife wants to sleep with other men now. How can I blame her?

:rofl:

Yeah, I prefer matching tires for that tidy look. When I got my car, it had 1990 vintage 245s in the rear, and these looked too big for my taste. I replaced them with Falken Ziex with 225s in the rear, but when these tires age out I'll also be looking for 235s in the rear. The 225s "fit", but my tire installer had to apply extra compressed air around the bead to expand the tire to seal on the rim. He then said because of that, I won't be able to fix a flat on the side of the road.

I also have a set of pristine 10K mile NCTs that would be interesting to try, at least for a short ride around town.

[David T]

Tires definitely age. I had a set of NCT's on till they were about 15 years old and when I replaced them I realized the old tires rode like they were made out of round rocks! There are not a lot of choices available to have matching tires front and rear in the different sizes the Delorean requires. Best not to venture too far from the recommended sizes since the car was designed to use specific tire sizes. That said, you can "get away" with slightly different sizes as long as you drive conservatively. You DO NOT want the rear tires to lose their grip. By the time you realize the back is loose, it is probably too late to recover. Since almost none of us drive in the snow or ice anymore you should be OK. If anyone has NCT's, they are only good for rolling the car or entering a Concourse.

[baeckerbursch]

Never smaller then 265 / 50 in the rear.

Not matching, but it looks fantastic and its drive very good.

57982

[vwdmc16]

Id rather have higher quality/ performance tires than shit quality and undersized that match in brand.


I went to 15" fronts to vastly improve my selection of front tires anyways.

[Michael]

My DeLorean adventures of parades, static display, and the occasional Sunday drive to church DEMAND the highest performance tire on the market. Bring back Pilots!

[louielouie2000]

Never smaller then 265 / 50 in the rear.

Not matching, but it looks fantastic and its drive very good.

57982

I would love to see additional pictures of your car with these tires.

[Josh]

You can still find a matching set of cooper cobras if you scower tires shops. 195s up front, 235s out back.

They are pretty bad tires though.

All tire choices of a delorean (mismatched or not) are a compromise. There are no good tires available if you are driving the car at any sort of performance level.

[82DMC12]

You can still find a matching set of cooper cobras if you scower tires shops. 195s up front, 235s out back.

They are pretty bad tires though.

All tire choices of a delorean (mismatched or not) are a compromise. There are no good tires available if you are driving the car at any sort of performance level.

At one time someone was making wheels just like OEM but larger, like 16/17 I think. What ever happened with that?

[Mark D]

My DeLorean adventures of parades, static display, and the occasional Sunday drive to church DEMAND the highest performance tire on the market. Bring back Pilots!

I recently attended an OEM Truck Tire Seminar at Michelin and spent some quality time with various people at Michelin in sales/marketing department. It was a 3 day event and I had the opportunity to tour several tire manufacturing plants and get some time out on their proving grounds/test tracks. At one of the dinners I brought up how Michelin is missing out on the classic car market by slowly discontinuing sizes that are available for older specialty vehicles. The one guy I was talking to was surprisingly sympathetic since he drives old Porches and there is a similar downtrend of tires that fit their cars as well.

I'm sure it'll go nowhere, but I did give him a list of the two sizes we need to bring back in the Pilot A/S. Michelin also makes BF Goodrich tires so I mentioned that the Radial TA has the correct size rear and would just need to bring back the 195/60 R14 for the fronts.

[Michael]

I recently attended an OEM Truck Tire Seminar at Michelin and spent some quality time with various people at Michelin in sales/marketing department. It was a 3 day event and I had the opportunity to tour several tire manufacturing plants and get some time out on their proving grounds/test tracks. At one of the dinners I brought up how Michelin is missing out on the classic car market by slowly discontinuing sizes that are available for older specialty vehicles. The one guy I was talking to was surprisingly sympathetic since he drives old Porches and there is a similar downtrend of tires that fit their cars as well.

I'm sure it'll go nowhere, but I did give him a list of the two sizes we need to bring back in the Pilot A/S. Michelin also makes BF Goodrich tires so I mentioned that the Radial TA has the correct size rear and would just need to bring back the 195/60 R14 for the fronts.

Nice, I could go for some BFG whitle letters for a change.

[Chris4099]

Just to throw in my 2 cents. In 15 years of ownership, I've never had matching tires. And in those 15 years, only a handful of times people have noticed the mismatch. Those people: DeLorean owners looking to replace their current tires! So ya, not the end of the world.

Also, I had to urgently replace my rear tires a few years back and couldn't get the correct size without having to wait on shipping (not good since I was traveling at the time). I ended up getting a set that were 10mm narrower then stock. I figured there's been so much improvement with traction since 81, the narrower tire would still perform better then when the car was new. Sure enough, never had a problem with traction in even spirited driving.

So if you have to have matching tires, try to do it with narrower rear tires. Going bigger in the front risks rubbing and will throw the speedometer off.

[jackb]

Mine had new tires when I bought it 2 yrs ago. Falken Ziex tires, matching front and rears. I wanted white letters so got one of those tire pens and painted the letters, came out pretty nice.

Haven't waxed my DPI coilovers yet...

I have Falken Zeix tires as well. I think 912's?

[peternikkiskinner]

Just in the process of getting new tires for VIN 4273. She arrives in the Port of Auckland on the 17th and has to undergo a Structural Inspection and Border Security Inspection to ensure there are no stowaways, seeds and other nasties. Anyhow... the next stage is a Warrant of Fitness and Registration before being able to drive on the roads in New Zealand.

My D is still running the original NCT tires which will most certainly fail and who would want to drive on 37 year old tyres, madness! I managed to get some Kuhmo KL 11 for the rear and will probably fit Goodyear Triplemax Assurance 2 in the front. Choices are very limited in New Zealand particularly in the rear size. Not keen on the Linglong brand who do both sizes but the Hercules HP4000 is not a bad tire for the rear, non for the front though....... You have more choices in the US!

[DMC-81]

Just in the process of getting new tires for VIN 4273. She arrives in the Port of Auckland on the 17th and has to undergo a Structural Inspection and Border Security Inspection to ensure there are no stowaways, seeds and other nasties. Anyhow... the next stage is a Warrant of Fitness and Registration before being able to drive on the roads in New Zealand.

My D is still running the original NCT tires which will most certainly fail and who would want to drive on 37 year old tyres, madness! I managed to get some Kuhmo KL 11 for the rear and will probably fit Goodyear Triplemax Assurance 2 in the front. Choices are very limited in New Zealand particularly in the rear size. Not keen on the Linglong brand who do both sizes but the Hercules HP4000 is not a bad tire for the rear, non for the front though....... You have more choices in the US!

Nice. I hope your car arrives safe and sound. Yeah, driving around regularly on original NCTs is not wise, but it's very cool that they are still on your car. Before removing them, I'd at least clean them up and photograph them on the car. Plus, if they are in reasonably good condition and you have cool dry storage, you may consider hanging on to them for a bit.

I acquired my set to make entering concours a possibility. After all, I wondered how many want or have a full set of NCTs these days, and I imagined they get more scarce every year.

[opethmike]

I just drive around on the wheels. Tires are a crutch, and only add weight.

[Ron]

I just drive around on the wheels. Tires are a crutch, and only add weight....let me guess, you swap the fronts to the back to better distribute the remaining weight?

[Spittybug]

Tires are for roads. We don't need roads, right?

Doc.

[Michael]

I just drive around on the wheels. Tires are a crutch, and only add weight.

Not advisable to still be on original wheels.

[peternikkiskinner]

Thank you for the suggestion. I will do that.




Nice. I hope your car arrives safe and sound. Yeah, driving around regularly on original NCTs is not wise, but it's very cool that they are still on your car. Before removing them, I'd at least clean them up and photograph them on the car. Plus, if they are in reasonably good condition and you have cool dry storage, you may consider hanging on to them for a bit.

I acquired my set to make entering concours a possibility. After all, I wondered how many want or have a full set of NCTs these days, and I imagined they get more scarce every year.

[opethmike]

Not advisable to still be on original wheels.

Ah, yes, I should check the work shop manual, and wax my mustache.

[Hill Valley PD]

Unfortunately, everything is a compromise now with tires on these if you want stock sizes. Either you go with different brands front and rear or same brand with different treads front and rear. I'm running Cooper CS4 Touring tires on mine with matching treads. Stock size up front (195/60R14) but narrower 225/60R15 in rear. They are about 6 years old now and ride very nice. I don't drive too aggressively, so I don't think the narrower tire in the rear is going to affect much for me. Plus, I'd guess that a modern 225 will actually have better traction than the original Goodyears did anyway. I will revisit this in a few years when mine need replacement due to age. Hopefully, by then someone will produce matching tires in the stock sizes again. If your car is lowered like mine is, I would not go a size up in the front since they may rub the fenders.

[Michael]

Unfortunately, everything is a compromise now with tires on these if you want stock sizes. Either you go with different brands front and rear or same brand with different treads front and rear. I'm running Cooper CS4 Touring tires on mine with matching treads. Stock size up front (195/60R14) but narrower 225/60R15 in rear. They are about 6 years old now and ride very nice. I don't drive too aggressively, so I don't think the narrower tire in the rear is going to affect much for me. Plus, I'd guess that a modern 225 will actually have better traction than the original Goodyears did anyway. I will revisit this in a few years when mine need replacement due to age. Hopefully, by then someone will produce matching tires in the stock sizes again. If your car is lowered like mine is, I would not go a size up in the front since they may rub the fenders.

My thinking is the 225 will give a 12mm smaller overall sidewall difference in the rear and that would be noticable (to me) and not fill the wheel well nicely. If however I was carefull and matched the aspect ratio to a 195 or even a 205 up front, I might get by without any rubbing. I'm willing to risk it anyway and if all else fails I will order a set of rear spacers and put them up front. If it does work I'm pretty sure I would like the way the wider front tires look. As far as ill mannered cornering, the parade traffic and Sunday drives that see me pushing the 70mph performance envelope will be unaffected.