Tires for 72 Europa

[marks]

I have not had anyone reply to my previous thread on needing tires for my 72 Europa.  My present tires are 175/70 13 and 185/70 13.  I am interested in what owners do when tires are needed.  do you switch out the wheels or do something different? Thanks! Mark

[Arizona]

I've been running 185/60x13 front, 195/60x13 rear on the original wheels and I'm happy with those. The 185's rub just a bit at full lock. Problem is the 195/60's were hard to find. I've heard of folks running 205/60's on the rear.

[gideon]

There is no need to switch out the wheels - unless you want new wheels.  The sizes you have are the most commonly recommended for a TC (I believe).   You can get tires for a relatively low price from online suppliers.  I have bought tires from simpletire.com in the past, and didn't have a problem

https://simpletire.com/tire-sizes/175-70r13
https://simpletire.com/tire-sizes/185-70r13

Some like to buy classic style tires - they are a bit more tricky to find and expensive, but this should give you an idea

https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/tyres/175-70-13.html
https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/tyres/185-70-13.html

Not all tires are sufficiently "round" for the Europa, which is sensitive to wheel balance (or so I'm told).  Ideally you want to source tires that are known to be well balanced,  but you may have to reject tires if they are not.  That would obviously be easier with a local supplier.

I hope that helps.

[Fotog]

FWIW, I'm using Achilles tires in those sizes.  They ain't fancy, but they're ok.  Whether due to my wheels or the tires, I felt the need to go for the 'road force balancing', and I think it's worthwhile, but does significantly push up the overall investment in cheap tires.

[marks]

I really appreciate the help!  I am excited about getting my Europa on the road after an extensive rebuild.  Thank you very much!  Mark

[Pfreen]

I too have Achilles tires.  I think they handle well but I also have vibration sometime.  My guess is they flatspot from sitting, but that is only a guess.  I am going to source Pirelli cn36 175/70-13 and 185/70-13 when I can get them.  Longstone Tyres in England stocks them.  I bought four for my Sunbeam Tiger and they are great (185/70-13).
The shipping to the USA was not too bad and overall it saved money to buy from Longstone instead of through USA suppliers.

[gideon]

FWIW, I'm seeing a good price on Momo Outrun M20 in 175/70r13, currently $51.26 .  Unfortunately not also available in 185/70r13, but I have an S2 so if I needed a set of tires today I might take a chance on these.  It's a relatively light and soft tire according to the specs, plus there is a fancy Italian brand name on the sidewall