Tyres for S1

david muir · Post by **david muir** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 5:39 pm

Folks,
Looking at buying a couple of tyres soon and was interested as to whether anyone had any experiences of Blockleys or Vredesteins. ? Have bought the super expensive Michelins in the past but now reckon that I can 'economise' bearing in mind that the tyre will be 'old' before it's worn out!!
Do the above perform well?

thanks,

david

Post by **Heuer** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 6:18 pm

You can learn a lot in 7 mins and 18 seconds!

http://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/page/jaguar-e-type

christopher storey · Post by **christopher storey** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 6:34 pm

I have used Vredesteins ( 185 HR15) for some time . Interestingly, I did so on the advice of Dougal , which he has now changed ! I have on the whole been very satisfied, because they produce light and sensitive steering which is a delight , and I have never had the semblance of a slide even in adverse conditions . However ( and it may be this which goes some way to explaining Dougal's change of heart ) I have just experienced my first failure where a front tyre no more than 5000 miles old has developed a bulge at the carcass join, without any history of damage - although it was shortly after my return from a very potholey West of Ireland

Post by **Heuer** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:18 pm

Christopher

Your experience seems to reflect Dougal's view:
http://etypeuk.com/forum/viewtopic.php? ... vredestein

steve3.8 · Post by **steve3.8** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 10:27 pm

david muir wrote:Folks,
Looking at buying a couple of tyres soon and was interested as to whether anyone had any experiences of Blockleys or Vredesteins. ? Have bought the super expensive Michelins in the past but now reckon that I can 'economise' bearing in mind that the tyre will be 'old' before it's worn out!!
Do the above perform well?

thanks,

david

David,

I had just the same thoughts so when I was at Dougal?s garage choosing tyres I compared the sidewall and carcase structure of the Vredestein and the Pirelli cinturato ,one tyre in each hand ,only then the quality becomes blatantly obvious how much more substantial and strong the Pirelli is and why there is a difference in price, so Pirelli it was.
If I was doing long distance touring mileage with some wet weather thrown in, the Michelin would be the choice , i would fit these next time anyway to compare.

The ?95 Vred?s are HR so are not correctly speed rated for the E Type and probably render your insurance invalid if detected after an incident.

As for Blockley ? i have seen them at Stoneliegh but do they have the technical resources of the others ?

Regards Steve

vikla · Post by **vikla** » Thu Jan 10, 2013 5:57 pm

I've read a number of posts on the forum about tyres, but I have heard no mention of the tyres that came fitted on my car and which I have seen on a few others - they are Universal Sport from the USA and seem to be a copy of the original Dunlop SP Sport.
https://www.universaltire.com/universal ... tripe.html

Classic Tyres and Vintage Tyres in the UK sell them.

I guess owners are attracted because you can get them with either white or red thin stripes.

They are not cheap at around ?200 so I wonder if anyone has an opinion on their dynamic qualities?

Don't hang back, I won't be offended

Post by **Heuer** » Thu Jan 10, 2013 8:05 pm

No experience of them but they are HR rated rather than VR which means tell your insurance company about the 'modification from standard specification' - won't affect your premium but could affect the payout. Bear in mind the speed rating actually encompasses handling characteristics and tyre structure so they could compromise handling. At that price I would go for Cinturato's or Michelin XVS.

Mark Gordon · Post by **Mark Gordon** » Thu Jan 10, 2013 9:05 pm

I have the same Universal Sport tires that you mention on my car. I like to drive aggressively, although perhaps not so aggressively as some. I have been very pleased with their cornering ability and have taken some sharp turns that made me think I would lose it going into them, but the car zipped around like it was on railroad tracks. I do not drive in wet weather unless caught in a sudden storm, and when I do get caught, I drive very conservatively, so I can't comment on their wet handling characteristics. I do like the look of the thin white strip on my cream OTS, although that is a matter of personal taste.

356boy · Post by **356boy** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 1:06 pm

would these fit a standard series 1 wheel
http://www.northhantstyres.com/main-tyr ... ewall.html

or according to longstone video its these and they do them in 3" whitewall
http://www.northhantstyres.com/vintage- ... 40-15.html

Mark Gordon · Post by **Mark Gordon** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 1:30 pm

Yes. Those are the same size but different manufacturer that I am running. I got mine from Universal Tire which has a large selection of tires from several manufacturers. They carry virtually any size, construction and white wall width that you could want. I got the Universal Sport Classic in 5/8" white wall and have been very happy with the performance and cost. Here's the link to their website:
https://www.universaltire.com/

356boy · Post by **356boy** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 1:48 pm

Is there anyone who is any good on photoshop to put whitewalls on this car please, nice to see how it looks.

http://www.etypeuk.com/img/uploads/thum ... 10_HDR.jpg

Post by **Heuer** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 3:01 pm

May be easier to change the body colour of one of the above. You will find that white wall tyres seem to have been used on only the earliest cars and OTS rather than FHC for some reason. The thin wall tyres are much more common on the later cars. Try browsing through this lot: http://etypeuk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1408

356boy · Post by **356boy** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 3:04 pm

wow, they pop out on the dark coloured cars, very nice, i take it they are all on crossplys, when did they start to fit radials from factory.Are they badge bars on some of the car across the mouth, is this a US spec option. On the old photo showing mr Lynn collecting his new car it has the overider but the car at Etype doesnt have this so i'm asuming its been changed for some reason but why if it only has 27k on the clock, Damaged?! , i'm also asuming the bumperettes have also been changed as they would have accepted the overiders?!

PeterCrespin · Post by **PeterCrespin** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 3:40 pm

356boy wrote:Are they badge bars on some of the car across the mouth, is this a US spec option. On the old photo showing mr Lynn collecting his new car it has the overider but the car at Etype doesnt have this so i'm asuming its been changed for some reason but why if it only has 27k on the clock, Damaged?! , i'm also asuming the bumperettes have also been changed as they would have accepted the overiders?!

The missing bar was an AMCO bar - a kind of US crash bar fitted very often to S1 E-types over there, often front and rear. I have a slightly flatter/wider one on the front of one of my S2s to suit the wider mouth.

They were fitted because in the USA people driving those huge old frame cars often parked by 'touch', meaning you just backed in until you hit the car behind or in front. Those old frame cars had massive bumpers of 1/4" steel attached to the chassis and used to lift the car, so it didn't hurt them as much as it would an E-type. But then all the AMCO bars did was ruin your overriders as well.

It's hard to see if the current version of the car still has the holes in the overriders. If not, they have been swapped for new ones at some time. The 4.2 silencers aren't original either.

Post by **Heuer** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 4:35 pm

As Pete says the 'bull bars' were a US after market item fitted by some owners to ruin the look of the E-Type.

The big whitewalls are on cross-plies and the thin walls are usually radials. Also the wide ones will probably only work on 185 section tyres (Pirelli Cinturato, Michelin XVS) and the thin ones on 205 section. As I said in another thread you can get white walls added to new radials. This involves machining a flat surface on the sidewall rubber and then vulcanising the white on the prepared surface. Last time I enquired they were only doing 1.75" stripes but they are expecting to offer wider ones if there is demand.

Post by **Heuer** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 10:07 am

There is a thread about whitewalls here: http://etypeuk.com/forum/viewtopic.php? ... wall+tyres

Post by **Heuer** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 4:27 pm

Found another example which is closer in colour to blue car:

356boy · Post by **356boy** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 9:04 pm

thats nice, adds a touch of glamour
is that a jaguar colour
those nardi steering wheels look pretty nice

Post by **Heuer** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 10:42 pm

Opalescent Dark Green I think but it has been repainted, and the matching green interior is unmolested I seem to recall. The E-Type steering wheel is iconic so not sure you would want to replace it with something from Italy or indeed anything else! Jaguar thought it important and launched the car around it :

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Tyres for S1

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