Kontio tyres: anyone used them?

[Escort3500]

I need to replace the whitewall tyres on my old Ford. The main supplier in the UK is North Hants Tyres in Andover, but in the size I need they’re £367+vat (B F Goodrich)

A couple of guys in the owners’ club have Kontio White Paws on their cars and say they’re fine. Kontio is a Finnish company and, like many tyres these days, they’re made in China. A set of four is around £800, so much cheaper than North Hants. However, they’re new to the market place and I can’t find any reviews.

Just wondering if anyone has Kontios on their car and can add to the owners’ comments I’ve had so far.

Thanks

[aeropilot]

Escort3500 said:

I need to replace the whitewall tyres on my old Ford. The main supplier in the UK is North Hants Tyres in Andover, but in the size I need they’re £367+vat (B F Goodrich)

A couple of guys in the owners’ club have Kontio White Paws on their cars and say they’re fine. Kontio is a Finnish company and, like many tyres these days, they’re made in China. A set of four is around £800, so much cheaper than North Hants. However, they’re new to the market place and I can’t find any reviews.

Just wondering if anyone has Kontios on their car and can add to the owners’ comments I’ve had so far.

Thanks

There's a one PH'r on here that uses the White Paws on his 50's Caddy, and says they are fine.

[52classic]

An alternative suggestion for you is to buy a set of tyres with 'free choice' and then have 'Mr Whitewalls' paint them for you.

We did this about 3 years ago on a MKII Zodiac and they still look good with an annual spruce up using the special cleaner provided.

Much better than those 'Atlas' trim things. You get to choose the width of the band too.

One issue is that the process works better with part worn tyres than new ones.

[Escort3500]

52classic said:

An alternative suggestion for you is to buy a set of tyres with 'free choice' and then have 'Mr Whitewalls' paint them for you.

We did this about 3 years ago on a MKII Zodiac and they still look good with an annual spruce up using the special cleaner provided.

Much better than those 'Atlas' trim things. You get to choose the width of the band too.

One issue is that the process works better with part worn tyres than new ones.

Thanks for this. I’d seen their website and the only thing that puts me off is the initial discolouration issue. I had the whitewall trims on my last Zodiac and they were awful - one kerbing and they were knackered

[aeropilot]

I'd go with the Kontio's.

A lot of the 50's yank owners in Sweden use them on their Caddy's and Chevy's etc., its one of the reasons a Finnish tyre company introduced them because of the huge market in Scandy for vintage yanks, versus costs of WWW imports from USA.

[Escort3500]

Thanks for the comments. I’m going to give the Kontios a go and see how I get on with them

[bigdavy]

Did you buy the kontio tyres mate?

How have you found them? I'm thinking of a set for my 50s yank, as you said over £100 each cheaper than the US brands. It's a chunk of change when you need a full set!

[Escort3500]

Yes I did!

They’ve been on the car about six weeks now and are absolutely fine. Handling is good (well, as good as a ‘60s Zodiac gets ), they’re pretty quiet and the quality of the whitewalls themselves looks fine so far. I’ve therefore no hesitation in recommending them

I got them from Neil at Old Town Autos in Nottingham and he was good to deal with. He’s fitted out quite a few Yank motors with them and runs one himself.

[bigdavy]

Brilliant thanks for the reply, glad to hear you're pleased with them. I saw he was listed as a dealer.
Think I'm going for them, just to decide on size. They look like a great deal compared to the US tyres

[Escort3500]

bigdavy said:

Brilliant thanks for the reply, glad to hear you're pleased with them. I saw he was listed as a dealer.
Think I'm going for them, just to decide on size. They look like a great deal compared to the US tyres

Don’t think you’ll regret buying them