Tyres for '92 Griffith.
Discussion
Well having had a lot of help with my previous problem I am now after advice on tyres, the astute among you will have gathered that this car is new to me and I am still in the "shake down" process;I have sorted most of the usual niggly problems but still have a few to do.
The car does not keep a very straight path and I believe this is not all down to the worn column UJ. I am not happy that the car is fitted with Dunlops on the front and Toyo on the rear, In my opinion one should never mix makes on a car of this type. The wheels are standard Estoril Griffith 500, the fronts are shod with Dunlop Sport 9000 225/50ZR15 and the rears with Toyo Proxes TI-S 245/45 ZR16 94W. The fronts have at least 6mm. of tread but the backs are down to 3mm., so it is time to have a change. Trawling the Internet and reading various forums it seems that tyres with ZR rating are now like hens teeth, and I am wondering how compliant Insurance Companies are regarding V rated tyres. However, I have found today Toyo Proxes R888 in ZR rating, very expensive, does any one have experience of these. In fact I would welcome your thoughts on the subject as a whole on the most suitable tyres and from where they can be obtained.
Many thanks.
The car does not keep a very straight path and I believe this is not all down to the worn column UJ. I am not happy that the car is fitted with Dunlops on the front and Toyo on the rear, In my opinion one should never mix makes on a car of this type. The wheels are standard Estoril Griffith 500, the fronts are shod with Dunlop Sport 9000 225/50ZR15 and the rears with Toyo Proxes TI-S 245/45 ZR16 94W. The fronts have at least 6mm. of tread but the backs are down to 3mm., so it is time to have a change. Trawling the Internet and reading various forums it seems that tyres with ZR rating are now like hens teeth, and I am wondering how compliant Insurance Companies are regarding V rated tyres. However, I have found today Toyo Proxes R888 in ZR rating, very expensive, does any one have experience of these. In fact I would welcome your thoughts on the subject as a whole on the most suitable tyres and from where they can be obtained.
Many thanks.
On mine (a 500) I had Yokohama 15s on the front and Falken 16s on the back; it seemed to work very well. Can't recall the exact specs though.
In your position I'd change the UJ, and get the tracking/suspension geometry checked, and make sure the front 'spoiler' is in place underneath (if 4.0s had them, not sure).
In your position I'd change the UJ, and get the tracking/suspension geometry checked, and make sure the front 'spoiler' is in place underneath (if 4.0s had them, not sure).
I've just got some Toyo R1R's and they are V rated front and rear but I've got confimation trhis is OK from the insurer.
Sizes from memory are 225/50/16 (the standard pre cat size) and 205/50/15 (should be 205/55/15).
http://www.toyo.co.uk/tire/pattern/proxes-r1r
Compromise between the R888 and a T1R, but the ratings seem better than the T1R.
Got mine from Tyretraders but not coming up on the search now, about £365 for all 4.
FFG
Sizes from memory are 225/50/16 (the standard pre cat size) and 205/50/15 (should be 205/55/15).
http://www.toyo.co.uk/tire/pattern/proxes-r1r
Compromise between the R888 and a T1R, but the ratings seem better than the T1R.
Got mine from Tyretraders but not coming up on the search now, about £365 for all 4.
FFG
Dunlops on the front of mine ( smaller size, cant remember what they are, 205 i think ) part worn when i got them, as they came on the second hand front rims i bought in 2012 and Toyo Proxes T1Rs 245/45ZR16 on the rear, which i fitted new in late 2011.
Very pleased with the Toyos, will def fit them again and the Dunlops seem good as well.
Very pleased with the Toyos, will def fit them again and the Dunlops seem good as well.
I had Dunlop on the front of mine matched with Goodyear Eagle on the rear.
It was twitchy as hell and even my passengers noticed it.
It also tramlines horribly on motorways.
I decided to ditch the Dunlops when I put them on back to front and it made things better!
I now have Toyo Proxes T1R all round
205 55 R15 88V front
245 45 R16 94W rear
The Eagles are stored as spares.
FlipFlopGriff will notice a massive improvement in the stability of the car IMHO
It was twitchy as hell and even my passengers noticed it.
It also tramlines horribly on motorways.
I decided to ditch the Dunlops when I put them on back to front and it made things better!
I now have Toyo Proxes T1R all round
205 55 R15 88V front
245 45 R16 94W rear
The Eagles are stored as spares.
FlipFlopGriff will notice a massive improvement in the stability of the car IMHO
neutral 3 said:
I had Uniroyals on the rear And Never ever Again would I go near them ! Had a huge " moment " on a damp road with them on the back.
Years ago a succession of 5 Turbos I owned had Uniroyals and although not as good as MXVs in the dry, they were ( then ) a good wet road tire.
surely you mean the MXV,used to own a Turbo 2,now theres a blast from the past,fabulous tread pattern..........Years ago a succession of 5 Turbos I owned had Uniroyals and although not as good as MXVs in the dry, they were ( then ) a good wet road tire.
neutral 3 said:
I had Uniroyals on the rear And Never ever Again would I go near them ! Had a huge " moment " on a damp road with them on the back.
Years ago a succession of 5 Turbos I owned had Uniroyals and although not as good as MXVs in the dry, they were ( then ) a good wet road tire.
I don't quite understand what you're saying. Years ago a succession of 5 Turbos I owned had Uniroyals and although not as good as MXVs in the dry, they were ( then ) a good wet road tire.
First you say Uniroyals are bad in the damp and the next sentence you say they are good In the wet.
If you are referring to tyres when you had a 5 Turbos, that's years ago surely
Based on my experience versus T1R's on a TVR, I think they should be on anyone's list of possible options for those that drive on road only. If I was tracking, I would want the semi slicks of 888's or R1R's.
Best of luck.
You'll be ok with the same tyre across the axel...... except when some idiot replaced by rear road legal track day tyres with road tyres and the rear of the car wanted to over take the front of the car always home (scariest ride of my life 
)
Ditch the T1S 's as they are really old, have a very soft side wall and in my experience when I borrowed a set of wheels with them on it was like driving a bouncy castle.
I love the road legal track day tyres, but in the last few years the weather has been really wet and as such not as much to drive with as they are not the best at dealing with water......as mentioned above the R1R I have found to be fantastic in the wet, and good in the dry when pushed hard and a good compromise for hard fast road use in variable weather conditions
Mine is a 92 4.3
Just to add, what works on heavy mass produced car doesn't mean it will work on a lightweight car
)Ditch the T1S 's as they are really old, have a very soft side wall and in my experience when I borrowed a set of wheels with them on it was like driving a bouncy castle.
I love the road legal track day tyres, but in the last few years the weather has been really wet and as such not as much to drive with as they are not the best at dealing with water......as mentioned above the R1R I have found to be fantastic in the wet, and good in the dry when pushed hard and a good compromise for hard fast road use in variable weather conditions
Mine is a 92 4.3
Just to add, what works on heavy mass produced car doesn't mean it will work on a lightweight car
Edited by Hoover. on Sunday 8th June 07:31
Thank you all, as usual you have given a very broad spectrum of opinions and advice. I did have a look at Falken, but it seems impossible to get the matching tyre pattern on 15 and 16 rims and the same appears to be the case with Uniroyal which are anyway in short supply. The concensus of opinion across this and other forums seems to be Toyo, and I suspect for my use (road only) the R1R would seem to be the best bet, I doubt I can justify the cost of R888 although I imagine they are a great tyre. I now need to explore all the combinations of width and height that are available to arrive at the same tread pattern for front and rear, my handbook states the tyres sizes should be:- 215/50ZR15 and 225/50ZR16; does any one have a formula to work out the various options whilst keep the rolling radius correct.
To answer to another query, the Griffith is a 4.3 and does indeed still have the spoiler in place, this is the fourth TVR that my wife and I have owned and to date has had the most little niggles; but hey that is TVR ownership. My wife's 1600M, which was used as daily transport to work only once let her down when the clutch cable broke. By total contrast as a 20 year old I managed to wrap my Grantura MK2A into a bus, it was on Michelen X tyres; need I say more other than tyres are a perrenial issue with TVR's.
Many thanks all.
To answer to another query, the Griffith is a 4.3 and does indeed still have the spoiler in place, this is the fourth TVR that my wife and I have owned and to date has had the most little niggles; but hey that is TVR ownership. My wife's 1600M, which was used as daily transport to work only once let her down when the clutch cable broke. By total contrast as a 20 year old I managed to wrap my Grantura MK2A into a bus, it was on Michelen X tyres; need I say more other than tyres are a perrenial issue with TVR's.
Many thanks all.
Edited by cjb44 on Sunday 8th June 12:17
Isn't the only thing which alters your rolling radius is a change in wheel size or sidewall size
You haven't mentioned changing the wheels so providing you stick to the same sidewall size there isn't a calculation to make.
I experimented with front widths, using 205, 215 and 225 and found the original 205 width to be best, though there want much it it for the 215s
225s were just too much work for a car without power steering - not that I'd have PS if I could, it seems too much trouble than its worth TBH
You haven't mentioned changing the wheels so providing you stick to the same sidewall size there isn't a calculation to make.
I experimented with front widths, using 205, 215 and 225 and found the original 205 width to be best, though there want much it it for the 215s
225s were just too much work for a car without power steering - not that I'd have PS if I could, it seems too much trouble than its worth TBH
Barreti said:
Isn't the only thing which alters your rolling radius is a change in wheel size or sidewall size
You haven't mentioned changing the wheels so providing you stick to the same sidewall size there isn't a calculation to make.
the width of the tyre you stick on also affects the rolling radius, so calculations could be required to offsite width increases to the side wall....minor but a factor You haven't mentioned changing the wheels so providing you stick to the same sidewall size there isn't a calculation to make.
In the 90s, Uniroyals had a good name for wet weather performance. I had many 5 Turbos and for a while the only tire you get for them was a 195x55x13 Uniroyal. In the wet, they were very good, on a par with the best GT Turbo tire, the Michelin MXV. But the Unis werent good in the dry.
My Griff had a pair of Uniroyals on the back and they were lethal in the wet and not great in the dry either. Never again would i buy Uniroyals. I have nothing but praise for the Toyo Proxes T1R wet and dry and highly recomend them.
My Griff had a pair of Uniroyals on the back and they were lethal in the wet and not great in the dry either. Never again would i buy Uniroyals. I have nothing but praise for the Toyo Proxes T1R wet and dry and highly recomend them.
Tyre width affects rolling radius?
Really?
If someone has the patience to explain it I'd be interested to understand how
Eta: googled it. Understand now. Curvature of the earth and all that :-)
Surely that curvature is going to affect it less than wear though, and you don't recalculate your rolling radius every 1000 miles, so I still don't understand the need to be that accurate if I'm honest.
Really?
If someone has the patience to explain it I'd be interested to understand how
Eta: googled it. Understand now. Curvature of the earth and all that :-)
Surely that curvature is going to affect it less than wear though, and you don't recalculate your rolling radius every 1000 miles, so I still don't understand the need to be that accurate if I'm honest.
Width does effect sidewall height. The first number is tyre width in mm. The second number is the height of the sidewall as a percentage of the width, and the third number is of course rim size. So for example a 215/50/15 is 215 mm wide, 107.5mm high sidewall (50% of 215). Hope this makes it clearer.
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