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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Tyres?

What's the received wisdom on choice of tyres these days? I have 5jx13 wheels so am using 165/60x13s. I would like reasonable wear and able to stand up to the annual track day.
L B Rose

I run Uniroyal Rainexperts. In a bigger size, but they work well. Soft sidewalls help with road compliance and they survived 2 track days.
Rob Armstrong

Rob, unfortunately the Rainexperts are no longer available, having been replaced by the Rainsport 3 which is asymmetrical so doesnt look right. They were my tyre of choice on both the midget and the modern. No problem with the modern but I am currently looking for the Midget as need two soon. Not ideal but the best bet at the moment looks like Firestone Multihawk 2 but have no experience of them. Other than cheap unknown brands its getting increasingly difficult to get good narrow 13 inch tyres that are not asymmetric. I suspect before much longer the only option may be to go to one of the suppliers who are now having some of the old tyres manufectured but they are not cheap and currently dont do the sizes we need.

Trev
Trevor Mason

Vredestein T-trac
Symetrical patern, good grip and acceptable wear.
Onno K

T trac is not available in 145/80/13 but is in 155/70/13 as Rainexperts still are I notice. There seems to be very little available in 165/60/13 which is the size being ask ed about.

Trev
Trevor Mason

Slightly off topic, what's wrong with asymmetric tread patterns?
Karl Bielby

Karl, nothing wrong with them, but in my opinion they just dont look right on old cars. It could be that us oldies are just not used to seeing them on classics but it is a visual thing and nothing to do with how they perform.

Trev
Trevor Mason

'what's wrong with asymmetric tread patterns?'

We have used Yokohama 185/70x13 A021R on 5 1/2" x 13" rims for many years, and they are absolutely fantastic in all conditions, except cold and snowy!

From Jan 1 2016 they are no longer 'E' marked for road use, so have had to find an alternative and chose Uniroyal RainExpert3.

On a track day at Castle Combe a couple of weeks ago, they performed well, but I could feel a 'squirm' that was never there with the A021R's. On the road they perform well and on a very wet M4 were very good.

Visually though, being asymmetrical, as earlier in this post 'they don't look right'!

In pictures taken at Castle Combe, they appear to 'tuck under' on corners, but actually I don't think are do, just the impression of a narrower top to the tyre and the asymmetrical tread pattern.

One of the reasons for selecting them is that they are in the MSA Blue Book for approved tyres for competition.

Richard
Richard Wale

Richard, I agree with you about Uniroyal wet weather performance. I have been a fan of their tyres going right back to the seventies with the original Rallye series and they are now easier to get than they have been at times in the past, but it is the visual aspect that is forcing me to change now. By all accounts the new pattern is supposed to be better than the old one and they were good.

Trev
Trevor Mason

Sorry for typo, I meant 165/70 not 60. That gives a similar rolling radius to original tyres.

Actually I had asymmetric tyres on my first Frogeye back in the 1970s. I think they were Michelins. I didn't worry then about how they looked, and won't now. The wheel and tyre sizes are non-standard anyway.

I see Uniroyal RainExpert 3 is available for £43 fitted which seems good to me. Kumho KH17 has the same performance rating but is slightly cheaper.
L B Rose

I also have a set of Rainexpert 3 on my P6. They're excellent. But,as mentioned, the asymmetric nature looks awesome on one side and weird on the other side IMO.

My logic says that surely having the v bit both ways round must mean it makes no real difference... Or have I got loads of water dispersal on one side and an aquaplaning mess on the other?
Rob Armstrong

Just googled them. They are a bit weird aren't they!

http://www.jungletyres.co.uk/blog/uniroyal-rainsport-3-why-weird-design

Malc.
Malcolm Le Chevalier

Oh I see, yeh they are a little odd! Il stick to normal tyres..

I'd like some with nice stiff sidewalls as I'm sure mine tuckmunder when cornering hard.
Karl Bielby

Well... i learned something new today... thanks people

symmetrical, asymmetrical, and directional tread designs...

and here i thought tires were just tires with differant compounds


i have to say... i love the look of directional tread tire design over thst of symmetrical and asymmetrical

what is your opionion as to performance and handlng on a midget with directional tread tire design.

prop
prop

From that link:

"they are designed this way to clear the water away from the car via the sides and not underneath which may lead to an increasing risk of aquaplaning"

eh?

If I'm reading that right, then they're suggesting that the tyres are like that to stop the water building up under the car and aquaplaning on that? That'd be a very serious puddle.

I'm still under the impression that the ones where the v's start at the edge and go into the middle as the tyre goes round are worse... But they are on now, and at £36 each unfitted from Camskill, they'll do.

They are soft, and do tuck under.

When mine die on the midget (which won't be that long!) I'll be putting Continental Ecocontacts on I think.

see attached picture for strangeness...


Rob Armstrong

Rob...

from what iearned today... thats called an asysmetrical directional tire and i think its installed wrong on the front right

the V is supposed to point in the other direction and whats on the inside for tread is supposed to be on th3 outside of the thread

or at least thats my understanding... and these tires are location specific ... once they go on you dont rotate them like regular tires


Im sure im right about all the above... i read it on the internet

haha

prop
prop

.

prop
prop

Yeah, it doesn't make sense!
Malcolm Le Chevalier

Hmmm ... well i misresd or the internet is wrong... i went back and looked and came up with this ... so it appears rob tires are on correctly ... maybe ???

I reread it on the internet agian... haha



Directional & Asymmetrical Tire Tread Patterns

Combining the water ejection capabilities of directional tires with the dry weather traction features of asymmetrical tires, directional and asymmetrical tires have directional “V” shaped treadblocks but are not symmetric around the centerline of the tire. Not surprisingly these tires are designed to be used on a single side of the vehicle and can only be rotated from front to rear, and can’t be rotated at all on cars with staggered tire sizes.

prop
prop

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1090585&i=20

My interpretation of the diagram about half way down... on one side the swipes send the water to the outside of the wheel, the other side they send it to the circumferential grooves that then spurt it out the back, maybe?!
Malcolm Le Chevalier

odd is what it is. Mine are on correctly on the big Rover. They work, and work well, but remain odd.

In answer to the original question, in your position LB, and with a lack of non odd-looking Uniroyals, I'd buy these:

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m73b0s365p113194/Continental_Tyres_Car_Continental_ContiEcoContact_3_Continental_Conti_Eco_Contact_3_-_165_70_R13_79T_TL_Fuel_Eff_%3A_E_Wet_Grip%3A_B_NoiseClass%3A_2_Noise%3A_70dB

Rob Armstrong

As Prop says, the front right on Rob's car looks like it's been fitted wrong, but the explanation in the Jungle tyres ad says that it is indeed correct. It certainly looks wrong to me. This appears to suggest that you could fit a conventional rotational tyre with the symmetrical V pattern the wrong way round and it would make no difference to the water clearance ability.

Uniroyal will have tested the Rainsport 3 to destruction, so we have to assume that it works well however odd it looks.
Even those Contis look a bit lop sided, though not as much as the Uniroyals.
Bernie Higginson

Rob,

The ContiEcoContact3 were my first choice, but just not available in 185/70x13 at the time I needed them a few weeks' ago. Much less obviously asymmetrical appearance - will try again when I need to replace the Uniroyals.

Richard
Richard Wale

Thanks guys, a lot of answers for a short question! The Continentals are more expensive than the Uniroyals and are rated the same. As I said, I don't mind them looking strange.

Interesting speculation about modern compounds. 30 years ago I put a set of Michelins on and caned them with some brutal tarmac autotests. They stood up very well, and I still have them on the old steel wheels. They are even harder now! The Firestones I put on the 5" alloys were wrecked by a couple of track days.
L B Rose

I went for the Rainsport 3's a few weeks ago and was surprised at the noticeable improvement of road holding as against the previous mixture of brands that was on the car and until I read this thread had never even noticed the strange pattern, for the price was not disappointed.
Tim Lynam

This thread was discussed between 10/05/2016 and 16/05/2016

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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