Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Roadster 3.0 tyres choice?

I need to replace the original tyres on my recently acquired Roadster 100..they’re hardly worn, but 14 yrs old!

205/55/16, so loads of choice..I’m looking at Dunlop sport maxx, or maybe Michelin Primacy…..I’ve had loads of conflicting advice from local dealers and it becomes difficult to make a decision, as the right tyres are so important..

Any experience of these, or other recommendations would be much appreciated!

As you say, a lot of choice in that size so it really depends what you want in terms of the performance envelope.

I went for the slightly more sporty end of the range with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 and have been very pleased with them including a 2400 mile tour down to the high alpine roads in Germany and Austria recently.

They performed brilliantly on the mountain passes and hairpins but also very stable on high speed motorways.

I think they have a slightly stiffer sidewall than some which is a trade off between comfort and handling. However I have SSL all round so the ride quality was still excellent with slightly softer damper settings.

They would have been my first choice Bob but I recall they weren't originally available in 205/55R16 size although they seem to be now

I would imagine you would want to avoid the XL suffix (reinforced) variant.

At 14 years old they are WAY past a safe date, especially if the sidewalls have had lots of sunlight on them

When you do change them the car will feel noticeably better

I changed the 7-year old Toyo Proxes on my 2009 Roadster last year. I decided that as the factory fits Avon ZV7 205/55/16 to current Plus models, that would be the way to go. I have since done about 2,500 miles, can't say they feel like anything more than just tyres. A few years ago I changed the tyres on one of the several TVRs I have owned, I chose Dunlop Blue Response, and despite being inexpensive they really did make a noticeable difference.

I have Avon ZV7 on my R100 Roadster which replaced the old Avon ZV5. There was a noticeable improvement in the ride quality which I put down to the age of the ZV5. I have not tried Dunlop Blue Response on the Morgan but did have them on my TVR V8S and they were very good on the car.

I replaced the original fitment 14 year old Avons on my Roadster S2 with the Avon ZV7, there was a noticeable improvement in ride quality.

I've used ZV7s on several "everyday" cars over the years. Quite happy with them.

My Avon ZV5s have gone very hard after a fair while on the car , and I can feel that the wet grip is definitely compromised. I was going to replace them with ZV7s but was advised that they also will age quite quickly and was advised to give the Yokohama "Blueearth" a try but only in the softest compound, which I believe is EN 32.

Thanks for all the advice…I ended up getting Continental Premium Contact 7’s, and am very happy with the improvement in ride comfort and handling…old tyres should definitely be replaced!