Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Plus 8 tyre recommendation

Hello

What are the recommended tyres for a 1977 plus 8?, ie manaufacturer brand and type? 195/70 R14 currently fitted. I would have expected 205/60 R15. I think. Or were 15 inch wheels only fitted later? Normal daily driving - ie rain and shine, no track days.

I see on several websites the suggestion that these should be 15 inch wheels, and indeed the wheels do measure 15 inch on the external diameter, but I understand this is not the right way to measure the diameter - you have to measure the diameter where the tyre bead sits (which is obviously not accessible without taking the tyre off).

many thanks

Without R & P steering and stub axle bearings won't steering be a bit heavy with 205 tyres, assuming no PAS?

I too am interested in this. I have a 1992 Plus 8 with 205/60/15 tyres , which are in good condition but aged. I would like to replace with a premium tyre that will improve the ride quality but not at the expense of grip. I do not drive fast (but like to accelerate and listen to that beautiful V8 talk to me) but I have always taken the attitude that no matter what fantastic gizmos any car is bestowed with, it all comes down to the couple of inches of rubber between all that performance and the thing you want to stay most attached to, the road surface.

The wheel size should be on the wheel. It is if alloys are fitted.
My 2002 had the 205/60/15 alloy wheels and I used Avon ZV7 tyres. The steering only felt heavier when parking. While driving no problem. No power steering. 21/22 psi pressure all round. The wheel spec was cast into the wheel along with “Morgan Motor Company”. Not sure about wire wheels though.

Just to add to the debate I'm wondering about whether summer tyres or all seasons are better. As I understand it, summer tyres are optimised for 7 to 40 deg C and all season have a slightly lower temp range ie -10 to 30 deg C. (True winter tyres are for when it is really cold, and hopefully that's not going to happen in the UK). I don't think I have ever had all-season tyres on any car that I owned so maybe it's not a problem in the south of the UK where I live, and the temp does not go below 5 deg C that often in the winter (at least when I'm likely to be driving). Does anyone have an opinion on summer vs 4 season ?

'A' rated for wet conditions (which is a plus in my view) and said to be: Avon ZV7 is a high performance summer tyre - rated A for wet grip so that sounded good but they don't go down to 14 inch.

Vintage Tyres at Beaulieu offer a suitable Classic tyre: Vredestein Sprint Classic 195/70R14 91V. at £168 ex Vat. But it seems that 'classic' simply means it just looks right for the period (ie the 1970s), which is probably not something I worry about. Or a modern DUNLOP StreetResponse 2 195 / 70 R14 91T Summer tyre rated B for wet grip (on a scale of A-E) for about 100£ ex Vat. Other tyre suppliers seem to have similar prices....

Dave, I'm just thinking laterally here..... have a look at the "For Sale & Wanted" listings, there are some very tasty 15" alloys and tyres listed for sale.

I have Dunlop Blu response on mine and find them to have excellent grip wet or dry (on Morgan centrelock mags) but yes rather cumbersome at parking.

Whilst Dunlop Blue Response seem to have a strong following, tyre performance is a dynamic situation with one manufacturer constantly improving on another in the all round overall top performanance stakes. It makes sense to me to consider the latest releases therefore particularly the ones that currently are top of the list.

At the moment Continental Premium Contact 7 released in August last year seem to fit the bill as per this all round test and already recommended by several TM'rs. Note Dunlop Sport Blue Response launched in 2013 are well down the list!

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S come close and offer better resistance to aquaplaning but the Continentals beat them marginally on both dry and wet handling. In any case the 4S Michelins are not available in the smaller rims sizes needed for trads.

Also worth bearing in mind as often repeated, that virtually any new tyres will be a very noticeable improvement on those eight plus year old hard but hardly worn tyres you're replacing

14" wheels were standard on the +8 for a period.

I too used to recommend Avon ZV7s but recently I have noticed that they harden quite badly with age. This was confirmed during a conversation with Brian and James at Techniques.

With a light car (even a +8 is light compared to most modern stuff) and relatively low mileages, we normally replace tyres due to age rather than wear so this is not so much of an issue for us.

I was given a recommendation of the Yokohama Blue Earth but in the soft compound EN 32 , the normal compound is ES 32.

Now that the Michelin All-Season tyre is available in 205/60 x 15 I wondered if this was worth a try out. The rubber will obviously be softer than summer tyres to cope with the winter conditions and I think we could cope with the higher wear rates that are reported on saloon cars that are so equipped.

I have not previously come across the Continentals but I don't think they are available for 15 inch rims , only 16s upwards, unless I am mistaken.