Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Plus 4 Tyre options

Yeah, but Heinz's 90kph is only 55mph

It would be interesting to know whether your 2 year old tyres come from NL or already from India. It can be read on the sidewall of the tyre.

Having discovered that our 1986 +4 was shod with some tyres which were twenty years old, we went on a rubber hunt.

Not keen on the cheap offerings from wherever they are made, we imported quality Avon ZV7 195/60 R15 from the UK factory. The car is like new after the poor ride and steering we had before.

The tyre dealer said that owners of classics such as Rolls Royce use them on their heavy cars, having had issues with lesser tyres. The quality of Avons certainly enhance the drive of a Morgan.

Friend with a '97 4/4 was still running the original tyres 6 years ago. He was amazed at the difference when I pushed him to change them. The trouble with the Morgans is that unless you have very soft tyres and drive like an Italian they remain with legal tread depth until long after their use-by date.

I will probably change mine again this year.

Not sure where MMC source their OE ZV7's but the rubber hardens after just 5 years (confirmed by tyre date). Unfortunately the highly rated Continental Premium Contact 7's I have now are not available in 15 inch rim sizes although later Plus 4's did have 16 inch rims as an option.

They came from the factory in the UK - Avon County district. The dealer here in Australia imports racing car tyres from the motor sport division. They arranged with the road division to load five tyres for me in one of the containers.

Having checked my records, all of the old ones were Avons (different on each axle) and all over twenty years old. I think five years is enough for any brand if they are to stay soft. I learned from this, Morgans need all the help they can get from soft rubber.

I agree. 5 years is just about the limit, 8 years is pushing it and 10 years is the absolute limit.

Just had 4 205/60 R15s fitted - 30 mile drive back and I was delighted with the improved ride - maybe the old Yokohamas with a bit 'stiff'

Following recommendations on TM, I have just fitted 5 new tyres to my Plus 4.
I have gone for 195/65 instead of the original 195/60.
An absolute no brainer:
The 65s, being a more popular size, were £24 per tyre cheaper than 60s, so a total saving of £120
I have now gained a valuable cm or so in ground clearance
No discernible change in acceleration etc and still plenty of clearance to chassis and BRBs
The speedo is now more accurate with about 1 mph above gps at 50 mph
Previously, I had bang-on weights but this time went for stick-ons on the inner rims and all seems good. (I have recorded the weights and positions in case any should fall off in the future)
My previous tyres were Good Year Efficient Grip Performance 2 which are top rated for wet grip. They have done just over 28k miles in almost 8 years, with 4 mm of tread left, and seem to work well, so that’s what I have used again.
As an aside, following another tip on TM, I tried “Dragons Breath” on my stainless rims and it worked a treat with no residual staining (unlike the Auto Glym stuff that I tried last year). Just spray on and leave to soak without drying, then blast off with the pressure washer.