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MG MG Y Type - 5.25 x 16.0 TYRES DURABILITY

I have just ordered a 525 x 16 Excelsior tyre from Longstone Tyres in Yorkshire. These are budget tyres at £84.50 each including VAT. The tyre (near side front) had done 5000 miles and was slightly more worn than the other (OSF) the other will be used as a spare.

The two rears possibly have 2k+ miles life left.

What I would appreciate is folk's experience of cross plies (as far as I am aware there are no comercially available radials of this size) currently on the market and their life (mileage) expectancy.

I take the view that after a maximum of 7 years tyres should be changed, due to wall failure etc. And that is irrespective of tyre size and type.

A set of five Excelsiors would cost £435 GBP. I am quite willing to pay a reasonable price for higher quality but I need to have some evidence of others experiences.

Any thoughts, suggestions and ideas are warmly welcomed.

Thanks

Jerry
J P BIRKBECK

I am still running a set of Avon Tourist that are 12 years old at least and show no signs of wear or wall cracking Jerry.

Paul
Paul Barrow

Cross ply Dunlop I purchased earlier this year, done too few miles to report on wear and tear, however a note worth considering is all tyres are date stamped with week/year of manufacturer. Clearly due to low sales the Avon tourist alternative was made before 2008 so was at least 6 years old. This was no brainer to buy the Dunlop made in 2014.

You are correct advice is that tyres should be replaced regularly irrespective of appearance as the rubber degrades, my concern was if this were to become part of MOT then buying tyres already not new is limiting life and therefore important consideration in my decision making process at time of purchase.

Richard
R E Knight

Interesting comments guys.

I am surprised Paul that you are running on 12 yrs + old. From what I have read over the years I think its worthwhile being careful. There was a guy a few years ago who had thoroughly restored an MGB to show condition. Amazingly he decided to use the original tyres when he took it to a show. Sadly the decision was fatal and he and his som were killed in an accident on their way home when there was a blow out.

It was well covered in the Classic press in the UK.
When I bought the YT the car was fitted with white wall tyres, which I thought did little for the car. Moreover, whilst I was aware that the owner had driven around 5000 miles on the car I was unaware of when they were fitted, They too had good tread and no apparent cracking in the tyre walls, They could have been 10 years + in age.

I had no idea of the state of the inner tubes so I ordered 5 new Excelsior cross plies and inner tubes and had them fitted.

Having looked at my tyres the least worn is now a spare and the spare, which has had about 300 miles on it will now go on the front along with the new tyre which has arrived today.

Paul how many miles have you done on your Avons?

I agree with Richard and it will be interesting to see how he gets on with his Dunlops.

Incidentally I did find on one suppliers website that 525 x 16 radials are available, though probably the profile is different (?). They were coming out at around £225 GBP each Plus VAT which works out to £1350 GBP (including VAT)!At least 3 times the cost of a set of cross ply Excelsiors!!!

About Any experiences of fitting them (I believe that they were also radials) and using them would be very useful.

As Richard correctly notes the supply and cost of fitting a set of cross plies is worth noting when considering buying a YA or YT (YB's have 15 inch wheels and the cost of cross plies or radials ought to be cheaper).

So any thoughts on 525 x 16 types, mileage and experience would be appreciated. And how many of us will own up to running on tyres which are over 7 years old!

Thanks

Jerry

J P BIRKBECK

Hi Jerry

In the old days my records suggest that cross ply tyres lasted about 20-25,000 miles with regular wheel swapping. Does this sound right with other long period ownership drivers? I did try more recently to fit radials but found the rim profile incompatible, so that either one side of the tyre fitted but not the other, and no amount of soft soap helped.

Bryan
B Mellem

Sorry Jerry I missed an entry the mileage was more like 15000 miles
B Mellem

That seems about right Bryan. which tyres were you using/are you now using?

I note from a few tyre manufacturer's websites that whilst there is no statutory requirement to change tyres, and that most modern cars will have had their tyres changed within around five years due to the mileage undertaken

However, a reasonable benchmark of 7- 8 years would seem sensible on our classics. Which means that the four that I now have on tht YT (including the spare) will need to be changed by no later than 2016/17 (fitted in 2009. Food for thought!)

Thanks
Jerry
J P BIRKBECK

Jerry: I'm just about to replace all the tyres on my car, not because they've worn out, but because they have aged to the point where safety becomes the prime concern.

I fitted a set of Avon Tourist HM tyres when the car went back on the road, and I was very happy with both their appearance and their behaviour on the car - once I'd got used to the strangely different feeling of crossplies, of course. The wear rate has actually been very low - I've done just over 21000 miles on them, and I would judge that they are about half worn, without any rotation around the car: the wear rate has been roughly constant all round the car, and there is no sign of tracking error on the front tyres.

I've always kept the tyres clean and correctly inflated, but after (amazingly) 17 years there are now clear signs of cracking on the sidewalls, which would be an MoT failure I'm sure: in any case it's not safe to continue relying on them, and so they will be replaced over the winter.

Personally, I don't like the look of radials on the YA's 16in wheels, and so I'll be getting a new set of crossplies. I know this subject has been much discussed on this forum, but for me it's a matter of originality.

I have to admit that I haven't yet priced the new tyres, but expect to be eating porridge a lot over the next few months....
Tim Griggs

http://www.partinfo.co.uk/files/VOSA%20Inspection%20Manual%20Classes%203%204%205%20&%207.pdf

see page 104, just cracking alone does not amount to rejection of MOT, peace of mind another matter, time to replace.
R E Knight

I would choose the Dunlop above the Avon Tourist. On my car I have them both and the difference in grip is so much that I can't fit the Avon's on the rear because of the oversteer that induces.

The radials must be Michelins, expensive but the Y-owners that fitted them are very glad they did. If I had the budget, I'd fit them too.

The fatal MGB tyres must have been 30 years or older, that is not wise to use.
When a car is stored in a dark garage you can get 10 years easily from the tyres. Ageing tyres loose their grip gradually, fitting new tyres is always satisfying.
The fatal MGB tyres must have been 30 years or older, that is not wise to use.
Willem van der Veer

This thread was discussed between 08/09/2014 and 10/09/2014

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