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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MG Y Type - AVON radials on Y type

After much searching and research I have installed Avon 165/80-16 radial tyres and tubes on my car and it handles beautifully. The tread is less than a centimetre wider and the profile almost exactly the same as the cross plys. Tyre company experts in Australia and the UK have confirmed their safety on 3 inch rims provided that tubes are used.
L D Wallace

Very Interesting. I keep thinking about replacing the cross plies on Y7207 with radials, but although over 10 years old the walls are not cracked.
I searched the internet at some length for suitable tyres preferably a tad larger diameter to increase the pathetically low gearing of the Y.

Apart from a couple of very expensive tyres for much faster sports cars that are well over £100 each, the only likely candidates were the 175 x 16 tyres made by Michelin and Dunlop for the London taxi, at about £55 each, hence my interest in your comment. I have heard that the taxi tyres are more rigid and give a poor ride; anyone know diffferent? I feel sure that they will fit OK as the steel compact spare wheel for my Merceded C class whick is 195/65x16 is a perfect fit on the Y stud pattern and I think might actaully work without rubbing, on the front wheels where I tried it. Of course the tyre would look stupid and would not be safe on the 3 inch Y rims.

I rang Cooper Avon, and they do not make/have not made a tyre of the size that you quote, and suggested that someone could have mis-labelled them, but presumably they have Avon imprinted?

If you could find out where these tyres came from it would be a service to many Y owners. And perhaps pass on the other markings on the tyre.

Regards to all
Michael


Michael Nicholson

Michael, I can confirm that they are Avon tyres. They are identified in the Avon catalogue as Avon 550R16. Contact David Thomson at Vintage Tyre Supplies Ltd, The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, Hampshire, England, telephone 1590 612 261 fax 1590 612 722 or email david@vintagetyres.com or sales@vintagetyres.com. The tyres are made by Avon in just one batch each year. Regards, Leigh
L D Wallace

Thanks, Leigh
So much for Avon's sales office !

Michael
Michael

At the moment I do not need new tyres, but this post is interesting.I am always looking for incremental improvements and this sounds as if it could be one. Does it fit in the spare tyre compartment? I will be in Australia in April and plan being at the MG meet somewhere near Melbourne so perhaps will see you there. Terry
Terry O'Brien

Vintage Tyres are a good company - I used them all the time when I was in the UK ... but then they were also very local being only about 12 miles down the road!

Paul
Paul Barrow

See you at Geelong,Terry. Although I provided the UK contact details to Michael, I actually purchased my tyres from Stuckey Tyre Service in Brunswick, a suburb of Melbourne here in Victoria. Proprietor Russell Stuckey has a distribution arrangement with Vintage Tyre Supplies and is the best source for them in Australia.
L D Wallace

Had TAXI tyres on a YA back in the 1990's and ran them for 4 years at 25 to 30 miles a day work and back they were fine but careful fitting was important and tubes were necessary. The supplier needs to be sympathetic some refused to fit such a wide tyre to a narrow rim. They did occasionally catch the inner wing on hard cornering but on the whole made a great improvement to the handling.
P Eastburn

Terry
I'm certain that the Taxi tyre won't fit in the spare wheel compartment if inflated. The standard Avons on mine are an interference fit and need a bit of pushing and shoving to get them in.

When I change to Taxis, plan A is to leave the spare uninflated and carry an electric pump, and if it still won't fit plan B to keep one cross ply for the spare, which I'm afraid would be illegal to use in the UK, but desperate situations call for desperate remedies.

Michael
Michael

This thread was discussed between 21/10/2008 and 30/10/2008

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