I know that this topic has been more or less beaten to death during the past
year or so but here goes anyway:
I just bought a new set of 16" X 7" Panasports (Spruell Alpha $208 each +
shipping) NFI and a set of Dunlop SP8000 205 X 55 X 16s (tire rack $94 each +
shipping) for my TR6. I have been amazed at the improvement in the ride and
handling of these tires over the 215 X 65 X15 Yokahamas (quite worn) that were
on my car. Overall the current combination can best be described as
"smoother". Some of this improvement may be attributable to the 6 pound each
reduction in weight over the previous tire rim combination. I have also been
suprised at the compliments from club members about the improvement in looks of
this combination on my car. The concensus is that they make the car look more
modern. I have had no problem with this combination rubbing anywhere on the
body despite a rear tube shock conversion and they actually appear smaller than
my previous combination (calculations prove this is correct). The diameter of
this combination is about an inch less than the stock wheels so I estimate I
will be about 5 MPH fast at 75 on the speedometer. Fortunately I have OD so
the increase in RPMs at speed will not be too significant. Thanks to all of
those on the list (esp Tim Holbrook) for their input on this issue since I was
concerned about the tires/wheels being too wide/tall and rubbing the fenders
and/or the suspension.
Mike Lunsford, 1970 TR6
|