David,
Where are you going to get those P44's? Last year, I broke the cord in one of
the set of P44's that I had on my Spit and when I took
it to the Pirelli dealer, he informed me they have not been made in over 10
years. The replacements are typically P400's which I
purchased for the front of my SPit. I still have a pair of P44's on the rear
and a spare tire from the original set.
The P400's are not as radical a tread as the 44's and appear to be more for
touring rather than performance. They are also a bit
narrower in the patch than the P44's.
Let me know if there is still someone selling new P44's.
Regards,
Joe Curry
david wrote:
>
> Thanks to the many people who responded to my inquiry about soft
> sidewall tires on my 1979 spitfire. I have found that tires vary a great
> deal even with the same dimensions, ie, it was not the size of the tires
> but the brand/model. I now have decided to get pirelli p44's at 177/70
> size mounted on 4.5 inch stock rims. I only have two on the rear of my
> car (I pick up the other two on saturday) but they feel OK. They are
> about $50 each. I think it is best to stay away, in general, from the
> cheaper, lower speed rating tires. I will post on this topic when I
> have my complete set of tires on the car tomorrow. I really like the 6
> inch mags I have had on the car but the 205/60's rub on hard cornering
> and bumps. I was going to go with 185/60's but they have less diameter
> and I don't want to lose any ground clearance because I do a lot of
> driving on less than perfect roads in the foothills and mountains around
> here. The 175/70's are very close to stock diameter. I do say that the
> car really handles well though with wide rims and tires - a lot of fun!
> I got this car about four weeks ago and this is my first experience
> with actually driving a spitfire over many miles. I have a 1965 mkII
> that drives but it needs paint, interior and u-joints so its been
> sitting on the back burner for the last year. I can see why everyone on
> this list likes this little car so much. It is the only other car I've
> driven that is as much fun (or more) to drive than the porsche 914's
> that I've owned and driven for the last 15 years (don't laugh you guys,
> they are good cars when fixed properly, sort of like the spitfire. I'm
> even going to sell my 914 to make room for another spitfire.
> I've replaced a few things on the car - ujoints, fuel pump; 35
> year old starter from my mkII untill I get another - and now I need to
> obtain a rear axle/hub assembly because one side is rumbling. Anyone
> have a good one for sale? Or can anyone tell me where I can get a
> factory hub puller or its equivalent? Anyone want to trade an excellent
> set of 6 inch 8-spoke mags with conical inserts that use the stock lug
> nuts for a factory hub puller? I do all of my own work and I know I need
> this tool.
>
> thanks again
> David
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