Greetings all:
Thanks, first of all, to tall the on- and off-list replies to me request for
suggestions on TR4 tires in the original 165-15 size. As it turns out I went
with Cooper Sportmaster GLT tires. They weren't the cheapest, but since I
bought them locally they were only about $7/each more than the delivered price
of
the bargain basement Kumho tires from Tire Rack. Both the Kumhos and Coopers
(as well as Kellys) were recommended by list members but I only found the
Coopers available locally (along with a variety of private label tires of
unknown
origin/quality/desirability).
I chose the Coopers because I decided to buy the tires and tubes, plus
mounting and balancing, all at one place. This is my tip-of-the-hat to a local
tire
shop who served me very well last year in a moment of need. It should also
help eliminate any potential finger-pointing as to who is responsible for
things like balance-ability, tread wear and any potential warranty issues.
One-stop
shopping, if you will.
After only a hundred miles or so, I can say that the Coopers seem to meet my
requirements very well. They are round, black, fairly quiet, ride well, seem
to have quite decent grip (certainly much better than the wooden feel and grip
of their predecessors), they balanced up with very little weight, and they
look good. One expects tires to be black, but in my experience some of the
other issues are often surprisingly off the mark. I find it particularly
encouraging that it took so little weight to balance the tires (on wire wheels,
no
less). On the one hand this is a cosmetic issue since I find unduly large lumps
of lead hammered on the rim's perimeter to be an eye sore. On the other, it
speaks to manufacturing consistency and implies better quality. Time will tell
as far as wear and tear are concerned.
For now, put me down as a happy camper who would recommend this choice to
anyone else looking for good tires -- at a fair price -- for an
enthusiastically
driven pleasure car.
Bob Sharp
Michigan
64-ish TR4
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