Wheel and tyre refresh

The current tyres are nearly 10 years old so really at the point of needing replacing and the steel wheels were powder-coated over 11 years and are starting to look shabby with a few rust-spots making themselves known. It makes sense then to get them both sorted at the same time to avoid having to go through balancing twice.

The date code on the old tyres reads 0316
The old tyres from 2016 View photo

The rostyles went back to Romax for a full strip and fresh powder-coat in silver just like last time at £54 a wheel. This time I also got the spare done as it has been sitting n my previous spray paint since and would stand out as it had the black inserts painted.

Next was tyre choice. I had decided to go back to 165s which I ran previously rather than the 175s I'd been running since, to possibly improve handling. I really liked the look of the UniRoyal Rallye 380 I originally had and they were a great tyre, but unfortunately they are no longer available. I wanted a more classic style to provide the more rounded profile rather than the modern square edge, so started looking at some different options.

After a bit of research I came up with this list of 165R14 tyres with a classic look/profile:

  • Dunlop Sport Classic £250 each
  • Pirelli CA67 Cinturato £202 each
  • Vredestein Sprint Classic £114 each
  • Blockley £93 each

I did consider the Pirelli despite the cost. These would likely last me another 10 years, so it isn't like I'd be buying them every couple of years. However I couldn't find any real-world reviews of them and while they might have been great I was unsure of laying out that much without some reassurance.

Vredsteins came a close second to my eventual choice. My current tyres have been fine and I'd spotted Vredesteins on several cars on Hero-Era style rallys and they were making noises at the Mille Miglia.

But I kept hearing good things about Blockleys. On several forums people who liked to push their cars were singing their praises, and the pre-war car community seems to use them quite heavily too. They also have a 1000 mile satisfaction guarentee which can't be argued with.

I ordered a set of 5 tyres and they duly arrived wrapped in blue plastic to protect them from sunlight and damage in transit. The tread looks very smart, though will be interesting to see how well it shifts water as there is no clear channel like my existing ones have.

A tyre wrapped in bright blue plastic with a Blockley label
Blockley tyres freshly arrived View photo
The old and new tyres standing next to each other, tread facing the camera. The Blockley has a dogbone pattern tread whilst the Vredestein has a more modern style with central channels.
The new Blockley compared to the Vredestein spare which had been unused. The Blockley actually seems a little taller. View photo

The last time I had the wheels balanced I managed to find a tyre shop with a bolt adapter so the wheels could be lug-balanced rather than cone balanced. Unfortunately that garage has since closed and calling round all the local tyre shops showed that this seems to be something no-one longer carries. There is some split opinion on whether rostyles need lug balancing or not, so I figured in the absence of immediately available alternatives I'd try it out and see how bad cone balancing would be.

I got all the tyres fitted and balanced (on a cone), but had to get two redone as the stick-on weights fell off before the wheels had made a revolution. Newly powder-coated wheels need careful cleaning where the weights are to be applied so the adhesive will take hold.

The wheels with fresh tyres stacked on top of each other. The B can be seen in the garage behind.
Blockleys mounted on the fresh wheels ready to go on the car View photo

Blockley advise to take the first 30 or so miles easy to bed the tyres in and remove any of the mould-release chemicals. With this done we took the B for a 100 mile round-trip to Harrogate. Everything was ok and we ran at 70mph with no issues until about 30 miles in there was a sudden onset of vibration through the steering wheel.

I assumed one of the wheel weights had come off again, and easing off to 60mph calmed the vibration down which seemed to support that. It spoiled the test run a little, but the steering was really pleasant.

However when we got home and I inspected the wheels all the weights were present and correct. So now there are a few things to check out to track down the reason for the vibration:

  • swap the front and rear tyres to see if that helps, which would confirm the balance is out
  • check the toe-in
  • check the bolts securing the lever arm dampers
  • check the propshaft bolts (as I only recently fitted it)

Will update with what I find.

One thing I will say is that I am surprised at how much lighter the steering is at low speed. The width of the tyre is not massively smaller than the 175 but the difference it makes to the effort needed on the steering wheel is considerable.