[T3] Tired Searching for Tires

[Keith Park]

I believe the new Mini's use our tire size.
Anywho, here in the NE the Kumho's seem to be the
Readily available tire in our size and Im actually very happy with mine,
Much stiffer sidewall than the Kelley's I used to have and they handle much
better.  Tire rack carries Kumho.

$68 is pretty darn cheap for a tire, my buddy just put new tires on the
Oddessy and they were over $200 each, even more for his Ford Exploder.

Keith


Top Notch Restorations
topnotch at nycap.rr.com 
http://www.a383ina68.addr.com/radiorest/main.htm
71 Squareback "Hothe"
65 Notchback "El Baja Rojo"
65 Squareback "Eggcrate"
87 golf "Winterat"
93 RX7 "Redstur"


-----Original Message-----
From: type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org
[mailto:type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org] On Behalf Of J. Jonik
Sent: Saturday, February 04, 2012 5:43 PM
To: type3 at vwtype3.org
Subject: [T3] Tired Searching for Tires

Has this topic been addressed here before?  Can that be re-posted if
possible?

I haven't tried to buy tires for my T III for ages.    They are all 165 R
15.  When I found one bad tire, and having used up the good ones from parts
cars,  I went to local used tire shops for a replacement or two.    The guys
there didn't even recognize my measurement numbers.   They all said there
MUST be a middle number...something about sidewalls.

Long story short...even the VW dealer couldn't help.  They couldn't even
advise another size tire that would work...i.e. Narrow enough to not rip
itself up on front wheel well when turning.   (VW dealers can't do older VW
keys either.)

So, finally, a Firestone dealer (two of my tires were Firestone) said he
could order tires with numbers  165 80 R - 15.     $68 plus $18 balancing
and mounting.   Almost $90 for ONE TIRE !  Quite a leap from my usual $20 or
so for good used ones, for decades.   Don't know what the "80" is about  
And, I think these tires are Chinese.

One person told me that the only other car that used that size was
Triumph...but don't know what years.

What's to know about this?    What range of sizes are compatible with a T-3
?   How wide is the limit?
 Are such tires now turning into some "specialty" item that needs to be
mail-ordered?  Are there any known "hoarders" of 165R 15 tires who ship
them?   

This can be a real problem if traveling and getting flats...only to find no
tires are available nearby.    A question then is...what to do in a pinch as
temporary tires?

Salvage yards?   No luck.  Most old VWs have been long trashed for
metal...and any tires ON the car would be rotted into the ground.   Gotta
get lucky finding one in the trunk.

To those with parts cars out on the lawn...get them off the ground if the
tires are still usable.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL:
<http://lists.vwtype3.org/private.cgi/type3-vwtype3.org/attachments/20120204
/4339b94d/attachment.htm>
_______________________________________________
VWType3.Org mailing list - type3 at vwtype3.org
http://lists.vwtype3.org/listinfo.cgi/type3-vwtype3.org
Contact gregm at vwtype3.org if you need help with the list.