[T3] Tired Searching for Tires

[J. Jonik]

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>