Are they Nankang N803s, a tyre I hear are quite good. They're badged M+S, but more of an all seasons tyre. Excellent in the wet, have a friend in Edinburgh on four and he swears by them on cold, slippery sets. Soft sidewall, almost a Mich copy...

Otherwise currently Nankangs in this country are a more generic type, prob cheaper to make. And not as well suited to a 2CV, with a squarer tread.

i got 2 uniroyals on the back and 2 firestones on the front. Good tyres. I have not had a probelm with them. they been good all round 'grippers.'

I had 125 michelins, very good but when used hard seem wear out quickly, they are good going between wet and dry but worth noting when you change becasue when the road is greasy, they seem to be very slippery. I then went to 135 michelins and noticed i kept getting a tad oversteer, then 145s michelins and they are the best, no handling change between wet and dry, whatever, they grip.

Ive only had experiance of Michelins though.

One important factor to consider.
Tire wear is very much related to overall condition of steering and suspension in general. Shock absorbers, wheel bearings, king pins, track rods, rims etc etc. Regardless of brand, tires will wear (out) much quicker if these parts are not spot on.
We have tested Nankang on several raids in Australia and found them very good also as a street tire. Whoever long lasting it is not but it was cheap but not anymore? It’s on the increase. I think it is a silicone tire with little rubber in, not 100% sure.

not my thread

From my point of view (thats what the forum for) on the race car this season. I ran with firestone's up until Oulton Park - we had a full set of Michelin X (kindly supplied from a sponsor, brought from Roy) I have to say that in a 'Wet Qualifying' session with the Michelins on the car, it felt like it was on rails compared to the Firestones , in the dry they were good too.

Next season we are switching to 'TOYO'S as a controlled tyre, so we will see what these are like!!!!!

Simon,
I trust that those were XZX Michelin 145s, 'cos you know that the Race Club likes to adhere to the regs...

Btw, were the Firestones you had the Mexican ( Coker tyres) variety, rather than the older European ones, since there was quite a difference reported?

ken.

My town car is shod with Michelin 125s. It is rarely driven off bitumen. I intend to replace them with the same.

My Raid car has Nankang N803 135s. They are cheap and readily available in Australia. Their tread pattern is better for sandy conditions and general gravel roads. Their sidewall is stiffer and this is very important at reducing cuts in the sidewall from sharp rocks. The 135s also give a slight height increase, again a bonus for Raid conditions.

Some Raiders like Nankang 145s, but although they are better in sand, they say they are not as good on bitumen (a Raid in Australia may be 5000kms of dirt road, with a 3000km journey on bitumen to the start and a similar distance back home). The 145s are also heavier, and this is perceived as a disadvantage. Once that heavier weight is vibrated over thousands of corrugations, the suspension may get a little more tired.

Horses for courses. Regardless of the tyre, the difference between 125/135/145 not only effects the width of the tread, but also the height and hence centre of gravity. It also gives a heavier tyre as the numbers increase (and that is heavier as unspring weight). All will produce varying effects which may move towards or away from your ideal of handling.

One other reason I like Michelins is that it is a long name (as is Firestone). As Biggles once said, once you pass 35 degrees angle of bank, with bags of lock, the longer the name on the sidewall, the longer you have grip. When the name wears off, it is time to replace the tyres. Probably also time to review your driving habits.

Daffy Duck

...should have added something to the tune of 'in the sense it has a more rounded cross section, well suited to a 2CV's angles of heel - unlike most cheapies which are prone to rolling off the tread, especially at the back.' I wasn't implying they are a Mich copy, or use the same quality carcass or rubber. (I do hear that Michelin have tyre plants in China, though, turning out Michelin-branded tyres - the 'Made in China' stamp is located on the beading, so once fitted, it can't be seen.)

However they smell, Roy, this set is still on my friend's car - over 20,000 miles under their belt and the fronts still have 3-4mm tread left. And she doesn't hang around... Perhaps different roads and temperatures in a different country suit different tyres? Compared with 125 Firestones they are a revelation - tyres which should have come with a product warning when intended for a 2CV, in my view. Maybe most people just don't drive as Frenchly as I do? Or maybe the balmy/smoggy/drier Southern part of the British Isles is more tolerant of poor rubber...

What you don't mention regarding the dubbers is that they use a 135 Nankang because it is smaller than their regular tyres and so allows their cars to go even lower. Driving a lowered Dyane recently, it could also have been called a 'ditchfinder' even though it was on good quality tyres.

running a full set on mine to compare/run in
Much better than Mex F'Stones so far
not as good as the new 135s that were purchased for the 24hr