When I bought MA1266, it came with "as new" following tyres :
Front : BF Goodrich 205/60/15 V
Rear : Pirelli Scorpion Zero 255/60/15 V
These tyres are maybe very good but the rear ones were designed with big SUVs in mind, the front being not especially great.
Combining tyres from a different manufacturer is never a good idea and I was tempted for a change one day or the other.
When I experienced a thrilling slithering while gently cornering (I swear !) on a wet road, I jumped on the idea.
My personnal objectives with new tyres were :
- to fit the original wheels with their 15” dimensions while taking care of ground clearance,
- to bear my stroker engine power & torque with a reasonnable lifetime,
- to combine great traction on dry and wet roads, allowing me to make long trips across European roads without freaking out too much under the rain...,
- of high speed cornering/agility abilities,
- dimensions and design to match the Goose design without oversizing and modernizing it too much (not European taste),
- V speed rating at least to allow high speed cruising safely.
All without combining different makers between front and rear as (IMHO) it perverts their performances.
Combining all those objectives has been a painful process...
Having defined those objectives, my first search was to keep the current dimensions of 225 front and 255 rear.
The only supplier that matches all these requests is Avon Tyres,
they produce the CR27 turbospeed, 255/65/15V for the rear.
Issues began when I tried to find the front ones, 3 references are available :
- Avon ZZ3 (225/60/15W) – great performances tyres but definitely too modern pattern for my Goose,
- Avon ZV3 (225/60/15W) – poor performances rated at least on wet surfaces
- Avon CR6ZZ (215/60/15V) – from the Avon racing portfolio – road legal (at least according EU regulations) – amazing performances on track and dry roads but poor on wet surfaces
For the rear tyres, although dimensions and speed rating seem good on the datasheet,
those tyres were developed with the most heavy cars in mind like Aston Martins, Rolls-Royce, Bentleys, weighting out 2 tons or even more !, although certainly very good,they wouldn’t be the perfect match for our relatively light Geese.
To this point, I’ve been back to history, our cars were (I believe) factory delivered with
- front 185/70/15
- rear 205/70/15 or 225/70/15 all being H rated (even if I found some documents showing factory delivery with 235 rear...),
Dunlop being the main tires supplier for the factory at that time beside some others.
Some Mangustas (including the Bordinat Mangusta) were factory delivered with the famous Michelin XWX on customers special requests.
The XWX was THE ultimate sport tyre in the late 60’s and in the 70’s, it fitted Lamborghini Miuras, Countach,
Panteras , Ferrari Daytonas, Maserati Ghiblis, to name just a few, it was capable to reach the 155/180 mph bracket (VR or W speed rating).
Michelin still produces this range that has a strong demand from the discerning collectors.
It is produced with the original pattern with modern material and techniques and is an efficient tyre with great grip abilities, traction on dry and wet roads and is really safe and comfortable according to exotic classic owners I contacted to get their feedback.
I selected the largest dimensions available :
- Front : 205/70/15 90W
- Rear : 225/70/15 92W
This choice might seem a little bit skinny for enthusiasts who grew up among Muscle Cars and I confess I’ll regret my current dimensions combination.
But I’m confident this choice will be the best to cope with my personnal objectives, I keep in mind that these dimensions are still 20 mm larger than the original ones.
Those new dimensions will bring me higher ground clearance (with all its upsides), more narrow tyres will bring better agility and better behaviour in any weather driving condition.
I’m a GT lover and I’m sure they’ll allow me to make “Gran Turismo” trips across Europe with perfect behaviour in a total peace of mind even at high speeds.
Mr Michelin, the founder said “The car is the tyre accessory”, it is in this state of mind I finally selected this solution.
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