The Cal-look Lounge

It's been awhile since anyone's talked about these.....http://www.lucasclassictires.com/pirelli_cinturato.html

http://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/page/PirellicinturatoSection

http://store.cokertire.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=145R15

Not cheap anymore.....other than talk what is?  :D

just throwing this out here, but what are the chances that dryly stored CN36 tyres still mounted on wheels are still any good?

phil i have pirelli cinturato CN 36 185/75/15  on my car  they came from longstones tyres

they looks good

 ;)

they look awesome fabs. you can spot the tread from a long distance already, so cool ;D

X2, Absolutely perfect and very 70's.

Dave Galassi has them on his American mags on the white blower car too.  8)

Something to consider....

How to Read a Tire Date Stamp

Step 1
Locate the DOT numbers on the sidewall of the tire. These numbers always start with the letters DOT, which stand for Department of Transportation.

Step 2
Check both sides of the tire. You will notice that one number has four extra digits to it on the end.

Step 3
Determine which side of the tire has the longer DOT number and read the last four digits of that number. That is the tire stamp date.

Step 4
Decipher the tire stamp date using this easy formula: 0108 would indicate that the tire was manufactured in the first week of the year 2008; 1208 would indicate the tire was manufactured in the 12th week of the year 2008. This formula applies in a two-digit format to start the number of the week it was made, starting with 01 and ending with 52. The last two digits of the number indicate in which year the tire was manufactured, starting with 00 for the year 2000. There's a slightly different format for tires manufactured prior to the year 2000, but since those would be over nine years old, it's a pretty safe bet to assume they're beyond their expiration date. It might not hurt to find out if the tire you're looking at has a manufacturer's expiration date, if applicable, and determine whether that would expire before the tread.

Cool bit of knoledge sharing Sarge , I'm off down the garage now to check mine  ;)

X2, Thanks Sarge, now I need to go check my Klebers..... :D

Hey, is it just me or what?  Whenever I check tire prices, I get cheap!  It doesn't make sense, the wife and I will
spend $30 for lunch/drinks once or twice a week, no problem. But when it comes to tires, I turn into a penny pincher.....
judging my purchase strictly on price and not on preferences.  Is it something in the water?  Or am I out of phase with the
Cosmos?

Maybe I just inherited that from my old man?  ;D

Thanks guys... saw a deal on TV awhile back that talked about the danger of using old tires.  I'm thinking it had to do with Firestone and Ford Explorers.

I've got them on the front of my Oval on American Racing five spokes and they look great.

Thanks for the elaborate reply sarge!
I take it those tyres I know of are older than 10 years, but then there's quite of few nutters amongst us that run old tyres. heck, i didn't even check the DOT number on my Michelins.

But isn't there a rule like, if they're rock hard and you can't pinch them with your fingernail; steer clear?
I'm talking about 175/70/15 and i don't think they've been manufactured in the last few decades.

The Michelin XZX 145X15's I bought from Coker Tire the first of the year were made in 2009... so, they're still making 'em.  At $130.00 each, they are a total rip compared to what normal tires cost.  At least they are new rubber though.

$130 each?! Bastards! I bought mine a little over 3 years ago and they were still under $100. Last I checked the 165's were $169 :o

I paid more than that for the 155X14 Firestone F560's for the front of my Oval... sheesh... sucker born everyday :P
Not much out there for 14's though..
Best part is, at the rate I'm going, my "new" tires will soon be unused "old" tires! Ha!

 

I don't understand why the new style nankang 135s and 145s are between $70 and $90 each depending on where you buy them. They are absolutely nothing special. I bought a barely used, no cracks, old style 145 at bugorama in sacramento for $30. Thats what im talkin' about! It's only used as a spare anyhow.

I would totally roll 155 and 185/70 vredesteins on my car.

Michelin is still making a full range of classic tires : http://www.michelin-passion.com/passion/home/en/home.jsp

That's who is supplying Coker with them and Coker seems to be the only distributor in the US

That combo would kick arse on your car, Lawrence.

I was down at Coker in October, but Corky wasn't there so I couldn't stick it to him about the price of our Michelins and such.   ;)

I noticed that they had the very hard to find:

185/70VR15           CN 36 RACE/SHOW           $ 259

Any sense for why they list this as "Race/Show" ?  Is it not DOT approved? 

260 USD for 2 front tires is NULL compared to the cost of even a small accident caused by old worn tires that don't grip. Jesus, people, you're running  cars worth thousands of dollars (not even mentioning sentimental value) and you are trying to save 200 USD on tires? I just don't understand that.

(not pointing at you Sarge, you bought them)

   I work at Performance Plus Tire. We sell the complete line of Coker vintage tires as well as Vredestein tires. They're are not cheap but look at the bright side, at least we can still get them and are not FORCED to buy Nankang's. Here's the link to Perf. Plus. Just click on the Antique Search to find these sizes

http://www.performanceplustire.com/

Oh, and by the way I'm Charlie. Ask for me, I'll be glad to help fellow VW enthusiasts. (562)988-0211

Ask Dave Rosique I've dealing tires with him for over 20 years.

well said.

Here I go again  ;D   ;D   ;D   but IMHO the best front tires by far in terms of performance  and grip are  the Michelin XAS FF with the special (very) soft racing compound.

Of course they only exist in 155/15 and are more expensive but the result in terms of safety and result is ten times worth it if you can (or want to) afford it.

(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c267/rebec1/67%20Sepia%20Brown/67stancewith155.jpg)

madfrog

DOT XT TF XDNC 363 is the DOT number of the pirelli's i had a look at. what does it mean?
they're most definitely the tyres that came with super beetles but i have no idea whether they're replacement tyres or the original ones. sidewall feels soft, lots of thread left...