This forum and other sites recommended tyre options for 14" wheels always looks limited, maybe they are just not made!.
I want to keep original, but, still enjoy good road feedback, with a degree of comfort, but not too soft walls.
? what advice is out there for 99% dry weather recreation use, more spirted when the wife is not with me!.
Hi AJR, I have not had my mk1 long but I have just had four Dunlop blue responce tyres fitted on 14" Daisy’s. Not had them long enough to give you a personal review other than they are much quieter than the tyres that were on the car. They have good reviews.
Good luck with your search.
Vredestein Sportrac 5.
Will do everything you want.
I have a set here if you want them.
thanks guys.
Nick, I did expect you to say Vredestein, as you have said before, and respect you know what your talking about.
My only concern is I read somewhere someone thought they had a soft wall feel and therefore not as responsive.
? do you or your customers relate to that comment at all.
I thought hard about how to answer this. The best I can say is that when people start talking about “soft sidewalls” understand that they are an idiot and should be ignored. Tyres are meant to be soft, that is how they work. You will not see a manufacturer making any claims about their sidewalls enhancing performance, you will see everyone telling you about their tread design, enhanced this and that to promote response, improve braking, clear water etc. When you start to turn the steering wheel the bit that is transmitting that to the road is the tread not the sidewall.
The Vredestein is fine, it is no different in the sidewall than any other tyre, we have autocross drivers swearing by them.
Check out the tyre review websites online. The best ones will give you a list of suitable tyres for any car. These sites give charts with each tyre having a variety of criteria which are rated individually - wear, grip-wet and dry, comfort, noise, etc., etc., with a final overall rating.
Looking through one site for a friend this week I saw that the latest Toyo are at the top of one list for MX-5s with a high 90+% rating across the range of criteria. At least it shows where the potential weak spots might be but the number of contributors/users for each type of tyre might give additional food for thought?
My Uniroyal Rain Sport 2 featured high when I originally bought them in 2011, and were a good compromise for our use. However, the latest information might mean that, when they do need changing, they might be ousted by some Michelin, perhaps, although I need to up the yearly mileage to wear the present ones out?
Wheel and tyre size obviously affects things. Check out the section on “Wheels & Tire Upgrade” in Keith Tanner’s “Mazda MX-5 Miata Find it. Fix it. Trick it” for some useful information.
I have a MK1 Eunos on 14" BBS alloys and my recommendation would be Nankang NS2R’s soft compound. You can get them in 185/60/14 XL which gives you extra thickness on the side wall which was very noticeable when i put them on.
I only really use my car in the dry and the grip they have is absolutely amazing.
I got them from TyreLeader, where they can be got for £56.35 a corner (https://www.tyreleader.co.uk/car-tyres/nankang/ns-2r/185-60-r14-86v-450726)
Highly, Highly, Highly recommend them.
We fitted a set of Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance 195/65/15 to Mitzi (Mk.1 Harvard) last Autumn.
Highly recommended - we’re very impressed with the grip, responsiveness and lack of road noise (very quiet!). So much so, I’ve just fitted another set to my daily driver, MG ZS 120 (yes, different size!).
They’re available in 14" diameter.
Have a look at Black Circles - you can compare different makes easily for fuel efficiency, wet grip and road noise.
I make this point, not to single anyone out, but to show that tyre review sites are pointless.
The OP has Goodyear Efficiency Grip, and as his post, does not get on with them. The post above recommends them.
At very best tyre review sites can show a tyre that is universally despised, other than that it is preference, driving style, expectation and very frequently a set of individual circumstances that prompt a review on a site.