Austin Healey 3000 Tyres

Review from one of our customers:

Dear Sirs

I had struggled to find suitable tyres for my AH3000 locally (aesthetically as well as functionally). I saw your Youtube clip about this issue and ordered the recommended tyres.
They were dispatched, delivered and are now fitted.
I am absolutely delighted - not only do they look 'right' for the car, they have transformed the steering and ride.
Very many thanks.

Simon Leese

Austin Healey Tyre Options from left to right:

PIRELLI CINTURATO ™; CN36 185/70VR15

Avon CR6ZZ 185/70VR15

Michelin XWX 185/70VR15

Dunlop RS5 590H15 (no longer produced)

Michelin XAS 180HR15

Vredestein Sprint+ 165SR15

Michelin XAS 165HR15

From the pictures above & below you can see that the 180x15 Michelin XAS is exactly the right size.

Michelin XAS Austin Healey Tyres deal

The Austin Healey 3000 was fitted with 590H15 Dunlop RS5. If you intend to still fit Crossply today we would recommend the  590H15 Avon Turbospeed. However, we would recommend fitting a period radial alternative to make your Healey more suited to modern roads.

We have no doubt that fitting the Michelin 180 HR 15 XAS  asymmetric tyres on a 4.5” or wider wheel will make your Austin Healey handle and look better than any other road tyres. As a result, we have calculated an all-in special deal for Austin Healey tyres. This deal includes a reduced price on sets of 4 or 5  Michelin XAS 180HR15 tyres and free carriage to most of Europe, and subsidised shipping charges to the rest of the world.

At Longstone Tyres, we believe the tyre options for Austin Healey have long been a problem area. The original fitment for the early cars was a 590H15 Dunlop RS5, with the most common radial alternative being a 165 - 15. ​If you want 165 R 15 tyres Longstone Tyres would strongly recommend  165 HR 15 Michelin XAS. Another common radial tyre size for the Austin Healey is a 185/70x15, with this particular tyre size being more suited towards the road rallying and racing scene. If you want to fit this oversize tyre, the 185/70VR15 Avon CR6ZZ is the one to go for. We hope to have solved this problem for Healey owners!

One of the major problems that the Austin Healey throws up when it comes to fitting a suitable tyre is that the cars are naturally very low and there isn't a great deal of ground clearance under the chassis. To this end the major problem with tyre fitment to Austin Healeys arises with the fitment of modern, wide, low profile rubber that is all too often too wide and low for the car, causing the car to have heavy numb steering and also bottom out. Through Longstone Tyres vast experience of dealing with classic cars, such as the wonderful Austin Healey, we have ascertained another radial option, the 180 HR 15 Michelin XAS  (designed by Michelin to fit the Citroen DS during Michelins ownership of Citroen). It is perfect for a Healey, the height of the 180 HR 15 XAS gives good gearing, the speedo is close to correct and the exhaust pipe is away from those speed bumps. The 180 HR 15 Michelin XAS helps to combat these issues. This particular tyre gives a better ride height being nearly the same overall diameter as the original 590x15 Dunlop. Also, the narrow footprint of the tyre will give the car a lighter more responsive feel through the steering. The differences can be obviously seen in the pictures below!

In 1945, Donald Mitchell Healey, a successful engineer and race driver from Warwick, designed and manufactured the Healey 100, a two-seater sports automobile powered by a 2.6-litre four-cylinder engine. The car made its premiere in the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show, generating a lot of attention not just from the media, but also from the public in general, and there was a lot of desire to make the car. The Lord of Austin provided financial backing for the car's manufacturing later that year and the Austin Healey 100 was created. The Austin Healey 100/6, the next-generation vehicle, was introduced in October 1956. The new automobile had undergone more development than its predecessor and was equipped with a six-cylinder engine, therefore the designation 100/6.

This all happened as a result of the Austin Healey 100's triumph in motorsport. Back then, as it is now, success on the track was rewarded with success in the showroom. More success and development resulted in the third vehicle leaving the Austin Healey stable; the Austin Healey 3000. It is still largely recognised as one of the best British automobiles ever built. If you need new Borrani wire wheels for your Austin Healey, please see below for more information.

Owner Martyn Corfield's ambition of recreating a unique test car has come true. For years, he had wished to acquire one of the original works special automobiles. "I have always longed for one of these cars and to be able to restore it to full competition status. After many years searching I came across a letter from the Austin works to Donald Healey stating that the original streamliner 200mph car and its sister 24 Hour endurance car were scrapped in the late fifties after the Bonneville salt had made them unsafe to use".

"That scuppered my plans for a long time and although I did manage to acquire one of the original endurance car Dunlop callipers and one of the original 2.69 crown wheel and pinions together with an original undertray and black-faced speedo (which was adopted to minimise glare in the desert sun) this proved to be as far as I could go in terms of original items".

"Then one day I heard a rumour of 'the last known factory lightweight chassis' which I purchased after verifying its likely originality with two known Healey specialists. This chassis is lightened in the ways that the works use to and was being used in the seventies to underpin another project. This seemed the best place to start a recreation. I knew that if I was to attempt an endurance record I would have to re-engineer the car to a safe and competent standard and as such any old parts just would not do the job even if they existed. It was my objective to set about reconstructing a car capable of not only replicating the 1954 achievements, but also a car that embraced the spirit and style of the original vehicle (no modern tricks). So I sought professional help from the best Healey competition experts that I could find and put the project in the hands of Jeremy Welch".

Martyn made contact with us at Longstone Classic Tyres as he required a classic tyre that would be able to cope with constant high speeds and loads, luckily Martyn was going down the same route as Healey originally did and utilised 16" wheels instead of the Austin Healys 15" factory fit wheels. This would give the car a higher theoretical top speed due to the tyres having a larger overall diameter. We decided that the best tyre to use would be the Michelin 600WR16 Pilote X a W speed-rated, 168mph radially constructed tyre with the looks and shape of a 1950's cross-ply racing Englebert tyre. Michelin, to their credit, were more than happy to test a tyre to destruction to find its true limits which were far beyond that which the Endurance Healey was aiming for! The technical department at Clermont Ferrand was also able to simulate the loads that the car would generate at the Millbrook testing ground, so we're able to offer accurate tyre pressure recommendations.

Borrani wheels are available for your Austin Healey 3000. As agents for the iconic Ruote Borrani Milano company we are able to supply all wheels from their extensive range.

If your Borrani wheels require rebuilding then please contact us at [email protected]

Wire wheels made by Ruote Borrani Milano are, without doubt, the best wire wheels available. Borrani wheels utilise aluminium rims, steel spokes and steel wheel centres.

Click the link for Austin Healey 3000 Borrani wheels.

Wheels made by Borrani are available in the following styles:

• Painted silver finish, as per the racing wheels of the period
• Polished and chrome finish, highly polished rim, chrome spokes & wheel centre
• Painted finish with polished outer edge