TR Tyres
Longstone Classic Tyres Article
The following are snippets from an Article written by TR Register to view the full article click the link above.
"We took a recent trip Bawtry near Doncaster to meet club partner Longstone Classic Tyres and its legendary proprietor and MD Dougal Cawley.
Dougal has been at the helm of Longstone since 1999. A complete petrolhead he grew up with family car influences around him and developed a love for vintage cars. A keen member of the Vintage Sports Car Club Dougal regularly competes in Trials and Sprints in his 1920’s Fords and Circuit racing with his 1929 Frazer Nash GN Ford Special ‘Piglet’.
When you buy from Longstone you get far more than just a set of tyres, you get the sort of generous help and expert advice that money can’t buy. That means getting the correct tyres not only for that car but for the wheels you have and the type of driving that you are doing."
Triumph TR Classic Tyres
"Running the correct tyres on a car like a TR considerably adds to the experience and enjoyment of driving. Homologated and correct fitment classic tyres play an important role in the way a classic car handles, particularly because they have the correct profile to suit the greater amount of ‘role’. Modern tyres designed for modern cars have a much squarer profile and therefore don’t suit the way classic's handle. “It’s important that the tyre footprint is correctly presented to the road”. (see Dougal stickman drawings)
Further to Dougal’s advice on running inner-tubes on all wire wheels he also adds, “Inner tubes are not essential on modern radial tyres, however, there are situations in which fitting an inner tube is advantageous, providing the tyre is 70 profile or higher if you run your radial tyres on a wheel without a safety rib, inner tubes will be an advantage, similarly, if you aren’t sure about the quality of your wheel rim then an inner tube would be preferable with radial tyres”.
Classic TR Tyre Options
Dougal says he often sees 165 SR 15 Michelin XZX fitted to TR’s but feels these are more suited to 60’s non-sports cars like the VW Beetle. Longstone recommends the 155 HR 15 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67 for TR2 & TR3, and 165-15 Michelin XAS for TR4 -TR6. Whilst with The TR7 in 1975 these were fitted with 175/70R13 Goodyear G800S or Michelin XV, currently they suggest fitting 175/70 VR 13 PIRELLI CINTURATO CN36. From 1979 the 5 speed model of TR7 was fitted 185/70R13 tyres, Longstone suggest fitting the 185/70 VR 13 PIRELLI CINTURATO CN36, these tyres are best fitted with a Michelin 13E inner tube. Tyre choice may vary according to the type of driving you are doing.
"Offering important advice like not using tyres over ten years old, over-inflating tyres on cars for winter storage to avoid flat spots are all part of the excellent service Longstone offers. Longstone have a vast amount of information for TR owners on their website which is extremely helpful with a wide range of classic tyres suitable for our TR’s including Michelin, Pirelli, Dunlop, Avon, and Vredestein."
-TR Register
