Wheels and Tyres questions: planning for replacements

[dwomby]

Originally Posted by Sam410

I'm pretty sure that is a 409 so may be Setright's.

My 410 is on 205/70 R15 Blockleys, on the original wheels. The Blockley radials seem to have quite soft sidewalls; ride is improved, but handling is not as precise as it used to be on Falken 215/70s that I can't get any more.

I have a spare set of 411 wheels, but I don't think they fit a 410 without changing the hubs also.

Thanks for the info.. I've never heard of Blockley before. Probably not sold here in the US. I agree, the 411 wheels won't fit as the bolt spacing is different.

David

[OakHouse411]

Hi there
i have been following the threads on wheels and tyres with great interest. The tyres on my 410 were well past their sell by date and although there were no visible signs of deterioration, I decided for safety to replace them. I also wanted to fit alloy wheels and preserve the original steel wheels. My current tyres are 205/70/15. I considered Radar Dimax tyres but was unable to find out much information about them. In the end, I went for Uniroyal Rainmaster tyres as I have used these on previous cars and found them great for handling. Regarding the wheels, I purchased a set of 15" 6.5J Jaguar lattice alloys. These required 5mm spacers. I purchased a set of the correct Jaguar nuts for the lattice alloys. The thread on these were 1/2" UNF. I drilled them out on a lathe with a 1/2"drill and then re-tapped them to 9/16BSF. For wheel centre caps, Ford do a centre cap (part no 71159 1A065 LA) which fits the Jaguar alloys. I removed the Ford laminated logos and replaced them with laminates which I made up with the Bristol logo. Am very pleased with the end result
ATB Andrew

[Thomas591]

Hello,

I fitted Radar Dimax tires to my 411 S5 last year. They are terrible! They are squealing in every corner that is taken above walking pace and traction on dry roads is about 50% of what the old Avon tires had. Save your money and avoid them.

Regards

Thomas

[Philip]

This may be useful:

https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.co..._en_web_ds.pdf

[OakHouse411]

Thank you Philip
A most interesting article

[David C]

I changed to Jaguar XJS wheels on my 410. Very similar look to the 410 wheels and I think 1" wider. They needed a very light application of an angle grinder to the corner of the inner cup to avoid contact with the calliper.
I fitted 205/70 15 tyres.

Ultimate ability to stay on the road might have been better but I wasn't happy with the feel of the steering. Went back to standard Bristol wheels with 185/15 on the front and kept wider on the back. I think this is the best option for handling but not everybody's choice to have different front and rear.

[Thomas591]

Update on 411 tires

The standard size for the 411 is 205 R 15 so we can talk about:

AVON: Currently unavailable

Pirelli: Cinturato CN72 is available at over £500 each. Good tire but a bit stiff on the shoulder, giving a harsher ride then the old AVONS.

Dymax: Radar is the worst thing you could buy. The 411 behaves terribly with these tires. A recent test in a German classic car magazine showed that braking in the wet resulted in a 30 meters (!) longer stopping distance than other brands. Don’t take them, even if they are free!

I have fitted now Dunlop Sport Classic 215/70 R15. They are slightly smaller than the 205-15, but I can live with this. The car is transformed! Cornering is fun again, the car feels very balanced and comfortable. Good braking performance in the wet. I can fully recommend them