MondeoGhiaX

so, is that good or bad then? :whaa:

the toyo site does have the same info on my tyre size, and they appear to fit a rim of 3.5 to 5.0 inches. so maybe i will be ok with these wheels. i have no idea about the bead of the wheel though. thanks.

thanks, it sounds sensible. but this is where i start to struggle. if the width of the wheel is 4 inches (rim to rim?), then why does a 145 (5.7 inch) or 155 (6.1 inch) tyre fit on it, or have i lost the plot here? how can you tell what width of tyre will fit on a particular wheel width? i'd still like to know what width of tyre i can put on these 4.5J alloys. and does anyone know what the J and C stand for? cheers.

hi, can someone please explain these wheel sizes to me: 4J x 12 4C x 12 4.5J x 12 i know the 12 is a 12 inch diameter wheel (if i am wrong then i may as well give up now). its the 4J, 4C, 4.5J bits i dont understand. my haynes manual says i have 4J x 12 wheels, the handbook says 4C x 12. i am looking at a set of Dunlop D1 alloy wheels that are stated as 4.5J x 12. they are suposed to fit my 1300gt, and ive seen pictures of these wheels on this type of car, but they seem to stand proud of the wheel arches a bit, ie not in the same place as the steelies. is that to be expected? and will my 145/80 R12 tyres fit these wheels, or will i need different width tyres? i'm not too hot on wheel fitments to be honest, but i'm fairly sure the studs are in the right place at least. cheers.

is he at vintage tyres? i didnt get them from there, i got them locally to me.

they have the michelin mx tyre for my car, and the picture shows it on a 1300gt wheel! http://www.vintagetyres.com/display.asp?K=...mp;m=1&dc=1 it says its out of stock anyway, but if they stopped making these tyres 20 years ago, then whats the deal? are they selling 20 year old tyres? anyway, i have found my tyres now so i'm happy. cheers

i feared you would say that. i am annoyed with myself for forgetting to take the manual. how can i (they) convert the 1/8 inch toe out into degrees that the machine uses, or does the machine do this? thanks for the help.

i got two toyos 145/80 R12 for the rear - i'm sure they will be ok. i left the kumhos on the front, they look new and it seemed silly to change them. thanks.

i went and had wheel alignment done today. but i forgot to take the haynes manual with the toe data, so they set the front wheels parallel. when i checked later, the front wheels should toe out 1/8 inch (3.18 mm). is this a significant difference, is it worth going back to have it changed? the steering wheel is now centered, and the car seems to drive straight. please say its ok! cheers.

excellent! i will see what they say. thanks.

hello again, what wheel alignment can i have done on my austin 1300gt (1973)? it has hydrolastic suspension. i have only ever had tracking done in the past, and am suffering the usual steering wheel off-centre problem. the car doesnt pull or wander off line though. my local alignment centre uses a john bean v3d visualiner (not sure exactly which model). will it have data on this car, and can anything else be adjusted on it? thanks in advance.

omg. then it must be at least that old! maybe this is living proof that premium brand tyres are actually better made than budgets. i have had budget tyres on other cars and the sidewalls have cracked after less than 2 years, just through being in the sunlight. this michelin tyre has lasted for ever. i think it is time to replace it though, perhaps i should donate it to a museum.

does this 5 year guarantee actually mean that a tyre older than this is unsafe to use though? i do a very low mileage in my austin - only a few hundred miles a year, and it has had many periods of lay-up (years sometimes) in the the 13 years ive owned it. the two front tyres are probably about 8 years old, but they look almost new (loads of tread and no visible cracking or damage). one rear tyre is about the same age with even less wear. the other rear tyre is a michelin mx which has been on the car since i bought it, it still has plenty tread but is just starting to show signs of ageing. i have never had an mot advisory on my tyres, never mind a failure! i asked in another topic about new tyres for this car. i thought maybe i should just change the lot in one go, purely because of their age. but having just inspected them all again at the weekend, i think i would be throwing away perfectly good tyres, not to mention wasting money i dont need to. but if its a safety issue, thats a different matter of course. what do you think?

this article is worth reading if you are at all interested. its not just a question of ice and snow, but lower temperatures (7C threshold). the increase in accidents and insurance claims would appear to back this up. http://www.tyres-online.co.uk/techinfo/winter.asp

hi, in all the years ive bought tyres for my cars, i dont think ive ever been asked if i want summer, winter, all-season or whatever tyres, i just have what i'm given. now when i look at online suppliers (like mytyres), most of them specify summer/winter/all season etc. does anyone ever bother buying winter tyres in the uk, or are we just using summer tyres all year round? does anyone change to winter tyres in winter - i cant say i have ever done this, i just leave them on until they wear out. so should i only search for "summer" tyres when i'm buying? thank you.

ok, i'll put you out of your misery:- its a 1973 austin 1300gt. is the modern equivalent of a 145R12 tyre now 145/80/R12? there seems to be more choice if you search for these. some tyres i have found in this size are toyo, debica (made by goodyear?), falken and hankook. do any of these stand out? they are all in the £25-£30 price range.

nope. its a real british car. this could go on for a while, so i'll give you a clue. they made 2 million of them between 1962 and 1974.

i have better taste. its older and british.

good idea. ive just read on another site that you should assume an aspect ratio of 80% when none is quoted. dont know if thats true, but i can check it like you say.

i have another older car which uses 145R12 tyres. i think i am going to find it difficult to find premium tyres of this size from mainstream suppliers now. i have searched a few online shops, but they assume the size is in 123/45 R67 format. how do i know what the aspect ratio of this tyre is, and does anyone still supply tyres of this size? i would prefer well known make, but anything is better than nothing i suppose. thanks. ps. virtual prize for anyone who guesses what car it is.

thanks tony and all. i can find something else to worry about now. but what does this prove, that two matched tyres are not in fact matched? or is there something different about the wheels maybe?

i swapped the front wheels round yesterday evening and, wait for it............... the steering wheel is now centered again! it may be a fraction to the left as it was before (havent driven it enough to be sure yet), but near as damn it in the middle. so its the tyres then? also, am i right in thinking: 1) swapping the wheels round will have no effect on the wheel alignment i have just had done. 2) wheels arent balanced to run in a certain direction. any other conclusions to be drawn (apart from dont have tracking done at a fast fit garage)?

when i needed 2 new rear tyres last year, i asked fastfit to move the front wheels to the rear (half worn tyres), so i could have the new tyres on the front. they showed me a directive from the company not to put new tyres on the front with worn tyres on the rear, for the reasons already discussed. i dont know whether they would have charged me anything for the extra work of swapping the wheels, but i agreed to just have the new tyres on the rear as they advised. so maybe their motives are genuine?

ok i am happy with that - case closed.

that was quick. i worry i am taking too much of your time! i am going to swap the wheels back to their original positions. but i am starting to wonder if it may just be road camber that is causing this. driving in to work today it seemed that on certain stretches of road, the wheel seemed to be central, more or less, and the car not drift to the left at all. but its hard to find a completely flat, straight road, and look at the steering wheel for too long. maybe i should test in a car park.