Wheels & Tyres

So, the GTA has been sitting for years and not driven properly for getting on for 16yrs. No idea of the age of the tyres fitted so they need changing. She still has the Turbines on but tyre prices and availablity seem crazy.

Question is, do I splash out on new rubber or get a set of nice 5 spoke Azev or Borbet 16/17" used rims that I can shed with more readily available rubber going forward.

Few sets for sale on Ebay, from what I have read 17" is the biggest to go but the offset and width i'm unclear on.

Thanks

Hi,

I've had my GTA 20 years now.... In relation to wheels and tyres, there is opinion that Alpine spent a lot of time and money developing the car so the originals should be the best....

I has some 17 inch Borbets online for a while, then sold them to a guy in Australia...

When I put the turbines back on I realised how much nicer it was to drive.... Although you are right in saying the rear tyre prices are horrendous , unless you do as I have and put 225/45/15's on !!??

I don't notice any difference with these size tyres on, compared to the 255/45/15's and I still believe it's much nicer than with the bigger wheels.

So, if you decide to keep the turbines, do some research on tyres, as I have Toyo's on mine, which are great for road use, but run out of grip under extreme use on track and sprints and hill climbs etc.

Hope this helps,

Jon Barltrop

Ghats really interesting, as j have the same dilemma. On checking the manufacture data on the tyres, the fronts were made in 1998 ! & the rears 1994 !!

I was thinking of putting 225/50s on fhe rear which would be the closest for speedo accuracy. However I want to keep the car original & I cannot find any reference to these being fitted to the Turbo as a factory fit on UK cars.

16's front and 17's rear is a common change. This keeps more or less the same ride but gives much greater choice in tyres etc

Derek has Pirellis new P zero in stock in the right size for the rear. Look very nice

I'm with Jon .They handle so much better on the std rims .I've put 16" a610 turbines on JIL for big brakes but we can alter geo .No adjustments possible on std car apart from tow .
225 is in the manual as factory option on Turbo cars .Handbook lists also + gives running pressures for both sizes .

[BIG_MVS]

Yep you will be fine with 225 50 15's. I had some Falkens on one of my GTA's and didn't feel and difference.

I have just fitted some 17's to my A610 and it definitely feels different and more harsh then the 16's. Just fancied a change really but will probably go back to standards.

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I like the turbines, although it looks like it's pinching it's asp with 225 if I'm honest.
I think dropped an inch would help, Will's hillclimb car had 225s on the back at the Northern meet and that looked far better than mine as his sits a fair bit lower.
A610 turbines are on my list, but there's the obvious 5 stud c/o needed.
The dished BBS splitties on the Gold car at RATS suit the car really well, but I quite like these.............80's init.

I do very good price ....plenty cheapness ...2 1/2 sets in stock

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Wheel porn..................from the Fatherland...............

http://www.rs-felgen.de/

I've got Toyo Proxis PX1TR 225/50/15 on the rear of both of my cars, and 195s on the front of the Black '86. My Blue 90 has Dunlop 195s up front - both cars are atmo, but with Weber DGAS carb conversions. The blue one has clever heads done by an expert race engin3 builder here called Lyn Rodger (a serios legend in his day), and the black one is currently getting, as part of a mechanical refresh, even cleverer heads plus stainless headers with twin resonators. Both cars go like stink.The black one has also just received custom made stainless coolant tubes front to rear (all three tubes).
Back to tyres - the PX1TR is a simply superb tyre, using modern directional tread patterns, modern tread material, and modern casing material and construction. They are $244 here in New Zealand - about UK150 pounds?
Plus, as I understand it they are still made in Japan not China or Korea.
Great value I reckon.
I've checked my speedo against my GPS in both cars and they must be about right as the speedos are both within 5% at our 100kmh (62mph) speed limit.

Cheers and Speed Safely
Graeme

I am running toyo proxes t1r's front and rear. 225 50 15 rear and 195 55 15 front, the extra sidewall on the fronts is much improved on British roads over the 195 50 15 which I have also run.

The proxes t1r's are cheap, check camskills.

If you can afford it and don't run in the wet I would use the toyo r888, same front but they do a 235 50 15 for the rear which is close to original spec and is an excellent performance tyre in the dry for the gta.

Will

For competition use, my 15 inch wheels have Toyo R888s on them.
195/50 and 235/50 and they seem to work well enough in the wet too.
Last weekend, they were good enough to take fastest Production Car of all the Renaults at Prescott.
Have run them for 5 plus years without any major issues.
They feel quite predictable too, to me, especially in the dry.

Well I was lucky, due to being stored in a dry garage out of the sun the tyres are fine despite the age!

I'll stick with the originals for a while me thinks, go for the Toyo 225 option when needed.

Still a big fan of the deep dish 5 spokes though.....