Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

Dobbin · Joined: 15 May 2013 Posts: 67 Location: Central Scotland

I'll be looking for a couple of new tyres soon to replace a tyre that has a cracked sidewall. I'm going to replace the rear as a pair. Tyre sizes are 4.5" x 17" or 450 x 17" as some advertisers list them. I've looked at Waymaster and Excelsior due to the cost (typically around £85-£90 each). Does anyone have any experience of these brands and are they any good? I've looked at a number of online retailers and the costs are similar, some include P&P some don't so they sort of balance one against the other. Any recommendations for companies to use or does anyone know of a cheaper supplier?

Roger-hatchy · Joined: 07 Dec 2007 Posts: 2135 Location: Tiptree, Essex

The cheaper / budget ones don't last.

I now have Avons all round, nearly the same mileage as the previous budget ones and no sign of wear, the others were down to the limit with almost the same milage so was false economy.

My car is only 540kg and gets driven HARD and regularly. (my daily, only, car)

PAUL BEAUMONT · Joined: 27 Nov 2007 Posts: 1281 Location: Barnsley S. Yorks

I think the clue here might be in the fact that the old tyres suffered cracked side walls. If, like me your tyres crack long before they wear out then the Excelsiors or the Waymasters are serviceable tyres. I have found that the Excelsiors flat spot a bit if the car is parked up for a while with weight on the wheels. They round off in about 2 miles as they warm up! I have just moved my Excelsiors from back to front and fitted Waymasters to the rear. They are slightly wider and with a slightly greater rolling radius. So far no sign of flat-spotting either.
I agree with Roger, if you need long mileage the Avons deliver!

Paul

Dobbin · Joined: 15 May 2013 Posts: 67 Location: Central Scotland

Gents, thanks for the replies. The car currently has Avon Tourist tyres on it and from what I can gather are at least 5 years old. The car currently does a very low annual mileage and when not in use is generally on axle stands. Therefore the Excelsior or Waymaster are going to be prime candidates. I was also going to change the inner tubes as a matter of course as there condition is an unknown quantity.

Phil - Nottingham · Joined: 01 Jan 2008 Posts: 1252 Location: Nottingham

I use Waymaster or Excelsior now on our Rover P2 as any make perishes through old age well before the tread goes
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Rover P2
Rover P4
Rover P5 & P5B
Land Rover S2 & S3
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Dobbin · Joined: 15 May 2013 Posts: 67 Location: Central Scotland

So the two tyres and inner tubes have finally been purchased. I cross referenced all the major suppliers taking into account postage etc and I eventually bought them from Vintage Tyre Supplies. Interestingly via their eBay site. As a result I saved £17.42 compared to their 'official' web site prices for the same items and all being well they should be here for the weekend. Not that I'll have time to fit them until sometime next week.
If anyone else is looking for tyres it might be worth looking on eBay before making that decision.

baconsdozen · Joined: 03 Dec 2007 Posts: 1119 Location: Under the car.

Bitumen Boy · Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 12:34 pm Post subject:

ukdave2002 · Joined: 23 Nov 2007 Posts: 4105 Location: South Cheshire

I suspect it's about the volume of sale and cost of sale; if by using a site like ebay you can sell 10 times more items than by your "other" methods then there are scale economies.
Ebay may also make firms more competitive as it's quick and easy for potential purchasers to compare prices , so you may well take a lower margin in return for higher volume of sales..a fast turn around of stock at lower margin is less risky than locking up working capital in stock for long periods.
Some sellers I suspect don't have the stuff in stock, but can generally get it quick , so they will have a positive cash flow with low overheads.

"stack em high and sell the cheap" as the saying goes.

Dave