Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Miken]

Around 6 years ago I purchased a set of 4 "Avon Tourist" tyres for my Austin A40 Pick up truck. These are the recommended tyres for this vehicle.
By the time I had paid for new tubes and delivery there wasnt much change out of ?1000.
With these tyres fitted It always felt like driving with the brakes on. Despite checking the brakes and tyre pressures
Near where i live there is a long straight hill that is very useful for test drives up or down.
With the Avons fitted if i went down the hill coasting in neutral (yes I know you shouldnt do this) the car would either maintain its speed or even slow down! depending on which part of the hill i was on
After 5 years and 12000 miles the tyres started falling apart. lots of radial splits in the sidewalls. They were absolute rubbish.
I discovered that other Austin owners fit comercial "Taxi" tyres.
I have now fitted a set of 4 Austone Taxi tyres for ?214.90 including delivery (ebay).
the difference was immediately apparent.
On my test hill the vehicle now accelerates downhill in neutral like a proper car!
My average fuel consumption over 1000 miles has now improved from around 28mpg to 33.8.
They are less than a 1/4 of the price.
Because they are commercial tyres they are apparently very hard wearing.
They are not performance tyres but then neither is my 72 year old truck.
I am very pleased with the results.
I thought this might be of interest If your old car has 16" wheels.
Mike