general wheels & tires talk

[john]

Huib replied on 20 Mar to a mail I sent him on 19 Mar. Quick response !!!

1st, his reply & then my mail to him, that prompted the reply.

Huib:
I prefer standard wheels / standard tire sizes. Alloys are wider. Because of space restrictions, extra width is outside. Thus track width is increased. This isn't bad. However, scrub radius is increased alot, which places unnecessary extra loads on suspension / steering ball joints / wheel bearings. It also transmits bumps too much. It disturbs the excellent Fulvia balance. I never drive wheels, engines or shock absorbers. I drive a car. A well balanced Fulvia to be exact. I'm more interested in balance then anything else. Balance allows driving a Fulvia hours, hours, days, days w/out getting tired. Long distances on country roads I am always the fastest.

Legal thread is one thing. Fresh rubber another thing. Do not use tires which are over 6 years old

People think that wide tires have better grip. This is not true. Grip depends on friction coefficient
(thus type of runner used) & weight on that wheel. This is on dry roads. On dry roads there is no difference in grip between narrow & wide tires, if made of the same rubber. On wet roads, ice & snow smaller tires are better. The idea that wider tires are better is based on same syndrome as "big cocks are better" or "big tits are better".

The suspension is of good-old-fashioned-design, before bookkeepers started cost-cutting, which resulted in dubious things like Mc Pherson (which is cheaper not better than Fulvia suspension. This type of suspension is better with
80tires, thus 145/80R14 for S1 & 165/80R14 for S2. S1- Bridgestone 145/80R14 / S2- Uniroyal, Toyo or Michelin XAS tires in 165/80R14 or 165R14 - which is the same.

Initial email from me; owner of Fulvia Z - S2:
I've no way of knowing how old the Fulvia Forum Q & A are, or if these Q & A are still pertinent to anyone...
Be that as it may be, the last Q I read concerning tires is:
Q: On the Pirelli site I found that the P1000 is available in size 165x14. Do you have experience with those?
I hear that Michelin has stopped producing 165x14. So when stock is depleted, no more Michelin 165x14.

After reading the tire Q & A & the Alloy wheel Q & A a number of times, 2 things became clear.
1) the Wheels Q & A were beyond my understanding, however - since I have alloywheels on my 72 Fulvia Z - I'm not
concerned about my ignorance...but my interest was piqued.
2) I've cleaned & maintained the wheels, so that they always look good, but I couldn't remember what "brand" of wheels are mounted; thus my interest was double piqued. + I could I recheck to see what tires I had. I knew it had Michelin, but I couldn't have told you the nomenclature thereof. Thus, today I went into the warehouse,where it spends winters to (re) check the tires & wheels. I though that I remembered that it had 2 good & 2 dangerous tires when it arrived 2.5 years > ago....but, since other cars, wheels & tires were arriving & leaving at that time & since the Z went immediatly went to Giancarlo's shop after being delivered; not to return for many many months, I couldn't remember if it got 4 new tires, 2+ years ago or 2 new tires or much of anything else about the tires; except that all 4 were good & that I put air in them some weeks ago. It was dark in the corner, so I laid on the floor in order to read the fine print. Now I know. 2 newer front tires, are Michelin 185 70R14 XHI Energy XSE. The 'still good rear tires' are Michelin MXV 185 70R 14. The tread pattern is, of course, different. Aha, now I remember....Giancarlo told me 2 years ago the car was in his shop for ca. 6 months) that the new tires were compatible with the older tires & I wouldn't have to worry about tires for a long time. Isn't it amazing how well the memory works when the facts thereof are staring one in the face !! Even while lying on the floor !!!

The alloys are Milano Delta with 2 running red elephants & a Lance embossed into the center caps.
I believe the car was delivered to # 1 owner (I'm # 2)in CH with these wheels; at least the old pictures I got
with the car show these wheels.

I have no 'base' line on which to base my Fulvia driving experience; I've only driven 1 Fulvia in my life & have never been in another Fulvia. I've never driven this car fast nor tried any fancy tricks with it, but I can report that it seldom needs brakes. A bit of trailing throttles, a pre-planned 'set-up' for curves (or traffic circles) & around it goes. Effortlessly & quite quietly as well. No screeching tires.

Winding roads seem to be what it was designed for; it is 'heavy' (by modern standards)& a bit clumsy around town.

I also have wheels (Intra center caps)with good tread on 185 70R14 Goodyears, with an all-weather tread pattern;I'll put them on this summer just to get a comparison ... but I've a feeling that they won't be as good as the Michelin. I bought the extra wheels in case I decided to drive in the rain or in winter..which I never have done.

It is great fun to "sensibly slow-down"; no last-minute stabbing the brake pedal, prior to entering a traffic-circle, with modern cars & 'in a hurry-drivers' 2ft behind my bumper & then losing them 1/2 way through the circle ... They had to brake & I didn't; they seem to be miles behind when I exit the circle. There 4 traffic circles between the office & home, so it is a super thrill driving to & from work (in the dry).

There are long straights between these circles, so the others have plenty of road to catch up & pass.
The shame of it all is that by the time I get home, the motor is just starting to get warm enough to (as my English friends would say) 'give it a boot'.

I should be ashamed to report this, but I've driven only 1x over 100km at a stretch since owning it.
That will have to change !!!!!!!