Lancia Motor Club

My Fulvia Sport hasn't been on the road for well over 20 years but I'm hoping to rectify that this year. One replacement that is definitely needed is tyres as despite the ones currently on the car having loads of tread and holding air I don't want to use them on the road for obvious reasons of the age they must be. On that basis I wonder what tyres and size people recommend - it currently has the standard steel wheels which I'm happy with although if I find a set of alloys I would consider changing them. I've looked at Longstone Tyres and they seem to suggest the Pirelli Cinturato in 165HR14 but I'm open to suggestions from anyone.

Cinturato's were original fit, not cheap but way to go in my opinion.
Brian
8227 8)

I would recommend Barum Brilliantis 2 165 80 14 are available for not much money. I have them on my Sport 1600 and they cope magnificently. Other Fulvia owners use them too with no bad comments. Also pattern is quite in keeping...

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110&cart_id=87339737.110.41455&Cookie=sea_rd_uk_Google_Search&Breite=165&Quer=80&Felge=14&Speed=&Load=&kategorie=6&Marke=Barum&ranzahl=4&tyre_for=&x_tyre_for=&Herst=Barum&m_s=3&rsmFahrzeugart=ALL&filter_preis_bis=&filter_preis_von=&homologation=&search_tool=standard&Label=E-C-70-2&details=Ordern&typ=R-332524

Thanks for the replies - quite a contrast in the prices between those options! Might be worth getting some of the Barums just to get the car back on the road and then consider others later.

Longstone do a deal on a set - and pictures of tread patterns.  Michelin XAS is the other option.  Vredestein also listed, but almost as expensive as the Michelins and Pirellis.  Barum twice the price as in the link above, pays to shop around...

https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/tyres/165x14.html

Barum do a Brilliantis  and a Brilliantis 2 - they are different tyres. The longstone pic seems to be the former.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0Ikivcujxs

He seems to do the same lecture with different car names.

http://www.blockleytyre.com/page2.htm

Certainly good value...and a very well respected company.

In the Flavia section Peter Baker mentioned there might be a discount at the moment.

http://www.lancia.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=10107.0

Who knows whether they grip in the wet and are not too noisy?

The Blockley *looks* correct, but without some test results I would be concerned about the performance - tyres are pretty important to get right in my opinion.

The Michelin XAS is a little cheaper with Vintage Tyres (https://www.vintagetyres.com/shop/en/tyres/?type=tyres&diameter=54&width=92&search=1)

I'm still no nearer making a decision!

I have firestones on my 1600HF and they seem fine, standard size

I have a set of Brillantis on my Sport, no complaints other than a more priod look would be nice.  The decision was driven by price due to other areas of spend & just to get the car back on the road safely.  if those Blockleys had been around I'd have given them serious consideration for the price & period look.

Maybe try MWS for a view on the Blockleys?

In summer 2016 my 1.3 s1 coupe was reshod with T rated Falken Sincera SN 832 Ecoruns, 165 /80 /14 on refurbished original steel wheels.
After some dithering choice was largely on quite good price (£59 all-in fitted per wheel at local fitters), but also v encouraging set of EU ratings  for rain (A), fuel eff. (C) etc.  Can anyone say whether these quoted figures are a) fairly measured /calculated as between the different makes  b) meaningful for road driving by Fulvia in the real world? I have little clue about this. The online sellers seem to give tables with these ratings for all the  'mainstream' modern tread tyres, but not for the compatible classic tread ones (Pirelli, Michellin, Vredestein).
I since have done c. 3000 miles, so far the tyres themselves seem fine to me in wet and dry.

But I must admit to a nagging problem I have still not got round to fixing: gradual but considerable pressure loss , esp. from one wheel, when at a sustained speed of c65 mph + . This has not happened at all with any driving on twisty roads, but makes my rare journeys on m/ways or dual c/ways tedious, or bothersome (if tempted to drive faster).  I suspect this is being caused by some issue with the valve allowing air to escape, so may get the tyre people to replace the valves.  Perhaps though this is connected with using the steel wheels without inner tubes (which were always fitted before). The wheels have been taken back to metal and nicely repainted but the valve holes being s1 are slightly dished - should they be used for tubeless tyres, run tubeless?? I'd prefer not to revert to tubes - seems a step back, and Michelins seem to be the only radial designed to go with tubes. Any suggestions on this appreciated.
     

I would definitely endorse the recommendation of Falken Sincera 832 Ecorun tyres in that size - have them on 5.5" Cromodoras with bolt-in valves.  Good grip, feel, comfort and quiet.  The EU ratings may not be easily understood but comparison is.  So do not consider the Sincera 807 tyres - I found grip to be extremely poor and dangerous in the wet and discarded them quickly.  The modern rubber mix of the eco tyre is interesting too - my Sport 1600 is fitted with Vredestein Sprint Classic H rating and it takes a good shove to get the car rolling on the garage floor.  In comparison, the S1 on the 832 tyres sets off with a minimal push and almost needs to be stopped before a wall or door!!

I cannot answer the second part of the question, but it may be worth remembering that the hole in the steel wheel for the tube valve has two little square sections to allow air, outside the inner tube, to escape when it is being inflated on the rim.  These same square sections allow moisture to get in, so hence so many steel wheels rot out in the inside of the wellbase area of the wheel.  Perhaps the wheels have gone porous in this area?  Powdercoating can be a good method of sealing porosity.

Regards - Roddy

A long shot but is it possible at higher speeds centrifugal force plays a part and creates a microscopic gap between the tyre and rim if it is meant to have atube?

Some Michelins supplied today are only to be fitted with tubes as the manufacturer (Michelin) does not seal the inside of the tyre (according to Longstone). Bizzarre as same tyre in a different size is classed as tubeless and is sealed... Just wonder if you are running tube tyres tubelessly?

I made a decision yesterday, called in at Longstone Tyres and bought a pair of Pirelli Cinturatos, decided it may as well have quality tyres and Italian rather than the Michelins also available seemed only right. I'll get the others soon but have 2 wheels off the car at the moment so thought I may as well sort those before it is back on the ground.

Hello Andy. My little Fulvia was off the road for 15 years until last year and I had the same decision to make. In the end I went for a set from the Cinturato range by Pirelli and they look super and very retro. I am fiddling with the car this weekend and I'll post the size and tyre style/number on Sunday or Monday. They look very very nice.

https://www.cinturato.net/pirelli-classic-tyres.html

Hi Andy, just checked my file and the size I got for the regular steel wheels was 165/HR15 on a '75 1.3s

165 x14???

I may be wrong but i thought only Berlina ran on 15" wheels?

Brian
8227 8)

Thanks BermondseyBoy, I've bought a pair of the Pirelli Cinturato as I decided I will hopefully get a good life from them with low mileage each year, and they look right to me.

Had them put on the wheels today and the garage who do that for me said they wondered if they should have tubes, what does anyone think, I wasn't sure from the earlier answers.

I bought a set of 5 T rated 165/80R 14 Falken Sincera SN832s for our Fulvia Berlina GTE in the summer of 2016 and have found them to be ideal.
The circumference is slightly larger than the original 155/14 tyres @ 1946 cm as opposed to 1896cm but as we have the 1300cc engine with a 4 speed box there is  no problem with gearing, the ride is absolutely fine, the appearance is if anything slightly improved as the wheel arches are 'fuller' and they are wearing well. And the price was excellent.
The only slight downside is that the spare wheel (which sits upright in the boot in a well touching the rear light panel) tends to foul the bootlid if fully inflated so I leave it at 15psi and in any case I carry a footpump.
I am pleased to see that in the interim others have made the same choice and are as satisfied.
Chris

I started using Barum Brilliantis 2's on my S2 1300 coupe 2 years ago. They are really good wet or dry at a sensible price. Kept me safe at speed in the Italian Alps, Appenines and the Grand Sasso and over some pretty rough stuff too.

As I understand it S2 steel wheels (and perhaps other series?) cannot be fitted with tubeless tyres as they do not have tyre retention inner ridges. Certainly my tyre fitting company will not fit tyres on my wheels tubelessly.

Brian Mills

Thanks Brian, that was what the person at the garage said about the lack of tyre retaining ridges in the wheels. They fitted the tyres for me but said they weren't sure if they should have tubes or would hold air - they do seem to be doing that OK though. Would be good to know if anyone is running them successfully without tubes though, but obviously I want to be safe.

I run them without tubes on cromodora alloys, and I run Michelin X tubeless on Flavia steel wheels which must be same profile as Fulvia steel wheels??

I've had Dunlop street response tubeless fitted to my 2c's steel wheels for over 2 years with no problems; and i haven't had tyres fitted with tubes for years, as the inner tubes used to get pinched.
I know it's a modern tyre but good value.
Brian
8227  8)

I also run tubeless on alloys - 175/80 R14 Primewell PS870 on the 1600 Sport.  I didn't know either until I looked them up.  Reviews are pretty good, they suit me fine.  My local tyre man drives a hairy Porsch and does seem to know what he is doing.

Just to revisit, hope none of the posters have had a problem BUT the issue is not one of loosing some pressure but suffering a complete lose of pressure  with side loading on the tyre such that the lack of retaining ridges causes the tyre to  completely unseat and for the car to become  out of control. Not for me thanks!

I was running tubeless until my tire shop said it was dangerous. According to them the wheels don’t have adequate rim retention.
They fitted tubes which didn’t cost much.
Not sure if this is a real problem or not.

I have and still do run with no tubes fitted on HF wheels and have never had a problem, i used to rally a 1300 Fulvia on cromadoras years ago and never had any problems. May I suggest you speak to James Parry, who has Lancias and has his own tyre company.