12 replies to this topic

[Cawley]

Hi Team

 

Are you guys aware of the 145/70R12 that Pirelli are making again?

 

https://www.longston...urato-cn54.html

 

they were OE on loads of the special edition Mini that came out in the late '80s and '90s

 

 

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[DeadSquare]

Thank you for drawing our attention to them..

 

They were always a good looking tyre, but never had the predictability of a Dunlop SP3.

[timmy850]

Minispares has had them for a while now too

http://www.minispare.../12/TYRE35.aspx

[Cooperman]

Thank you for drawing our attention to them..

 

They were always a good looking tyre, but never had the predictability of a Dunlop SP3.

Ah, the Dunlop SP3. That was the king of Mini tyres when it was introduced in 1963. They were very hard to get and you needed an RAC Competition Licence to get them at that time. 

Then the Goodyear G800 was introduced and those two tyres were very similar. Pirelli introduced the Cinturato around that time, but as you say, they were not as good as the compound was harder than the SP3 or G800.

A 145/70x12 Pirelli should work well.

[viz139]

I had Pirelli 145/70R12 on a mini once, never again.

I had Pirelli 175/50R13 on my Turbo, excellent

[G'Racy]

Sorry to hijack but as a matter of interest what are peoples recommendations right now for 165/60R12 tyres for a road car?

[Mini Manannán]

Sorry to hijack but as a matter of interest what are peoples recommendations right now for 165/60R12 tyres for a road car?

 

There's not much choice, I use Yoko A539s, on the whole they're pretty good 

[roblightbody]

I had Pirelli 145/70R12 on a mini once, never again.
I had Pirelli 175/50R13 on my Turbo, excellent

I think the compound is improved on the 12" Cinturatos, so they're better than the old version of the same thing. I also remember them having poor grip back in the day, especially in the wet.

I'm actually keen to try them, as they should give livelier handling and lighter steering. There's another recent topic about these tyres on here by the way.

Edited by roblightbody, 01 April 2023 - 10:02 AM.

[DeadSquare]

 

Thank you for drawing our attention to them..

 

They were always a good looking tyre, but never had the predictability of a Dunlop SP3.

Ah, the Dunlop SP3. That was the king of Mini tyres when it was introduced in 1963. They were very hard to get and you needed an RAC Competition Licence to get them at that time. 

Then the Goodyear G800 was introduced and those two tyres were very similar. Pirelli introduced the Cinturato around that time, but as you say, they were not as good as the compound was harder than the SP3 or G800.

A 145/70x12 Pirelli should work well.

 

 

The early G800, with the straight treadlets on the shoulder, wore too quickly.  The later ones with the zigzag treadlets were harder and had less grip

 

I used to call the later ones, "The Goodyear Gripless", but at least they were better than the "Firestone Frictionless" or the lethal "Michelin Murderers".

[whistler]

 

Thank you for drawing our attention to them..

 

They were always a good looking tyre, but never had the predictability of a Dunlop SP3.

Ah, the Dunlop SP3. That was the king of Mini tyres when it was introduced in 1963. They were very hard to get and you needed an RAC Competition Licence to get them at that time. 

Then the Goodyear G800 was introduced and those two tyres were very similar. Pirelli introduced the Cinturato around that time, but as you say, they were not as good as the compound was harder than the SP3 or G800.

A 145/70x12 Pirelli should work well.

 

I could only get SP44's back then or Motorway Remoulds T&C. Did you ever try Michelins XAS tyres? Interesting in the wet!

Tried Cinturato's but were unpreditcable in the wet.

Edited by whistler, 01 April 2023 - 10:55 AM.

[DeadSquare]

Ah, SP44  "Town & Country" treads were good round the lanes, but rather noisy on the open road.

 

I was so impressed with the wet grip of  the "Avon New Safety" compound, that I bought a pair of their "Weathermaster" tyres and went round the circumference with a tyre cutter to remove the corner zig of the zigzag to let more water out.  Although many laughed at me in scrutineering, I got pole position on them in the wet,

 

XAS were also interesting in the dry, if you got the wrong combination on the wrong axle.

[Cooperman]

I did a lot of the initial testing on the 10" Firestone F100 radials in 1964.
The first test sets suffered from blistering of the sidewalls, which was fairly quickly resolved. Then there were some changes to tread pattern to improve wet grip.
Finally they were a good tyre and I did quite a lot of rallying on them. I especially liked them because to me they were free!

[viz139]

I'm using Nankang 165/60 R12 on my Equinox  and have been very impressed with the grip . The Equinox is only 50bhp but I have push it flat out on a wet track day and never lost grip. I was dubious about the brand but they were recommended to me and I'm happy to pass on the recommendation .