Peter C Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 The Sierra is up in the air again. This time it's getting a new set of boots. The existing tyres are a mix of more than half worn Good Years and half worn Kwik Fit's own brand. One of the Good Years has nasty cracking along the sidewall. And, more worrying, a crack that extends the full circumference of the tyre, between the sidewall and the tread. I've gone for a set of budget 165/80 R 13 tyres. The Sierra is unlikely to exceed the national speed limit, at least during my ownership and it will not be driven in the rain, so I didn't opt to spend as much again for fancy branded tyres. Whatever I will fit must surely be better than what I've removed. More tomorrow. danthecapriman, egg, adw1977 and 18 others 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadsword Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 I suspect even the most basic Chinesium rubber will improve the handling 1000% over those vintage hoops! cobblers, Peter C, beko1987 and 1 other 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted April 5 Author Share Posted April 5 A set of lovely new Rockblade tyres are now fitted to the Sierra. I can't imagine that they are any better or worse than any other budget tyre. egg, Dyslexic Viking, danthecapriman and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 They’ll be fine. In all honesty they’ll be better than the Uniroyals that were probably fitted from new. Tyre technology has come on considerably, even the cheapest shittest tyres today will be leagues ahead of the best tyres fitted when it was new. beko1987, JMotor, Peter C and 2 others 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Tidybeard Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 who cares they just sound cool! Rockblade Rock 515 Broadsword, egg, Longbridge Apologist and 4 others 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted April 5 Author Share Posted April 5 22 minutes ago, sierraman said: They’ll be fine. In all honesty they’ll be better than the Uniroyals that were probably fitted from new. Tyre technology has come on considerably, even the cheapest shittest tyres today will be leagues ahead of the best tyres fitted when it was new. The two Kwik Fit Centaur something or other tyres that were on the Sierra were probably as bad as budget tyres can get whilst the other two Good Years were probably as old as the car itself. I couldn't find the date stamp on them, so they had to be old. At £160 for all four tyres, fitted and balanced, they make perfect sense. One tyre for my wife's Hyundai Tucson costs £190 and she needs two! Burnside, sierraman, tooSavvy and 4 others 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod/b Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 26 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said: who cares they just sound cool! Rockblade Rock 515 Has Jimmy Cauty gone into the shit tyre business? jayroller, Matty, Shep Shepherd and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 2 hours ago, Peter C said: The two Kwik Fit Centaur something or other tyres that were on the Sierra were probably as bad as budget tyres can get whilst the other two Good Years were probably as old as the car itself. I couldn't find the date stamp on them, so they had to be old. At £160 for all four tyres, fitted and balanced, they make perfect sense. One tyre for my wife's Hyundai Tucson costs £190 and she needs two! Centaur… they must be 30 years old if they’re just a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timolloyd Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Definitely one for the absurd tyre name thread. Why name your product after the things that are most likely to wreck it? I might see if they’ll sell me a pair of GlassFlint 3000s. Peter C and Longbridge Apologist 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuboy Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 20 minutes ago, timolloyd said: I might see if they’ll sell me a pair of GlassFlint 3000s currently out of stock, will sir be ok with a pair of screwnail 2500's? RoverFolkUs, AnnoyingPentium, Matty and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 The new ones are 4 years old already ? 17 20 ? At 40 quid i'd not hesitate though .. Peter C 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 ‘We didn’t have any Michelins in so we’ve substituted them for some Spinmaster Pro 3000’s?’ timolloyd 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod/b Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 15 hours ago, Peter C said: A set of lovely new Rockblade tyres are now fitted to the Sierra. I can't imagine that they are any better or worse than any other budget tyre. In all seriousness though did they take a lot of balancing? The red dot should be aligned with the valve stem to minimise the amount of weight they need. Peter C 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted April 6 Author Share Posted April 6 9 minutes ago, Rod/b said: In all seriousness though did they take a lot of balancing? The red dot should be aligned with the valve stem to minimise the amount of weight they need. When I collected the wheels from the tyre shop yesterday morning I was in between work appointments and in a bit of a hurry. I didn’t pay attention to the balance weights, I threw the wheels in the back of the Qashqai and disappeared into the distance. When I got home, I stacked the wheels outside my workshop and noticed that a couple of wheels didn’t have any balance weights. I will take the Sierra for a quick test drive up the M40 this afternoon and see if there’s any steering wheel wobble. If I’m lucky, the wheels didn’t need much balancing, otherwise I’m taking them back to be fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted April 6 Author Share Posted April 6 Test drive completed. No wobble whatsoever, the Sierra was only giving me good vibrations. Looking good with a squirt of tyre shine. blakey79, Datsuncog, Dyslexic Viking and 34 others 36 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted April 6 Author Share Posted April 6 Oh, and the steering feels a lot lighter too. Win. adw1977, Dyslexic Viking, RayMK and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 I envy being able to source road oriented 165SR13 easily and cheaply. (Being new 4 years old and shit brand doesn't really matter, Pilot Sport compound in this size isn't going to help). It meant that unlike here youngtimer classics doesn't have to use 175/70R13 which way too small for anything other than the tiniest of subcompact. Only 165SR13 available here is utility type tyre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 54 minutes ago, Peter C said: Test drive completed. No wobble whatsoever, the Sierra was only giving me good vibrations. Looking good with a squirt of tyre shine. Looks very 1987 Photocopier salesman. Like it, in my minds eye he gets promoted in a few years to a Ghia or a Cavalier CDI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted April 6 Author Share Posted April 6 2 hours ago, sierraman said: Looks very 1987 Photocopier salesman. Like it, in my minds eye he gets promoted in a few years to a Ghia or a Cavalier CDI. He would have to sell a lot of photocopiers to get such a promotion. I reckon that he should hope for a pay increase and an injected GLS first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 2 hours ago, Peter C said: He would have to sell a lot of photocopiers to get such a promotion. I reckon that he should hope for a pay increase and an injected GLS first. The next level up I’m guessing would be either a Granada 1.8 GL/Carlton 1.8 L or a Sierra GLS? Peter C 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted April 6 Author Share Posted April 6 19 minutes ago, sierraman said: Granada 1.8 GL So grim. I’d love one. 500tops 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted April 7 Author Share Posted April 7 I’d say someone is getting ready for a road trip. JMotor, tooSavvy, Coprolalia and 20 others 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adw1977 Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 18 hours ago, sierraman said: The next level up I’m guessing would be either a Granada 1.8 GL/Carlton 1.8 L or a Sierra GLS? No Granada 1.8 GL in 1987, but any Granada would be quite a leap from a Sierra L. Sierra trim levels were LX, GL, GLS, then a fair jump in price to a Ghia which was actually about the same money as a Granada GL. Sep 1987 brochure Popsicle and Peter C 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard_FM Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 51 minutes ago, adw1977 said: No Granada 1.8 GL in 1987, but any Granada would be quite a leap from a Sierra L. Sierra trim levels were LX, GL, GLS, then a fair jump in price to a Ghia which was actually about the same money as a Granada GL. Sep 1987 brochure From what I remember the early Granada GL Mk3s didn't have a rev counter, though the Sierras did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adw1977 Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 2 minutes ago, Richard_FM said: From what I remember the early Granada GL Mk3s didn't have a rev counter, though the Sierras did! You remember correctly. Popsicle, Peter C and Richard_FM 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N19 Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 3 hours ago, Peter C said: I’d say someone is getting ready for a road trip. Have you got any of those fancy photostat machines that can do duplex printing? Looks lovely! Peter C 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted April 7 Author Share Posted April 7 26 minutes ago, Richard_FM said: From what I remember the early Granada GL Mk3s didn't have a rev counter, though the Sierras did! Geek! Love it. egg and Richard_FM 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted April 7 Author Share Posted April 7 My dream has come true, I’ve driven the Sierra up the A413, heading north west. The only issue that I’ve noticed is an erratic fuel gauge. I know the tank is almost full but the needle keeps dropping to zero, then rises and drops again. First destination reached. A Gulf petrol station in Whitchurch, located between Aylesbury and Buckingham. Before I bought my first Sierra from my then girlfriend’s dad, he let me borrow it for a very extended test drive and I remember putting fuel in the tank at this very station, which, remarkably, still exist today. I’m heading further up the A413 towards Buckingham. 31k miles will tick over shortly. More very soon. MorrisItalSLX, adw1977, Dick Longbridge and 30 others 33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter C Posted April 7 Author Share Posted April 7 dome, auntiemaryscanary, Sunny Jim and 25 others 28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N19 Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 I know a fairly common fault on Capris is that one of the voltage regulators goes faulty on the fuel gauge, which causes the wild variations displayed, it's a dash out job. If it's that it may be quicker and easier to keep the tank topped up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now