jackh@zehntel.UUCP (jack hagerty) (05/04/84)
Please excuse the duplicate posting, but after not getting a single
reply in four days I decided to check my original. It seems I made
a small mistake in the return path under my name (I'd capitalized
the "Z"). I'm willing to believe this is the reason for the silence and
not that everyone is so spooked from all of the "liability" discussion
lately that you're all afraid to even make a suggestion!
In any case, here's the corrected original (Please reply by mail):
My '74 Alfa GTV is finally wearing out its second set of tires
at 146,000 miles. Before committing myself to another set that
I'll have to live with for 5 years I thought I'd consult the
collective wisdom of the net.
The car is my regular commute car meaning that its use is 80% freeway,
10% town and 10% back roads. Longevity is obviously important but
not at the expense of handling, and visa versa. Ride quality is less
important. Since the car is fairly softly sprung some harshness is
acceptable but I don't want a kidney crusher.
The original Michlien XAS's were a decent tire but, besides the fact
that they're not made any more, were too noisy for my tastes (their
grip was fine but they really let you know they were down there working).
The Conti TS 771's that I have now seem a much more competent tire (as
much grip as the XAS's but without the drama) but their quality control
was disappointing; three of the four had to be replaced due to belt
separations within the first 18 months and the last one followed about
a year later. My dealer was very helpful in replacing the bad tires but
has dropped Continental for just this reason.
I've been leaning towards Pirelli (it's an Italian car, after all), either
the P6 or the P77. Our new Saab came with P8's and despite their being
billed as an "econo-tire", they have very good handling.
I'm sure there must be dozens of tire brands and models that meet these
requirements. Any comments, recommendations and/or experiences would
be appreciated.
-- Jack Hagerty
UUCP ihnp4!zehntel!jackh