Re: [DML] Re: Reproduction tires needed!

[". ." <klo@xxxxxxxxx>]

I needed tires some eight years ago with my DeLorean.  I had called the Pirelli (USA) Company and two years later with Yokohama (USA) about the 
availabilities of their tires.  The responses from both companies were that the tires are not available at that time in the USA and they "were not in the agenda 
or was it the company?s interested in producing any."  Yokohama did say that they had a ?last batch? on the boat to the USA and they were to be docking in 
the USA within the next three weeks or longer and to contact a retailer.  I couldn?t wait for that batch, but I did use Yokohamas AVS later on?. Two sets for 
that matter and they were indeed the tires from the ?last batch? for there are no tires from Yokohama since then until today.

At that time, both of the companies did say that some of their tires maybe still available at some of their authorized retail stores as ?old stock.?  They gave 
me a list of their authorized retail outlets to call.   Many of the retailers had either the fronts or the rears and not complete sets of one brand and I did not 
want to mix brands.  This was the same for the other brands too; Goodyear, Coopers and etc., but with the speed rating was too low for me to take a chance.

With Pirelli, after a week of calling everyone across the eastern seaboard, I was able to get the P6s and P600s with an additional price tag of ten to fifteen 
dollars per tire above the normal selling price.  I needed them, so I went for it.   They did off set the price by not charging in balancing them.  Some years 
later I needed replacements only to find out that P6s and P600s were ONLY for the European market and NO longer for the USA market.  I could have one of 
my friend in England buy them and had them sent over, but there was a time factor, including the freight and the custom taxes then which then make the 
whole deal ridiculous.  Besides, there is a legal question of the ?self? imported tires.  Since they are not sold in the USA, as will they be cover by the insurance 
company as in case they cause an accident?  This liability topic that is a grey area and I understand that it is handled differently from the one company to 
another and I do not want to install something or anything on any of my cars that will not be honored or covered when an ?issue? should arise.   E.g., if there 
is a ?blowout? by one of your tires that incurs damages to you or to others, will they be covered by the insurance company if they are not intended on the 
USA market?   If someone out there knows, please chime in.

As to ?rally and to put pressure on the tire manufactures to produce????  If there isn?t a market for manufacturers to make a ?good margin of profit,? it won?t 
happen unless you get someone who will sympathize with you.  As in case with the owner of the Universal Tire, Mrs. Klein, who some twenty-eight plus 
years ago needed tires for her late 1920s Vintage Crinklewood Bentley.  She had the tires produced to the specs for her Bentley and well as for the Rolls 
Royce and Bentley community.   With one of my Bentleys I had two blowouts with the same brand tires that were installed by the previous owner.  The tires 
were borderline in the weight capacity.  The previous owner, an old man brought the tires for they met the ?size? specifications, but was not giving thoughts 
to the issues of the performance or the other criterias and with the use of the heavy weighted Bentley.  He used the Bentley as a hobby car and not as daily 
driver as I had, thereby taxing the tires.  In both of the blowouts, I was lucky to not to have incurred any damage to anyone on the road next to me and only 
to the rim of the wheel.   Afterwards, I had ordered a complete set of five tires from Universal and I had to wait a week for delivery for they are the correct 
tires designed for the Bentley and they have the product liability insurance backing them.

When tires are not available, then one will have to wait or to settle what is on the market. Settling, means using tires that are not to specs, but they will fit 
and to do its job.  I believe this one of the reason why there are many DeLoreans fitted with wider or narrower tires?  As in another one of my cases when I 
was in need of tires during the second year of ownership with my DeLorean.   Rob at PJ Grady had only Dunlops on hand and the situation was that the rears 
tires were slightly one size narrower and there were no tires available from NO ONE!  Reluctantly I purchased them for I was in need of tires to replace my 
OEM NTCs that were hard and useless, beside dangerous!  Personally, I don?t like ?Dunlop?s? characteristics in their performance and I had several models of 
Dunlops on my two Bentleys and other cars, to know from experience.  I was hoping that these Dunlops will be different and better then the ones I had in the 
past. In my opinions, the Dunlops are good if you are going in a straight line but ?mushy? in the handling curves. After six months on the DeLorean, I had 
them removed and replaced by the Pirellis P6s and P600s. 

Again, if there are no tires available in the future for the DeLoreans, then the need for alternative rims as to be complimented by the tires that will be 
commonly available may be the only way to go. The wheels and tires should be the SAME DAIAMETER of the original tire and the rim should be able to offer 
the same bolt pattern and also centering itself in the wheel well as the original wheel ensemble.  For this will be one way in keeping the DeLoreans safely on 
the roads and not necessary to be as a ?tweaking.?   There are many factors in the selection and purchasing of wheels and tires or just tires alone.  And as 
for myself, I want the BEST and RELIBLE tires or wheel and tire combo, for I don?t put a price on life; mine or anyone in my car or on the road.   

With tires, what you see is what you get and you can?t tweak up tires as with the other components of a car, as with the suspension in springs and shocks 
and etc.   This is where ?the rubber meets the road? and it is a critical and the FINAL component in determining the control of the vehicle and safety in 
motoring.

Here is a story about wheels and tires that always sits in my mind?. One of my friends had stopped on a red light at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge, which 
was sloped downwards.  He stopped normally at the red light along the many other cars and all he heard next was a hard screech and two wheels from the 
car behind him came ?flying off.?   The wheel had scrapped his car and continued to roll fast and crashed hard onto the cars that were in front of him, 
stopping the wheels dead!  The story is the wheels had fallen off a Cadillac that just got his rear tires replaced at one of those tire chain store and the ?young 
new? mechanic had used an air gun as to over torque the hold down nuts and snapping or weakening the studs.  There were some studs that had no hold 
down nuts!  Upon the sudden heavy breaking, the few supporting studs had shared off.  Good thing that no one was hurt or killed by those flying wheels!!!  
All everyone heard was: ?Hey did you see those wheels go by????  WOW!!!   Ouchhhhh?.  So, better check you?re the work done by your mechanic!

Just sharing .? Everyone, have happy and safe mototring!

Kayo Ong
#5508
Lic 9D NY


----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan" <djdanwilson@xxxxxxxxx>
To: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Mon, 26 Dec 2005 14:26:06 -0000
Subject: [DML] Re: Reproduction tires needed!

> --- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, ". ." <klo@xxxx> wrote:
> >
> > I am not an engineer or an expert on this subject, but I can tell
> you from what I have experienced and what I have learnt from others,
> the OEM alloy wheels 
> > on our DeLorean's are the best in it's engineering.  If they are to
> be replacements in the future, the wheels will have to be just as
> strong and able for the 
> > safety of the driver, the passenger and as well as the people and
> property surrounding or sharing the road with the DeLorean.
> > 
> > ... If these wheels or others can take the punishment other then a
> "dainty fast drive" and if they are "do able," maybe this is the way we 
> > should go?




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