I have a couple of Longstone tyres here, bought recently to go on the front of the Ruby. The tread looks old-fashioned, which is probably the idea.
On page 15 of the 1986A Grey Mag there is an advert placed by Vintage Tyre Supplies. This shows 14 different tread patterns with their designation. From this, my latest tyres seem to be pattern F4 - which is 4th down on the left in the picture below. The existing Excelsior front tyres have a pattern similar to R1, the 4th down on the right. The rear Firestone tyres have six zigzags - like that shown bottom left.
I seem to remember the new tyres I put on the Chummy were of the Triple Stud pattern, the 1st on the left, which suited the car very well.
It is good to have original looking tyres. However, I wonder if these various tread designs make any noticeable difference to the performance of the tyre?
I have just moved the Excelsiors which were on the front to the back (which had very old Goodyears) and put Avon SM on in place. The steering and handling in much improved...
Could be down to flexibility and not tread pattern
16-08-2019, 06:43 PM (This post was last modified: 16-08-2019, 06:44 PM by Colin Morgan.)
I would have thought tread pattern might have an effect on water clearance and therefore severe braking (!) or handling close to the limit - neither of which occur at all often in my Seven.
But other features of the tyres may well affect stability etc. - I once drove a Ruby with old tyres on the back on a test run and it felt very unstable - later - after buying it - I replaced the tyres and it handled well (for a Ruby).
I've just bought 5 tyres from Longstone Tyres which are an exact replica of the originals fitted when my Chummy was made in 1927. If you give full details (year etc) of your Ruby to Longstone I am certain that they can provide the exact original tread pattern.
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 1,230 Threads: 33
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7 Location: Salop
Car type: '28 GE Cup. '28 AD Chummy '30 RL Saloon. '34 RP Saloon. Too Many toys!
My Gordon England Cup came out of its shed with a set of 400x19's to that pattern. They are still on it. Even I wouldn't use them on the road however, they are a bit cracked on the sidewall.
I should sell them to some MG whallah with a barn find to exhibit at Goodwood or something like that. Kerching
After 36 years driving my Ruby with 4.50 tyres I bought some 4.00 section tyres and put them on the front; the handling was transformed and I wondered why I had not done it sooner. Also having renewed all tyres on our vintage Riley Nine the handling went to pot. By swapping front and back tyres to give matched tread patterns on the fronts the problem was solved. My opinion is that correct size and suitable tread pattern both contribute to good (better?) handling.
Robert leigh
Hi Robert
I dunno if it is the pattern or relative stiffness which makes the difference. Long before I read about racing cars, I could detect the handling difference in my RP with the front tyres of deep tread and modest pressure.
