Tyre choice. Pirelli Cinturato P4's

What tyres are people fitting to standard 13" tarantula wheels? 
When I restored my golf I fitted Pirelli Cinturato P4's , mainly because they were Pirelli brand and its historical link with the golf .

I can't seem to find these anymore and need to replace the fronts due to wear. 

Any suggestion some nice looking decent performing tyres. 

Thanks 

There is surprisingly little choice remaining in 175/70R13, with only Continental EcoContact 6 showing up in the premium sector, and nothing from the other brands popular in the 1980s - Michelin, Pirelli, Goodyear, Dunlop. There are a few choices in the middle sector: Uniroyal, Hankook, Toyo, Yokohama and Riken, and plenty of budget alternatives. As to what would look good, that's a bit subjective.

Uniroyal for me. Fitted them in March and they feel really good in wet weather and quiet in the dry too. 

Recommended. 😎

tnotty said

What tyres are people fitting to standard 13" tarantula wheels? 
When I restored my golf I fitted Pirelli Cinturato P4's , mainly because they were Pirelli brand and its historical link with the golf .

I can't seem to find these anymore and need to replace the fronts due to wear. 

Any suggestion some nice looking decent performing tyres. 

Thanks 

I was looking at the Pirelli cn36 for my steelies- bloody expensive though!

 Pirelli CN36 look nice, and appear to be period correct, at least for GTI models, see extract from 1981 French language brochure:



This would have been 175/70R13 tyres on 5.5J rims. What size rim do you have on your GL? I've noticed a lot of the classic reproduction tyres are only available in a limited number of sizes


 

typ_53b said

 Pirelli CN36 look nice, and appear to be period correct, at least for GTI models, see extract from 1981 French language brochure:



This would have been 175/70R13 tyres on 5.5J rims. What size rim do you have on your GL? I've noticed a lot of the classic reproduction tyres are only available in a limited number of sizes


 

I'm not exactly sure on my rim size I'm going to measure today, however I have the exact same wheels in that photograph there, same as every rim I see with the cn36, I'm not sure if they came in different sizes or not? 

The UK brochure for the 1981 Golf gives several rim sizes, varying by model, 4.5J, 5J and 5.5J, all 13", with different tyre sizes - 145R, 155R and 175/70R.  The rim size is usually stamped or embossed on the wheel near the centre

typ_53b said

The UK brochure for the 1981 Golf gives several rim sizes, varying by model, 4.5J, 5J and 5.5J, all 13", with different tyre sizes - 145R, 155R and 175/70R.  The rim size is usually stamped or embossed on the wheel near the centre

You know what I've pulled my spare wheel out and it has its original tyre on it surprisingly, it's a Mitchelin Xzx, 155sr13 

I can only seem to find 165sr13 tyres do you know if these will these fit at all without changing the overall diameter ? 

Good old Michelin XZX, my favourite tyre in the 1980s. The date code on the tyre is 231, which I assume is Week 23 of 1981, nearly 44 years old!

The 155R size suggests the rim size is 5J. The closest low profile tyre would be 175/70R, which is the tyre VW fitted to 5.5J rims. Personally, I'd stick with 155R if you can.

There is good availability of modern 155R13 tyres (nowadays described as 155/80R13). There are also a few classic repro tyres in this size, eg Pirelli CA67

typ_53b said

Good old Michelin XZX, my favourite tyre in the 1980s. The date code on the tyre is 231, which I assume is Week 23 of 1981, nearly 44 years old!

The 155R size suggests the rim size is 5J. The closest low profile tyre would be 175/70R, which is the tyre VW fitted to 5.5J rims. Personally, I'd stick with 155R if you can.

There is good availability of modern 155R13 tyres (nowadays described as 155/80R13). There are also a few classic repro tyres in this size, eg Pirelli CA67

Wow thank you for that insight my car is indeed a 1981 so that would be right. I love finding little things like this about my little golfie it always makes me smile 

I don't think I will be relying on this as a spare anytime soon haha 😎