Re-tiring my '74, 165/80 15 Options

[flipb]

Far from retiring it, I'm getting to drive my '74 2.0 a lot more lately. Engine is freshly built 2056; Evil-rebuilt trans.

The car came to me with Kumho 165/80 R15 tires -- OEM size, if I'm not mistaken. They're fine and have at least half their tread left, but I noticed a date code of 3003 -- I believe that translates to a date of manufacture of the 30th week of 2003. Primarily out of fear for what a catastrophic blowout could do to the car, I'm thinking it's time to replace them.

I'm leaning heavily toward keeping the OEM size. I love the go-kart feeling and I can pretty easily control the rear end with the torque of the 2056 and those skinny tires. It's strictly a fun road car... no racing ambition. And it's not a CW car, but I like showing the OEM tire size for Cars & Coffee.

I've come across 4 tires available in 165/80 R15. I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has experience with these or has a compelling reason for me to consider something else (e.g. fatter tires).

• "Classic" All-Season from Tire Rack (made in China, $68/ea)
• Vredenstein Sprint Classic ($104.50/ea)
• Vredenstein T-trac Summer Tire ($129.80/ea)
• Michelin XAS (expnsive)

So... anyone with experience/opinions?

[1972 914 2.0]

I decided to go with Bridgestone Eagle GT 195/60/15, on my Pedrini Alloys. After doing some reading I found that people were the most pleased with the 195 size tires. I also read that if you want a bit better handling go for 60's and if you want more comfort and better ride go for 65's.
It all depends on what you want out of them. 165's in my opinion are just to small to offer effective road-holding.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
- Chris