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?