I recently read all of the posts on whether to get 205s of 185s for my 1968 OTS. I decided on 205s and bought Vredestein 205/70VR15 Sprint Classics.
I had them installed yesterday and was quite surprised at how narrow they look. I compared them to the Michelin 205s I previously had and the Vreds appear much narrower. See picture of both the Michelin and Vred, with the Vred on the left. I also measured the Vreds section width with a caliper and they definitely show 185. The Vreds clearly say 205/70VR15. I have also included a picture of what they look like on my car.
I called the vender and have been told that Vreds are typically one inch narrower than other tires. I am having difficulty accepting this explanation. I am not suggesting that Vredestein mislabeled the tires, but these tires are definitely narrower than 205s. Can anyone offer any insight into this matter?
When you say “section width” do you mean the tread or the point of greatest width over all. I ask because the cross section of the two tires is quite different with the Michelins being much more square than the Vreds and the look may be deceiving.
Hello Robert, my understanding is the 205 refers to the full section width, in millimeters and when mounted on a specific wheel, and not the tread on the ground width. On your photo, the two tires appear to be within 4% of the same section width unmounted and with that 4% apparent difference possibly to be reduced due to the parallax in the photo since the Michelin tire has a more-squared profile.
As noted, the Vred is at a slight angle so one can’t really see the left side… but they appear very close in width. Is the pictured Michelin mounted on a rim in that photo?
Based on the quoted rule of thumb, you might expect the measurement to change by around 10mm from a 5" to a 6" rim (which is the Measurement Rim Width for this tyre). If both tyres aren’t mounted on the appropriately sized Measurement Rim, your results are likely to be pretty meaningless.
Not all tires of the same size are created equal. I just went through this with my Alfa. Replaced Pirrelli tires with Michelin and the Michelin is 1" wider at the tread. Michelis makes 3 versions of this same tire the same size and description but different manufactures’ spec. The tire I purchased was a Michelin spec., also offered for Ford and Mercedes spec. Each has a different tread width within the same size and exact design? The three spec. tires look the same but tread width differs.
Glenn
