New Tires - Vredestein Quatrac 5

[Benz280]

In the market for new tires. Have come across the  Vredestein Quatrac 5 ( 195/70/14 )
Has anyone had any experience, its relatively new and only available through Tire Rack

[mclewis]

I have the Vredestein Sprint Classic. I am very happy with them and they retain the look of the original black wall tire.

[stickandrudderman]

As long as you are aware that 195/70/14 is not the correct size.

[Benz280]

Was trying for the Classic, backorder from most sources with no ETA on inventory.
Tire size is all over the board. Some do 185/14 , 205/70/14 and 195/70/14 ( have been running the 195 and performs well )   

[rwmastel]

In the market for new tires. Have come across the  Vredestein Quatrac 5 ( 195/70/14 )
Has anyone had any experience, its relatively new and only available through Tire Rack

I got 3 pages of search results.

[mdsalemi]

Out of curiosity I went to investigate this Quatrac 5 both on the TireRack and Vredestein websites. In my views sizes start at 15”, nothing displayed to me in the 14” size.

I was very happy for many years with Coker Phoenix. Replaced in 2020 with Blockley. Both in the increasingly hard to find whitewall.

Was so happy with the Blockley both as a tire and a company, as your board member I worked with them to get a good discount for SL113.org members. Quietly our members exhausted their inventory earlier this year, under their special discount for us. 

We have very special car whose price for reasonable examples is approaching six figures in any currency. It takes a tire diameter not used on production cars in years, if not decades. It takes a subset of that diameter that makes the size even more uncommon. You can’t generally drive to your local tire store on a Tuesday afternoon and buy tires for $70 each. That’s reality.

[Sens]

I called the factory in the Netherlands and they will be produced in March 2023.

[rwmastel]

Just to be clear, which factory did you call?

Vredestein
Coker
Blockley

[mdsalemi]

Just to be clear, which factory did you call?

Vredestein
Coker
Blockley

Coker is a retailer as is Blockley; the tires they sell are private label. Coker’s Phoenix tire is produced under contract in a factory in Mexico that also makes Michelin.

Blockley is a retailer based in UK. Their tire in the 185HR14 size is made for them in Indonesia (note: close to the rubber source)

Vredestein is a tire manufacturer.

[Sens]

Sorry, my reply was not very clear.

I called Vredestein for the production of the Vredestein Sprint Classic.
185 HR 14 90H

Production again in March 2023.

Regards,

Halvor

[zoegrlh]

The Vredesteins is the way to go. Some years ago I was ready to replace tires, so I did research to find the tire that is the very closest to the original Phoenix tires. The Vredestein Classic Sprint was the closest in circumstance, the width, tread design, the curb bump, the height of sidewalk, etc. I can’t say enough about them.

[Benz280]

Just installed these 195/70/14 The run great .
As an FYI, the size is slightly taller than 195, closer to a 205.

[Ed Riefstahl]

I believe my 1966 230SL came with 13 inch and was switches to 14 inch at some point. The car came with 195-70's and the first set I replaced with the same.

It's become much more difficult to find 14 inch, especially white wall which I prefer.
10 years ago I switched to Mastercraft 205-70's and what a nice difference it made. I liked them so well that a while back I purchased another set of 5 before they discontinued the white wall. I can always put black wall out.

I would 2nd the motion to consider the 205's. BTW, for what it's worth, Walmart offers a pretty good selection of 205-14's. Not that I'm a fan of Walmart, but one place to check.

Good luck.

Ed Riefstahl
Erie, PA

1966 230SL (Ms Magoo)
1970 280S (Miss Daisy)
1989 300SE (Majestic)
1999 BMW Z3 5 speed
1991 BMW 318I 5 Speed
1997 Toyota Paseo Convertible - Red 5 speed (have you ever seen one?)
1997 Ford Ranger Step Side 54K
2023 Mazda CX 5

[Cees Klumper]

I have the Vredesteins, and I like them.

Tire Rack in the US seems to have 6 in stock right now. Set of 4 for under $700, size 185 HR 14 90H.