Tire shopping for a Bentley. I think I'm going to pull out all my hair.

It's a good looking 17" wheel.

Does the 17" open up more tire choices?  

In reply to Toyman! :

1700 for a set of OE wheels that broaden tire options is definitely the way to go, even if shipping were to make them 2100, which it shouldn't. 

In reply to John Welsh :

Yes. The selection still isn't great but it is substantially better than the 15" wheels. 

I have had this guy make me a set of wheels, reasonable prices and turnaround.

http://www.petepaulsen.com/catalog/wheels%20page.html

He'll do any bolt pattern, offset, hole center, etc you spec.  Any finish or style.  

Well, the OEM 17s are a bust.

They don't have any on hand and will have to wait until they get another junk car in. They are supposed to send me an email if they get another set. I'm not very hopeful. 

In reply to Toyman! :

Well, you've ordered some tires for the 15s, so now you can afford to wait and pick up the next set. I think it's a good long-term plan, 15" availability is only going to get worse. 

Toyman! said:

Well, the OEM 17s are a bust.

They don't have any on hand and will have to wait until they get another junk car in. They are supposed to send me an email if they get another set. I'm not very hopeful. 

 

I had a set that I bought off Craigslist from a wheel shop in Muncie years ago, they were $499. They never looked right adapted on anything so I ended up eBaying them. Moral of the story is that when folks throw 20's on their cars the 17" stock wheels end up sitting at the wheel shop until sold on CL or FB. 
 

Crappy parts Bentley

chandler said:

Toyman! said:

Well, the OEM 17s are a bust.

They don't have any on hand and will have to wait until they get another junk car in. They are supposed to send me an email if they get another set. I'm not very hopeful. 

 

I had a set that I bought off Craigslist from a wheel shop in Muncie years ago, they were $499. They never looked right adapted on anything so I ended up eBaying them. Moral of the story is that when folks throw 20's on their cars the 17" stock wheels end up sitting at the wheel shop until sold on CL or FB. 
 

Crappy parts Bentley

I was just looking at this car on marketplace. Let me know if you need me to grab it Toyman, I recognize where the pics are. Its about 5 miles from me. 

yupididit said:

chandler said:

Toyman! said:

Well, the OEM 17s are a bust.

They don't have any on hand and will have to wait until they get another junk car in. They are supposed to send me an email if they get another set. I'm not very hopeful. 

 

I had a set that I bought off Craigslist from a wheel shop in Muncie years ago, they were $499. They never looked right adapted on anything so I ended up eBaying them. Moral of the story is that when folks throw 20's on their cars the 17" stock wheels end up sitting at the wheel shop until sold on CL or FB. 
 

Crappy parts Bentley

I was just looking at this car on marketplace. Let me know if you need me to grab it Toyman, I recognize where the pics are. Its about 5 miles from me. 

Does that look like 38k miles of use on the driver's seat?

Still, buy it, swap wheels, sell. Or part out. Or park behind the barn as your "parts Bentley". Or strip it out and make it a Lemons racer. Or sell it to 93gsxturbo and tuna.

TIL that if you put "Bentley" into FB marketplace, you discover that a lot of people use "Bentley" if their normal make isn't listed. I've found an MGC, a Jensen-Healey, an Austin Healey 3000 and a Kenworth big rig. Also an event planner that seems to specialize in little girl parties that involve lots of balloons but the listing is in spanish and the "vehicle" is a 2016 Bentley flying spur for $14.

Toyman, I respectfully suggest that you strongly consider 235 70 15's.  Almost exactly the same diameter as the 255 65's, a decent number of choices, some of which are even up-to-date designs (which I think Avon Turbospeeds are not), reasonable prices, your wheels will be plenty wide for them, and this size was used on your chassis a couple of years before your car.

In reply to Keith:

I get a couple of cars and a bunch of pontoon boats. 

In reply to Uncle David (Forum Supporter) :

That is the size used on all the Rolls Royce cars and the Bentleys that are not the Turbo R. I looked at them and decided to go wider instead of narrower. 

In reply to yupididit :

I appreciate the offer but if I buy another car my wife will probably stop smiling. She is amazingly tolerant but I think I've pushed that as far as I can for now. 

Replacing her Suburban is probably next on the list. At least it better be. 

Toyman! said:

In reply to yupididit :

I appreciate the offer but if I buy another car my wife will probably stop smiling. She is amazingly tolerant but I think I've pushed that as far as I can for now. 

Replacing her Suburban is probably next on the list. At least it better be. 

Well yeah, what could be better than a questionable Bentley to replace a much loved daily driver?

chandler said:

Toyman! said:

In reply to yupididit :

I appreciate the offer but if I buy another car my wife will probably stop smiling. She is amazingly tolerant but I think I've pushed that as far as I can for now. 

Replacing her Suburban is probably next on the list. At least it better be. 

Well yeah, what could be better than a questionable Bentley to replace a much loved daily driver?

We were all thinking it. You were just the first to say it.

Keith Tanner said:

chandler said:

Toyman! said:

In reply to yupididit :

I appreciate the offer but if I buy another car my wife will probably stop smiling. She is amazingly tolerant but I think I've pushed that as far as I can for now. 

Replacing her Suburban is probably next on the list. At least it better be. 

Well yeah, what could be better than a questionable Bentley to replace a much loved daily driver?

We were all thinking it. You were just the first to say it.

She would love to drive it. While I can work on a fun car for days but the daily drivers frequently go to the shop. I despise working on them. Bently shop rates are a good bit higher than I want to pay.

Are there any forums for DIY guys that  are going to fix their own 20 year old Bentley ?
 

I would think  that is a very small market.

looking forward to your adventures :)

In reply to californiamilleghia :

There is a fair amount of info on the Rolls Royce Owners Club, which I have joined. 

I'm curious why you haven't just ordered the Avons at this point.

Uncle David (Forum Supporter) said:

Toyman, I respectfully suggest that you strongly consider 235 70 15's.  Almost exactly the same diameter as the 255 65's, a decent number of choices, some of which are even up-to-date designs (which I think Avon Turbospeeds are not), reasonable prices, your wheels will be plenty wide for them, and this size was used on your chassis a couple of years before your car.

Can one still get police car tires in that size?  

I recall that is what all/most of the P71s used, to the point that when Chevy made the police Tahoe they downsized to that size for departmentsl logistics reasons.

They have amazingly good tire construction. Not cheap, but probably not as expensive as the Avons.

californiamilleghia said:

Are there any forums for DIY guys that are going to fix their own 20 year old Bentley?

You're lookin' at it.

I would argue that you wouldn't be buying another car - you'd be buying an assortment of self-contained spare parts

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

IIRC my P71 ran 255/55r16s. 

In reply to pres589: 

The overseas reviews of the Avons aren't very good. Their wet traction is poor and they wear quickly. At that price I think I will pass on them.

I think my best bet long term is going to be finding a set of 17"-18" wheels and getting away from the 15" tires. 

The Firestones I ordered will buy me the time to do that. I'll just need to keep the speeds under 115 or so for now.