The tires are a problem area for classic cars
11/28/2016
From the very beginning, they were consumables, the tires of the car. When they ran out of tread or became too old, they were simply replaced.
The tire constantly evolved, its size-to-width ratio changed over time, as did the treads and compounds. In collaboration with vehicle manufacturers, tire manufacturers were constantly inventing new "revolutionary" approaches to making tires safer and better, such as the "runflats" or the Michelin TRX system.
Once a once highly acclaimed technology is outdated, the manufacturers' interest in ensuring sufficient supplies dwindles. If a dimension is no longer in demand because it has only been used rarely (or perhaps only once), the supply can quickly dry up. The many tire manufacturers in the market, who have also recognized the classic car as a valuable niche, provide counter-pressure.
But is this enough? Is it easy to obtain replacement tires for old cars or not? This is what we wanted to find out with our last "question of the week" .
And lo and behold, it's certainly not that simple, because more than half (55%) of the 255 respondents think that although the right tires are still available in principle, they are not always available and may also be expensive.
11% suffer from the problem that there are no longer any suitable tires for their old car, so they have to switch to a replacement.
27% stated that replacement tires in the right size are always available and affordable. And 5% could not find themselves in any of the answers given.
So there is something to be done in the tire sector, one could conclude from this survey, but there are probably also more pressing problems in the classic car sector.
Here is a graphic representation of the results:
The evaluations of the previous questions of the weekcan all be read in a dedicated topic channel.
And the next question of the week has already been asked. This time it's about whether it is more difficult to obtain spare parts for defunct brands than for vehicle manufacturers that still exist.
