Anyone ever used Vredestein sprint classics?

decampos

decampos

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Been shopping for new tires to replace the elderly Michelin XWXs on my car. I did consider another set of the same but I starting thinking cynically about the frankly ludicrous cost for these 'holy grail' tires. :|

The only other 'premium' option (in this country) for the 205/70/14 size is the Vredestein Sprint Classic. I bought a set and I think they look great and are noticeably grippier than the XWXs though it's an unfair comparison as they were so old.

Has anyone got these tires on their coupé also? How do you find them?

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yes, i installed the vredesteins on my coupe as i bought it
i love them, very nice performance, reasonable price, and lovely old style look
those tyres are now my standard
BTW, when i changed from the stock rims to the alpina style (always in 14"), i had a set of little used vredesteins HI-TRACK, and there is no comparison, they behave very badly when cornering with less grip and poorer response

 
Hi,

I have the Vredestein Sprint Classic on BBS-Mahle rims (205/70R14 91V on 14x7ET9.3) for my fjord 3.0Si since last year. I'm quite happy with them this far - though it has been a little tricky to get them perfectly balanced due to some irregularities in the rubber.

I can't make the comparison with the Michelins since those are still not on the car (other Si) but some E3-drivers here in Germany tend to like them more than the Vredesteins, due to their better high-speed stability and wet-grip, when new that is ;-) Old XWX tend to need 0,2-0,4 bar less to perform accurate.

/A
 

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Bridgestone B330, UK

I recently replaced all of my tyres and was advised to go for Bridgestone B330 195/70/14, apparently a good tyre at a reasonable price. My tyre specialist friend warned against many tyres that are actually van tyres with stiffer sidewalls. There are many sold in this size that are closer to van or eco than performance car.
I can't really say how good they are but vastly better than the old ones which had started to crack due to age. When I have fitted a rear anti roll bar, new rear bilsteins, new springs and all new rear bushes, I will then test it out properly.

C
 
Cornishman said:
I recently replaced all of my tyres and was advised to go for Bridgestone B330 195/70/14, apparently a good tyre at a reasonable price. My tyre specialist friend warned against many tyres that are actually van tyres with stiffer sidewalls. There are many sold in this size that are closer to van or eco than performance car.
I can't really say how good they are but vastly better than the old ones which had started to crack due to age. When I have fitted a rear anti roll bar, new rear bilsteins, new springs and all new rear bushes, I will then test it out properly.

C
Click to expand...

vredestein is not a van tyre !
 
Is the technology behind these tyres as old as the look? I had Sprint Classic Vredensteins on my car for a little while. They were OLD and, I did not feel safe. The tires screamed in tight turns just like in an old American movie.
 
Well, in Germany you also have to consider the speed index, i.e. If your car has a top speed of more than 190 km/h you need at least index H, over 210 index V, over 240 km/h W and so on regardless if you use the car for cruising or racing... That makes it impossible to use the wrong tires like van tires and since you are only allowed to fit rims made for the car there are also no rubbing, scratching or other misfitting issues.
Cheers
A
 
Henrik said:
Is the technology behind these tyres as old as the look? I had Sprint Classic Vredensteins on my car for a little while. They were OLD and, I did not feel safe. The tires screamed in tight turns just like in an old American movie.
Click to expand...

The technology is new as well as the rubber mix. Only the thread looks like the tyre in the 70ies.
 
The Vredestein Sprint Classics are an excellent replacement for the Michelin X which was standard issues on many British cars. I have had them on my Triumph and MG for years. Similar performance and look at a better price.

The Muchelin XWX was a significantly higher performing tire than the X with higher speed rating and load carrying capabilities. I looked at the Vredesteins for the coupe but couldn't quite get there. Visual thing only ...spindly / light English wheels and tires sitting next to a comparatively heavy German autobahn machine on the same tires. Didn't seem right.

However...Vredesteins are a very capable tire and maybe the best choice performance wise next to the XWX given Yokohama has walked away from the game.
 
Henrik said:
Is the technology behind these tyres as old as the look? I had Sprint Classic Vredensteins on my car for a little while. They were OLD and, I did not feel safe. The tires screamed in tight turns just like in an old American movie.
Click to expand...

my car has been with me always on those vredesteins, no matter if it is a high speed cruise through the highway at 160-200 km/h, or if it is a hilly road full of turns up to 180 degrees at moderate speeds up to 80-100 km/h, the vredesteins sprint classic behave flawlessly

probably you'd better check the rest of the rolling train and suspension, you might have a dead cat there ;-)
 
DerSchwede said:
Well, in Germany you also have to consider the speed index, i.e. If your car has a top speed of more than 190 km/h you need at least index H, over 210 index V, over 240 km/h W and so on regardless if you use the car for cruising or racing... That makes it impossible to use the wrong tires like van tires and since you are only allowed to fit rims made for the car there are also no rubbing, scratching or other misfitting issues.
Cheers
A
Click to expand...

+1, in spain this is fixed by the figure that appears in the speedo
 
Henrik said:
Is the technology behind these tyres as old as the look? I had Sprint Classic Vredensteins on my car for a little while. They were OLD and, I did not feel safe. The tires screamed in tight turns just like in an old American movie.
Click to expand...

In their blurb, Vredestein generally talk a lot about the advanced nature of the Sprint classics: 'The Vredestein Sprint Classic was specially developed for enthusiasts with an eye for detail and design. While the unique tire profile and contour remain unchanged, a stylish sidewall marking has been added. However, beneath all the classical exterior lies the most advanced and modern technology'

Sounds good and not necessarily typical marketing horsesh*t.

Lotuss7 said:
The Muchelin XWX was a significantly higher performing tire than the X with higher speed rating and load carrying capabilities. I looked at the Vredesteins for the coupe but couldn't quite get there. Visual thing only ...spindly / light English wheels and tires sitting next to a comparatively heavy German autobahn machine on the same tires. Didn't seem right.
Click to expand...

I guess it's a personal thing. I think they look just right on period E9 rims. Nice chunky tread but with classy sidewalls.

deQuincey said:
nevertheless i found one slight defect that you mentioned too, in a certain point of the lateral perimeter, the tyre is not perfectly flat, it has like a small valley
Click to expand...

Indeed. There's been a lot of chatter on the internet about strange 'valleys' in the sidewalls. Vredestein themselves issued a surprisingly curt and dismissive statement to anyone complaining about the unsightly deformations essentially saying 'the tires are perfectly safe, get a life losers' which was remarkable as I'm sure the look of the tire is not a trivial thing to a classic car owner. They're not that cheap either but considering they're the only V rated alternative to the insanely priced michelin XWX, it was my only option.

My vreds don't sport any of these valleys yet.
 
Had to drop this in, even if not relevant to E9's. Think of it as adding colour to your day.

Vredestein make many types of tyres, including agricultural, (I did not say van tyres in a previous reply, but they do actually make van tyres!). The red tractor is a Case IH, it is using Vredstein agricultural tyres. The lugs bend foward to approximate a central band to give improved road characteristics, like reduced vibration, whilst still working well in an agricultral field environment where maximum traction is important. Well that is what they tell me anyway.
http://www.vredestein.co.uk/
If you want to know more about the tractor just ask.
C
 
Michelin

Is producing 14" currently. I realize this was not the case until recently, but I did purchase a set roughly 2 months ago from discount tire.
 
I took a couple of photographs of the weird dents on the sidewalls of the Sprint Classics just as an FYI.

They are great in every respect apart from those. Not the kind of thing that would bother most people – they're hard to notice, but they bug me a tiny bit. One of the reasons I bought them was for the look so the 'look' is a bit denty. (the other reason was the complete dearth of decent quality tires in that size apart from the XWXs)

dent0.jpg


dent1.jpg
 
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