Hi im thinking of getting some new tyres for my 360 I was thinking 185 60 13s all round but getting good tyres on the front and budgets on the back for fun. I can get some budgets for the back but I cannot decide on the fronts I was thinking of yokohama a539 but ive heard there no good in the wet the other tyres ive seen in that size that look ok are toyo proxes cf1 and falken ziex ze 912 or uniroyal rallye 340. Any ideas or advice on my choice would be helpful

What wheels are you running?

The standard wheels might be narrow for 185s resulting in instability. 3 series steel standard BMW wheels from same decade are the same size as the GLT (5.5x14") and are a cheap alternative, tyre places used to give these away (brand new condition). I think VW use a similar wheel (the one with the row of 2" holes around the edge).

Ride_on wrote:The standard wheels might be narrow for 185s resulting in instability.

I think they'd be fine... GLT's came with 185 wide tyres and the rims were only 5.5" wide, afaik the 13" steels are also this width? Hmm or maybe they're 5"? Can't remember! Either way 175 wide tyres were fitted to the 13" steels on 340 GL's and 360's so can't see a step up to 185 being too much of an issue.

I would avoid the Yokohama's - not heard good things about them in the wet (and the tread pattern is truly chav!). Uniroyal tyres are generally pretty good, and usually superior in the wet but haven't tried out the rallye 340's

On my 940 I fitted oversize tyres (205s GY F1s) and was quite happy with them for a few years as they were a vast improvement on the previous rubbish that was on (195) Then more recently I put on wheels from another car to get through the MOT, these new 195s were noticably more stable.

This is a bigger different than the 175-185 example, but the 940 rims are 6Jx15, 360 GLT 5.5Jx14, and other 300s 5xJx13. My partners BMW has 7x15" wheels with the same 205s and is super stable. 940 has uprated suspension, it is stiffer than the BMW.

Having said that I have been a bit critical of my tyres and new tyres are always an experiment, its bloody annoying they keep changing the bands/models when you find ones you like. For instance I noticed the GY NCT2s I had on my 360 where much more stable than the NCT3, which seems to have a wider tread part.

The wider the tread is with reference to the rim the more wobbly the tyre will be, but also some tyres have different crosssectional shapes and the geometry can make a big difference when the size remains the same.