Escort wheels

[McBain]

Hey all,

I'll try to be brief, but I'm not very good at it...

I've recently bought a 1980 MKII escort, and only recently managed to get it registered...

There were quite a few things I wanted to do to the car before I moved onto 'cosmetics', but a problem ( more of a choice ) has presented itself...

When the car arrived (it was an interstate ebay purchase), it was wearing the spare on the rear. The original was in the boot and it was flat.

I pumped it up and took it to the mechanics, asking them to monitor it and replace it if it wasn't leaking.

They have since informed me that the original wheel was driven on while flat, and damage to the side wall has occoured. My mechanic has advised me that putting it back on wouldn't be preferable as I would be running the risk of a blow out.

As it's really only one tyre that needs replacing, I figure I have two options...

1) Try and track down one original tyre, as the other rear is at about 60 - 70%

2) Or, I could buy a completely new set of rears...

Doesn't sound like much of a problem yet does it?

Thing is, I hate wasting money, and I hate doing things twice. I had planned to upgrade to a set of taller, wider mags in the future, (hopefully by the end of the year), but that would mean then throwing out the tyre I bought at the start of the year (now).

Can anyone make any suggestions as to what I'd be looking for when contemplating buying a set of wheels?

Also, do you know what 108 ( four stud x 108 ) is refering too?

And any idea what PCD is?

Any help, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated....

Dan

[naughts]

108 is the PCD

[McBain]

Yeah, your right.

Just saw this answer to a question on ebay;

Q: can you tell me the pcd are they 4 x 108? whats the offset thanks 19-Feb-08

A: Yes PCD is 4 x 108mm, Ofset measures, rear of flange to inner rim lip 90mm, rear of flange to outer rim lip 110mm, hope this helps. Cheers Danny

Cheers!
Dan

[outback_ute]

I had a similar situation, I had to drive on a flat to get to a safe place to change it. I replaced the tyre, I didn't think it was worth taking the risk.

Does the spare match the other wheels? Another thing to be wary of is very old tyres, the rubber deteriorates and is liable to blow out. Ironically spare tyres are probably worse in this regard than tyres that are used, for the same age.

I would buy one tyre (if you can't keep using the spare), might be $80 or so but a lot better than having an accident due to a blowout. Otherwise bring forward your wheel upgrade plan!

Have a look in the tyre & wheel tech area in the forums for a rundown on all the different measurements and terminology if you are not clear on what they mean.

[EskyCosworth]

P.C.D is Pitch Circle Diameter. The 4 studs fit on a circle of 108mm.

For an Escort the track is 12mm offset from the centre of the rim. For instance my RS2000 has 16x7 12P wheels. The 12P is the offset from the centre of the 7inch wide wheel.

Buy matching tyres, buy decent ones if you value your life and also enjoy driving a car that handles...