Our Classics
18 Triumph TR7 DHC 18 BMW 318TI
I made a simple, but rather fundamental error when I bought my E36 Compact back in February. The previous owner had put the car on a set of 17-inch alloys that I didn’t particularly care for, so I happily agreed that the car would be put back on its original 15” alloys when I came to collect the car. It didn’t dawn on me until about a week later that my new car would now be sitting on a set of budget brand tyres that had been stacked up in a garage for a couple of years. Damn and blast. I would have taken £150 off of my offer if I’d realised that. I’m an idiot.
Given that I’m planning to take the car on a roughly 2500-mile journey to the Spanish Pyrenees and back this summer, I thought it would be advisable to say the least to get the naff tyres replaced with some fresh rubber. At a similar point though, I noticed that the car had a significant pull to the left as well – that certainly hadn’t shown up on the wheels the car was wearing when I tested it.
A quick trip to get the alignment corrected failed to improve things, however. Fearing the worst, I took the car over to Southgate Autos (which looked after my old Peugeot 205 in the past when jobs got too big for me). Mechanic Matt advised that while the poor tyres may have been contributing to the bad tracking, the two front ball joints were also pretty worn, which explains why the wheel alignment hadn’t worked. Not the hardest thing in the world to replace, obviously, but beyond what I’m able to do myself. As such, I was facing a bill that I was hoping I wouldn’t have to pay on what is really a stop-gap car for me.
Soon after the ball joints were replaced, I popped over to local tyre fitters, Botolph Tyres, to get a new set of four Vredestein Sportrac 5s fitted
and the wheel alignment done for a second time. Mercifully, the BMW steered straight and true during the drive back to the office. The new tyres have more than impressed me in terms of grip, too, let alone for a tyre of their price and they’re considerably quieter than the old tyres to boot. Their fuel economy rating isn’t the best, but I’ve actually noticed a slight decrease in fuel consumption – about 20 miles more to a tank – though this could just as easily be from the tracking corrections.
With a trip taking in France and northern Spain, however, I’m glad to have got the car in order. I’ll do an oil change just before I set off, leaving the car fresh for all the continental miles I can throw at it.