Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello
The tread is getting low on all the tyres on my 1968 Traveller, so as I’m on a shoestring budget considering: Nangkang - 155/80/R14 . Any comments on others actual experience of these tyres would be very welcome .
Kind regards.

I have no experience of those but the highly regarded Blockley 145R14 tyres are good value at £74.40 each.

Stephen

As I've posted on a few occasions now, I cannot praise the Blockley tyres highly enough. They have made a huge improvement to ride comfort.

I actually paid a tad less than the RRP as I did a 'deal' at the NEC Restoration show and I did buy 5 of them. As Stephen says, the full price is as near as makes no difference £75, which for tyres of this quality, is exceptionally good value for money.

I seriously would not consider buying anything else. I've never heard or read, a bad word said against them.

In my limited experience there is nothing wrong with Nankang, I have used them on Morries and a Citroen GS and I think on a Minx. Yes they are the cheapest and yes they are easy to get hold of through normal discount people.

I imagine they won't last as long as something more expensive (don't really know why I say that) but for me they are likely to need replacing due to age rather than wear but surely that applies to all tyres.

My experience of Nangkang tyres on the pickup is that they are ok. We had CX688 Retro fitted, not the modern pattern Econex NA1 tyre. They seem to go very hard quickly and have little flex in the sidewall or tread blocks. On the back of the pickup, particularly when there’s nothing in the back they didn’t offer much grip. Solution, run them at 22psi. On the front they were ok at 26psi.

The move to Blockley tyres was a night and day difference. Far more comfortable, better grip at 28/30 psi and less noise. I can’t comment on longevity as the Nankangs were five years old with 3.5mm left when they were replaced.

I bought a set of Nankang low noise tyres a while ago. They cracked between the treads within months.
I was given a full refund by the supplier.
They said there must have been a 'bad batch'.

If you can afford better....buy them.

Something to remember...

Nankang tyres only come in the 155 x 14 size

A spare this size spare does not fit under the boot floor of a saloon

michael4 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 11, 2026 9:26 am Something to remember...

Nankang tyres only come in the 155 x 14 size

A spare this size spare does not fit under the boot floor of a saloon

I have 155/80 R14 Toyo tyres on 3J wheels fitted and the spare does fit under the boot floor in my convertible. In fact there is even enough gap for my foam kneeling mat to go between the wheel and the floor. Incidentally, I don't particularly like the Toyo tyres. ESM fitted them when it was more or less all we could get and I didn't know about Blockleys at the time. I decided I had to put up with them as I couldn't justify the money on a new set of tyres until I'd at least partially worn out the Toyos. They're wearing very well just to spite me! Probably nothing wrong with them really but back in the day I liked Pirellis. Now I would fit Blockleys.

Stephen

Thanks,

Looks like I had better double check the size of my spare, it hasn't seen daylight for quite a while, not sure of its brand.

michael4 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 11, 2026 10:36 am Thanks,

Looks like I had better double check the size of my spare, it hasn't seen daylight for quite a while, not sure of its brand.

Remember the spare is useless if in poor condition and if you have the car MoT tested the spare is part of the test.

Stephen

Interesting, I've had a look and it is a Nankang 155 R 14 80 S from 2008. No signs of crazing/cracking.

The newer Nankangs on the car are from 2025, they are 155 80 R 14 81T

The design of tyre wall differs significantly. Whereas the newer tyre's outer wall is smooth the older one has a significant shoulder or rubbing strip on the outside which is useful for grazing curbs but I think may be the reason it doesn't fit in the slot.

(Apols for thread drift)

michael4 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 11, 2026 11:36 am Interesting, I've had a look and it is a Nankang 155 R 14 80 S from 2008. No signs of crazing/cracking.

The newer Nankangs on the car are from 2025, they are 155 80 R 14 81T

The design of tyre wall differs significantly. Whereas the newer tyre's outer wall is smooth the older one has a significant shoulder or rubbing strip on the outside which is useful for grazing curbs but I think may be the reason it doesn't fit in the slot.

(Apols for thread drift)

Fair enough. They have different speed rating too, S and T but that is not a concern in a standard Morris

Stephen

One day they might introduce an age limit for tyres for private cars, I understand there is one for commercial vehicles.

I've had Toyo and Bridgestone but Blockley's are far better in every respect. Ride and roadholding superb - can't fault them

Interesting, I've had a look and it is a Nankang 155 R 14 80 S from 2008. No signs of crazing/cracking.

It's not always the case that old tyres craze and crack, I have two perfectly good, in appearance, original 1960's tubeless crossply tyres, for display only with their respective period magazine adverts.
They are not crazed or cracked and their tread depths make me wonder if they were ever even used.
That said I will never use them on the open road now, as rubber 'time hardens' and will no longer grip the road.
I believe the safe age limit is between 5 and 6 years, though perhaps someone else on here can give a definative answer to that one.
Best wishes,
Mike.

I had tubeless crossply tyres on my 1952 MM when I got it. They all had over 5mm of tread and looked perfect, with no cracks or crazing. When I checked them, they were made in East Germany and were over 40 years old. They were very hard (tested Shore rating of 80) and squealed on bends at even low speeds. I suspect they would have been useless in the wet, but never had to risk it.
Needless to say they have been replaced and I feel much safer now.

I bought some Continental winter tyres after the Nankangs cracked.

They were cheap, and I leave them on all year round. They have been very good.
They are 145's rather than 155's, and I wonder if 155's are generally more likely to crack between the treads.