Tyre-chat: Michelin Super Confort 1935-2013

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Anybody who has owned a Veteran or early 1920s car with beaded edge tyres will tell you how important it is to keep them inflated to something around 70 to 80 psi. Even today vendors of  cross ply tyres suitable for Vintage and Classic cars will advise inflating them to around 30 to 35 psi especially for fast touring or competition driving. Having done this it is not surprising our cars ride like something akin to a horse drawn wagon.

As early as 1930 the tyre technicians at the highly respected tyre manufacturers Michelin, were experimenting with lower tyre pressures in order to offer motorists of the day some semblance of comfort but many sporting drivers still believed that with low tyre pressures the handling of their cars would suffer. The one exception to this rule would have to be those enthusiasts driving specially prepared cars in English Observed Section “mud” Trials where the rear tyres are deflated to something near 10 psi to enhance their grip in the wet and slippery conditions but even those re-inflate their tyres for road sections.

Then in 1935 Michelin released their Super Confort S range of tyres. While the range of available sizes are today restricted to just two both designed to be fitted to 40 cm rims. Surely this must qualify these as the longest running tyre in motoring history with the basic design and tread pattern unchanged in 80 years. When they were first released Michelin staged a number of demonstrations of the remarkable ride (comfort) combined with vastly superior grip under a variety of road conditions and driving style on both dry and wet bitumen. A film of one of these demonstrations taken in 1935 is available on the Internet.

You may ask what is my interest in all this. I certainly am not an employee of either Michelin or a tyre retailer. Quite by chance I purchased a set of four, new old stock, Super Comfort tyres from a fellow entrant at the 2009 Chante Loup les Vingnes Hillclimb re-enactment. These I fitted to my 1934 Lagonda Rapier two seater. Because old habits die hard I continued to inflate these to around 30 psi disregarding the advise on the tyre wall “Maximum pressure 20 psi” It was not until after I had recently been shown the film of the 1935 Demonstration that I decided with some apprehension to lower the pressure to the suggested 20 psi. At once it was noticeable that the ride in the car was smoother and the road noise far quieter but it was not until we were competing in the VSCC of Victoria (Australia) Two Day Rally, a competitive road navigation event, run this year on wet mountain roads that I could appreciate the vastly improved handling particularly on the long down hill stretches of winding road, often at speeds in excess of 100kph.

So what is my problem? Put quite simply I need another one or two 450-500 X 17 Michelin Super Confort S tyres to fit the 17 inch wheels on the Lagonda. These would need to be suitable to be fitted to the spare wheel. While the Super Confort is NOT a radial tyre because they are a low pressure tyre it could be construed that because of their different characteristics it is not advisable or even legal to mix them with a conventional cross ply tyre.

If you are able to assist please contact me through my Wanted advert.

Bernie Jacobson
 

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