Matt Bubbers' 1991 BMW jacked up ready for new tires. The original wheel still has that 1990s look.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
I still have my first car. It’s a 1991 BMW 318is in Alpine White, with a grey cloth interior and five-speed manual gearbox. In plain English, it’s a boxy little beemer once prized both by yuppies for its preppy image and by driving enthusiasts whose budgets couldn’t stretch to an M3.
My car is nearly as old as I am, and rust is starting to metastasize across the rocker panels and under the door. The white paint feels like chalk. In the event of a rollover, the car’s roof might as well be supported by toothpicks for all the safety it would offer. The plastic dashboard is warped and the fabric seats are worn through to the yellow foam in some places. The air conditioning has never worked, so in summer it’s a sweatbox. But I love the car; it’s not fast, with only 134 horsepower, but it’s light and lively, a useful reminder of the simple pleasure of driving. I want to keep it on the road for as long as possible.
The fabric seats on Matt's BMW are worn through to the yellow foam in some places.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
The dash of Matt Bubbers' BMW is plastic and warped after 33 years.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
Recently, however, its future – like the future of so many other beloved classic cars – was put in jeopardy by the simple fact that no manufacturer made tires for my car any more. Or, at least, no tire shop in Canada carried tires in the correct size: 195/65 R14. Without fresh rubber, my car would be undrivable.
“Nobody should drive on a tire more than 10 years old,” says Brad Shimbashi, chief executive officer of Braidan Motorsport, a specialty tire and motorsports equipment shop based at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ont., about 75 kilometres east of Toronto. “The tires, they do start to dry rot. They do start to crack. Like anything else, they wear out. Even if the tread is not gone, they still time out,” he warns.
Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation advises the same 10-year time limit, and warns that old tires have reduced traction, are more prone to cracking, and may fail unexpectedly while driving.
Mike Lee, the head installer at Braidan Motorsport, balances a new tire on the original rims for Matt Bubbers' BMW.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
In a situation like this, classic car owners have a couple of choices, neither of which is ideal: Swap the wheels for a different set of alloys (usually larger) so you can find new tires made to fit, or find a different kind of tire (one that’s not factory recommended) that will work with the original wheels. With either option, the overall diameter of the wheel-tire combo could change slightly, throwing off the speedometer and potentially interfering with the suspension and/or wheel arch. It opens up a can of worms.
Mercifully, a third option has presented itself with Michelin finally deciding to sell its Classic tire range in Canada. While not a major part of its product lineup, the French tire giant still produces a relatively small number of new tires for a range of vintage cars, including early examples from the 1920s, rare Ferraris from the 60s and everyday European cars from the 90s, including – as it turns out – my little 1991 BMW. Until recently, however, these Classic tires were almost impossible to buy in North America.
“Michelin didn’t make a big effort to sell [Classic tires] in the U.S. We had a dealer that brought them in from Europe, kind of on their own,” said Kimberly Barnes, Michelin’s business development manager for vintage tires. It’s her job to launch the Michelin Classic range on this side of the Atlantic, which she did, starting with creating a proper U.S. dealer network over the past year or so.
The old tires (right) show their wear compared with the new ones.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
As a classic car driver and collector – her stable includes a TVR Vixen S2, Corvettes (plural), a 1969 Plymouth Barracuda and many more – Barnes is reaching out to the enthusiast community to figure out what tires are missing and what drivers want.
For example, she gets calls from McLaren F1 owners wondering when Michelin will produce its next batch of fresh tires for this aging nineties supercar, of which only 106 were ever made. (With the cars now valued at more than $20-million and a top speed north of 380 kilometres an hour, it’s not the sort of thing you’d want to slap any old tires onto.) The enthusiasts are out there, with their old Mazda Miatas, Porsche 911s and Fox Body Mustangs, all in need of new tires.
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“We really had to guess at what [Classic] tires will sell and how many to bring in, and we’re selling everything we can bring in,” Barnes said. “They’re warehoused in the U.S., and the goal is to have some of every tire, to never be out of stock.”
As for getting Michelin Classic tires into Canada, her plan is to officially launch the Michelin Classic range here in early 2025, making these tires available through Canadian shops.
Other manufacturers, including Pirelli, Dunlop, Avon and BF Goodrich, offer classic car and/or motorcycle tires, but, again, their availability in Canada appears to be spotty at best.
The BMW with new tires ... finally.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
As for my 318is, I purchased a set of Michelin Classic tires – specifically the MXV3-A in the correct 195/65 R14 size – through Braidan Motorsport. The tires cost $208 each, plus taxes, fees and installation. But it was only because I contacted Michelin directly that the company was able to ship the tires to Braidan; it should become easier for buyers next year, when the Classic range will officially be made available through retailers in Canada.
Mike Lee, the head installer at Braidan who fitted the fresh rubber to my car, said it’s been a long time since he’s installed a 14-inch tire. He and Shimbashi looked on in apparent horror as they realized the age of the tires on my car. (Let’s just say they belonged in a museum, which is why I’d hardly driven the car in years.)
Back on the road, the new Michelins seemed to make my 1991 BMW ride better. It felt more supple, with a bit more squish over bumps and ridges. Perhaps the turn-in was slightly less sharp, but once settled into a corner, my car felt more planted and predictable.
What matters most is that my first car is back on the road, safely, with new tires that should get my 1991 BMW 318is through its 40th birthday.
Here’s hoping Michelin or other manufacturers will still be making tires for it a decade from now.