Biff, Berg, Norm, etc.
My own personal opinion here: there are basically two "classes" of tires still made in the appropriate size(s) for our car.
These are the standard, production tires, nearly all of them would be in the P195/75-14 size (some slightly larger/smaller), generally with the "S" speed rating. This is a changing cast of tires, since no production car in "the west" (North America and Europe) to my knowledge, uses a 14" tire any longer. Thus they are all supplied as replacement tires, not OEM. Even the minuscule Honda "FIT" has a 16" tire; The tinier Chevy Spark has 15". 14" tires are all but obsolete in today's car production. I'm sure there's some bizarre cars in the Far East, South America, or India that may still use 14" wheels but they in all likelihood would not be in the 185 size. As a production tire, they are made in higher volumes and feature lower price points, generally less than $100.00. Sets of four can be found in the $350 +/- price range. If you are interested in these kinds of tires, look up Hankook, Uniroyal, Kumho, Tornel, Nexen, Toyo, Primewell, Starfire, Travelstar, Douglas, Westlake, Milestar, Sceptor, and probably a few more...or visit any local tire store to where you are.
Then we have the low-volume specialty tires. These are in the appropriate size of 185-HR14. That's either a 78 or 80 series profile (generally unmarked); H-speed rated in the 14" size. For these we have the Vredestein Sprint Classic; Coker Phoenix; Michelin MXV, Blockley. The Vredestein is not available with WW. The Michelin WAS available with WW but not in the USA, and didn't come through the normal Michelin supply chain channels. The Coker Phoenix has been around for a long time. The Blockley is new-ish, and comes in both WW and BW versions. The pricing on these tires is significantly higher.
Now going back to the original "as supplied" tires, back during the Pagoda production, the tires were the Firestone Phoenix and the [second sourced] Continental RA60. During the original specification time, radial tires were brand new, and the radial tire that was introduced at the time was the Michelin X. Pagoda engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut indicated at that time, that the sidewalls of the X were too flexible. The regular bias-ply tires also available at the time didn't perform as well. So, MB commissioned the Phoenix which AT THAT TIME was known as a "half-radial" with both radial and bias plies in the construction. What this did was provide some of the improved handling characteristics of the new radial design, with a stiffer sidewall like a bias ply. That's history as written; what happened by later production is unknown to me. Perhaps more tires than those two were eventually fitted.
When I first had my car restored 20 years ago, the tire selection was a bit more than today. Nonetheless I chose a tire based upon price point. I bought a set of Pirelli P600 or P6000, now long out of production in that size. They were inexpensive tires at the time. On my car, I did not like the handling at all. To me, it felt as if the body was disconnected from the chassis; (even though there is no such separation). I felt like I floated over parts of the road, and when I braked, it felt as if the body wanted to keep going. It was a cushy, floaty ride I found disturbing. When I rode in Tom Sargeant's car with the Cokers, I realized that there is a better tire. So I did get a set of Cokers and kept them on until this past summer when I changed them to the Blockley because the Cokers had "aged out".
It's hard to do a real objective tire test since I've never driven or been in two Pagodas that had the same road feel; each is different. I can only judge my own experience with my car. The Pirellis were awful. The Cokers were great. The Blockley even better. As far as Hankook Optimo goes no personal experience on a Pagoda, but I had a set on my prior Ford Flex, courtesy of Ford who clearly bought them on a production price point. They too were awful, in my opinion. After one year, I upgraded to Michelin Primacy MXV4, sold the Hankooks on Craigslist, and what a remarkable difference. I kept those tires on for the next 40,000 miles, and was happy I made the change.
I'm trying to engineer a group buy with the Blockley. I hope to have some information on that, if its possible, soon.
I'm a bit of a stickler on tire quality and maintenance. It's the only thing between the mean streets, and your beloved and costly Pagoda: a small contact patch of rubber. I've sought out careful road force tire balancing with Hunter equipment. I learned my lesson on less costly tires, both on my Pagoda and on my other cars. There's a number of higher performance cars out there, some of them much less valuable than a nice Pagoda, that come fitted with costly Michelin Pilot Sports; and yes people complain about the tire price all the time. To wit: I had my Ford inspected for the upcoming registration renewal the other day, and there was a woman in with a Lexus ES, and just blew a tire, sidewall damage not repairable. Pilot Sport 4S. $350 each. Currently unavailable. She may have to get a set of two in another make...boy was she shocked.
