105 tire choices

[Dana Loomis <dloomis@domain.elided>]

My 71 Giulia Super came with vintage Michelins in the correct, original
size, but they are 20 years old so I don't feel great driving on them.
It's time to buy new tires.  

The size I've settled on is 185/70-14, a size that is a standard update for
105 cars from the '70s, with roughly the  the same diameter as the original
equipment 165-14s but a somewhat more modern profile.  Wider tires, even
195s, start to have problems with clearance in the Giulia's narrow rear
wheel wells, and shorter aspect ratios (say, 60 series) require higher RPMs
of a car that is pretty tightly wound already, with a 1600 engine and 4.55
rear axle.  I checked Tire Rack and found more choices than I expected in
185/70-14.  But, the problem is that I've never heard of any of them (it's
been a while since I bought street tires for an Alfa).  

Ranked according to highest performance category for lowest price, Tire
Rack's top contenders appear to be the Sumitomo HTR 200, the Yokohama AVID
H4, and the Bridgestone Potenza RE92.  The Sumitomo is classed as a "High
Performance" tire, and the other two are "High Performance All Season."  No
higher performance ranks are available in this size, as I expected.   If
anyone has had experience with any of these tires, I'd be interested to
hear about it.  The Sumitomos are looking best right now because I don't
need winter capability, and they're only $36.  

For what it's worth, my gold standard for comparison is Yokohama's AVS
Intermediate.  They're out of production but still available in 185/60 or
195/60.  Neither size is really right, but I might go ahead and get them if
no one has a good recommendation about one of the 185/70s.

Thanks,
Dana Loomis
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