Decent 13" tires available?

Hi,

I just realized that it has been 14 years since I replaced the tires on my car. Still running the LAT wheel, so finding a decent 13" tire has been challenging. I am looking for a good street tire, but mileage is not important as I don't put a lot of miles on my original drive-train car.
What tires are available for us today in a 205/60-13? Thanks!

Try going over to Coker tire online or there may be a dealer in your area. Vredestein (Holland) makes radial tires that have a vintage look and preform nicely. There are a number of us old European car guys using them. Rule of thumb (according to the tire techs) is five to six years for tires regardless of amount of tread.

The compounds start getting sketchy.

Mike

Sumitomo HTR 200 (High Performance Summer)

Check these out at Tire Rack. They are cheap but do not be afraid of that. Available as 195 and 205 60 13. I have the 195 60 14 on the front of TigerBlue for street use.

TigerBlue also has a set of Toyo RA1 205 60 13 for open track events. I drive to and from the track no problem dry. They actually last a long time driven on the street considering the grip. I would not recommend them for rain period

Right on; toss tires over five years old. (PS See my later post, properly serviced tires may be safe longer than 5 years) All bets are off on whatever the quality of the original construction. Also inspecting the outside is not going to reveal delamination under the tread until it get close to failure.

Rick

TTG,

I've always ran the streets on BF Goodrich TA Radials since late 70's. Wasn't too impressed with them at first as they seemed to act as magnets picking up every nail and loose screw. In the early 80's the tread design was changed and I don't recall having picked up another nail since. The tires still act as magnets but of another type holding the car on the road like a slot car.

Like you, its been some time since I put on new tires. I parked the Tiger in the corner of the garage with tires with less than 3K miles on them for what I thought would be 6 months max. but ended up being around 10 years. Got it back on the road several years back and is still running on the old tires in the rear - 235/50/13 (205/60/13 - front). Only used in stop-and-go traffic, no freeway, but maybe will chance it on a rare occation thru a few hairpins while trying to burn some tread off before I toss them.

With the newer tread design I recall once pulling onto an on-ramp for the San Diego Fwy and before I could do much other than drive thru what I thought was the clean spot where someone had dumped what looked like a full box of drywall screws across the on-ramp lanes. Before continuing onto the freeway proper I checked out each tire, rolled the car forward a bit and checked again and was pleasantly surprised to find that not a single screw had been picked up.

Justin

Tiger Tires

Thanks to all that have replied with suggestions on tires. TireRack suggested the Sumitomos, but as Rick said the low price scared me. I looked at the Toyos, but need a street tire. The $170 each price of the Vredesteins set me back, but I did not like the tread pattern either. I don't know much about the Cooper GTs, but I have never thought of Coopers as a premium tire. I really tried to get Yokohamas. The A-509s on the car have been great & I had A-008s on the car before that. Yokohama said they still sell the A-008, but one of their top dealers told me that they are selling old stock, that has been on the shelf for years already. Not good. At this point, it looks like the answer is Rick's Sumitomos, unless anyone else has any other suggestions. Thanks to all.

Clark Vegazo

Geez Clark, I no idea a 13" Vredistein was so much, sorry. I reckon its because lack of use for that size. But $170.00 per? ouch.

Cal44 said:

Geez Clark, I no idea a 13" Vredistein was so much, sorry. I reckon its because lack of use for that size. But $170.00 per? ouch.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip anyway. I hope you find a nice Tiger for yourself.

Clark

Nothing lasts forever

Previously I posted to "toss tires after 5 years." I found this in Tire Tech section of Tire Rack website. 5 years maybe way too conservative as a hard rule. This is what they, the experts, say after some research.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=138

Rick

TigerBlue said:

Previously I posted to "toss tires after 5 years." I found this in Tire Tech section of Tire Rack website. 5 years maybe way too conservative as a hard rule. This is what they, the experts, say after some research.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=138

Rick

Click to expand...

Rick,

Thanks for all the info. I had the Sumitomos mounted yesterday, they are a lot gummier than the 16 year old Yokos that came off. I always dread having changing the tires on the LAT wheels, but I have a shop that uses care.

Clark

What..........no pictures of the car......with the new tires?

Cal44 said:

What..........no pictures of the car......with the new tires?

Click to expand...

Mike,

Here is a recent shot of the Tiger, the 'Coupe, & my daily-driver 510 wagon.

Clark

Nice cars. That 510 is neat, I always liked them. Thanks for the pix.
Mike