13" tires??

What is everyone using for a 205/60-13" tire? I already have a set of 15" PSE wheels/tires for my car but the new Yokohama's I have on my 13" Minilite wheels are 16 years old. Not exactly something that instills confidence when you drop the hammer. Initial searches don't turn up much and if they show them as listed, they're not in inventory. Someone here has to have the inside line on these....right

TOYO Proxes RA1. Great tires, real sticky. Will last ~10K though.

Kumho. At least they still make 13's for now.

kumho

Not according to them they don't, 15" and 16" only. Some of the discount online retailers balk when you ask for the DOT numbers to verify the manufacturing date. I can find tires that have been sitting on shelves for 5 years, that's the problem.

http://www.kumhotireusa.com/FindATire.aspx

cmjr,

Go too Kumho's homepage, highlight Kumho tire (upper left),left click any number of picks on the left side, from passenger to competition.

Once you have picked a tire, look too the right at size and technical data. Left click on that. There you will see the choices in 13".

Mike

Sumitomo makes 13" tires. They are good tires for a good price.

I've always run with BF Goodrich.

The pair on the rear are close to 25 years old and the new pair on the front must be about 7 or 8 by now with less than 1K on them. Bummer.

Justin

13" tires

Went through offerings from Kumho and Sumitomo, no 205-60/13's. They offer some 13's but they are in the narrower sizes. Bigger problem is that when you do a search on those brands and sizes several stores popup, when you go to them they don't even offer those sizes. Basically internet search engines funneling them leads to products they don't offer. Only tire I can find is the Toyo Proxes RA1 in the 205/60/13R size but thankfully it's a good one from what I can read on it.

As for tires that are 25 years old, I would be careful. Manufacturers will tell you 10 years is max and the insurance industry will tell you that 6 years is max. There are dozens of studies published that show 6-7 years is the time to update your tires as the risk of them coming apart greatly increases. Right now I have a set of Minilites with new Yokohama's, ie no mileage, and a set of PSE's with new Goodyear Eagles, both sets about 16 years old.

I just noticed that Sumitomo stopped selling 13" tires. RATS!
I did find Dean Stinger Radial GTS 205/60R13 86T RWL tires listed on-line for $79 ea.
They are summer street radials with a 50k mile warranty manufactured by Cooper, not racing tires like the Toyos.

Try falken azenis and dunlop direzza tyres.. they are again more road/comp tyres.. but they tend to offer wider 13" due to the competition nature of them.

I have Vredestein mounted on Cosmic 6x13 wheels. They look good and perform well...but very pricey.

Jim

13 inch tires

Nexen Tire ( Korean) website shows they still list make a 13 inch tire at 185-60-13 .

cmjr1966, yeah I know 25 years is a bit extreme but I just wanted to say that you weren't the only one with old tires.

I'm sure there is a safety factor in the mfg spec of 10 years and the insurance industry would be more than happy to see us all change our tires less than 6. I've worked with design specs that had a safety factor of 6 built in.

Also have to keep in mind how things are made and where they come from and what they are made from today. I've got a set that are just turning 7 and they oxidize and turn brown just sitting and need to be cleaned at least every couple weeks. The 25 year olds never oxidize. I'm no expert on this of course but I bet there isn't to much difference, as they stand, in quality between the 7s and 25s.

Remember when we used to re-cap tires? Talk about separation but generally it was the fault of the re-capping process not the original tire. A little before my time though.

But I hear ya, and I'm not doing anything crazy just going slow (well I try) and straight (well I try) and no freeways but there is a canyon near by with some nice hairpins that keep callin' to me . . . . drive me, drive me . . . . zoom, zoom! ZOOM!!! LOL

Justin

How well could this apply?

@VaCat33: Jim, I have cosmic 13" wheels as well. Do you know what lug nuts the Cosmics use? are they the same for my steel (spare) wheel? Seeing as my car is in the paint shop, I thought it easier to ask you. Thanks

What size spare do you carry? I have a steel wheel as a spare and Cosmics on the car. The spare doesn't seem to fit in the trunk without keeping the trunk platform up and not latched in. I figure I could put a new, narrower tire on the spare and things should button up nicely....question is, what size?

Growler said:

@VaCat33: Jim, I have cosmic 13" wheels as well. Do you know what lug nuts the Cosmics use? are they the same for my steel (spare) wheel? Seeing as my car is in the paint shop, I thought it easier to ask you. Thanks

Click to expand...

Cosmics will use a different nut, the stock ones wont work with alloys, so keep them in the boot for use with the spare.. IIRC the cosmics have a special tappered nut.. you see them on ebay UK quite often.. maybe do a quick search and you might get the specs

Growler

Michael just about covered it. Here is some advice I received from Cadreamn when I was getting ready to mount my original wheels for a show.

Don't use aftermarket lug nuts on factory wheels or visa versa unless you can confirm they both have the same hole and nut taper. The factory nuts and wheels are a 60 degree interface. Most aftermarket wheels have a 30 degree interface. Mix them and the nuts will not torque properly, and come loose and possibly gouge the wheel hole.

So when I have the Cosmics on the car I carry a 185/60/13 radial mounted on a factory steel wheel and, as Michael advises, I keep a set of factory lugs in a baggie taped to the spare. No problem fitting under the luggage platform.

FYI...you can get stock lugs from Sunbeam Specialties.

Jim

Jim, thanks for the credit.

But Michael is suggesting these particular wheels have a unique nut and wheel hole seat configuration. I cannot help but wonder if they may have a bulge style nut and hole seat instead of a straight taper. Or something else entirely. It would be worth checking with a little modeling clay to make sure a straight taper aftermarket lug nut is making full contact throughout its contact length. Also may be worth checking with the lads in the UK to be absolutely sure what to use.

Cheers, Gene

Gene,

Yes i am saying that the factory nuts wont work with the alloys, and the nuts for alloys wont work with the steel wheels.

Now.. as for the cosmic nuts.. i know some cosmic wheels ran a sleeve nut (i think thats what its called) it would be worth chacking.. as with the factory/stock wheels the other bolts will go on.. but not seat correctly and lead to issues of either wrecked studs or wheels.. worth a check before you do to many miles.. i liekd the idea of putting some modelling clay in themto check.. .. good idea.

Growler

Might have been a tad off (thanks Gene) but the bottomline is...do not use the factory lugs with the Cosmics.

Since there are a few different models of wheels, check out this website dedicated to Cosmic wheels...it might have the specs for the lugs you need. They also have a forum.

http://www.cosmic-wheels.com/index.php

Jim