I have 13x5.5 vw rims on my 83 rabbit former ITC car. Car is going to be used for autocross locally and a track event or two. What are my options size wise and tire wise? Car will not be driven on the street. Last time I had tires for a car like this I had 215/50-13 Sumitomos. Finding that size harder to come by. Next best thing? Should I suck it up and go 14 or 15 inch?
Toyo R888 RA1 RR
Hoosier A7 R7
Hankook Z214
To name a few.
Also full slicks from Goodyear, Avon, etc. are available in that size (since it won't be street driven) as long as you don't mind running a class where slicks are allowed.
Tirerack tells me nothing available in that size? Can I fit a 225 on a 5.5 inch wide rim? Car has Carrera coil overs so room should be there, but I have concerns about adding camber up front as well as turning.
If you can go up to at least 15x6 do that and you'll be better off. If you can get up to 15x7 or 15x8 you'll open up a huge number of tire options. 13s are the lowest level of tire selection hell.
vwcorvette wrote: Can I fit a 225 on a 5.5 inch wide rim?
Hahaha, maybe with cantilevered tires...
Just suck it up and go 15". Makes life so much easier. There were barely any 13" tire options when I owned my A1 and that was 20 years ago.
GameboyRMH wrote:vwcorvette wrote: Can I fit a 225 on a 5.5 inch wide rim?Hahaha, maybe with cantilevered tires...
Sorry, but 225's actually do fit on 5.5" wheels. As a matter of fact, autocrossers regularly squeezed them on 5" wheels while winning national championships.
Example:
I'm planning on trying some Federal 595 on my Opel when I get it on the road.
http://www.avnmotorsports.com/product-p/148h3afa.htm
I fear the day this thread becomes the 15" tire pain thread.
ProDarwin wrote: I fear the day this thread becomes the 15" tire pain thread.
I'd say that's at least 10 years away.
In reply to ProDarwin:
miatas keep that from happening (seriously)
^Yep if not for Miatas, I think that day would be at least 2 years in the past.
I feel your pain. All I want out of life is a 205/50-13 in a reasonably sticky compound.
You can always go with the 13X7.5" like the Denso VPD's if you want a more natural fit. I know where a good clean set is that are not too expensive.
And I feel your pain, as well. Vintage racing 13" tires is particularly troublesome. We're down to two choices-- R888's and Hoosier Street TDs. Hoosier threw us a curve by changing their tire compound a few years ago so that they are much stickier. That might sound better, but when you're running vintage equipment with restrictions on what you can modify, it is really rough on the equipment.
Any reason not to go with slick take offs from USDRRT?
tires
Bummed at how slim the selection has gotten. There are options out there but not nearly as many as there used to be...
It's stupid. Everyone wants a giant berkeleying wheel. 'Cause you need a 17 inch rim on a 2200 pound car. I'm running used slicks.
drummerfromdefleopard wrote: In reply to ProDarwin: miatas keep that from happening (seriously)
What happened to 14 inch tires then? I miss their cheapness.
I've been looking on Discount Tire and Belle Tire local web sites for a 195 or 205 tire for 15" rims. The choices are getting less every year ,even with the number of Miatas out there. Hopefully those choices continue because the thought of running my NB Miata on 17s on our glorious Michigan roads isn't the least bit appealing.
84FSP wrote: Bummed at how slim the selection has gotten. There are options out there but not nearly as many as there used to be...
we just scrapped the 13" original finned wheels from my buddy's fiero because tire selection.
Check out the spec Federal tires that the legends race cars run on. 205/60/13 at $100 a piece and available at any dealer that sells legends cars/parts. Just about every roundy round track has a legends series now so finding a dealer within driving distance should be easy. Lots of the BMW 2002 and 320i guys are running these as street tires, and the TR7/8 guys that want to keep the stock wheels have started picking these things up. Heard nothing but good things about them. One caveat is that they are not DOT approved in that size, or at least they were not last time I inquired. They won't be as fast as a Hoosier or a race slick, but at less than half the price and the fact that you can do more than autocross with them makes getting a set a no brainer.
Yeah it's an issue in the Locost camp, where holdouts claim there's still a selection in 13s. Sure there is, high-mileage all-season tires. Sticky 13" street tires are slim to none. During the Midlana design I went (reluctantly) with 17s but feel it was the right way to future-proof the car for awhile. 14's never caught on. 15s are still around - barely clinging to life. 16s have fairly slim pickings, and alas, there's 17s. I dread the day when the smallest tires available are 22s... ugh.
In reply to kb58:
I guess you can't stop progress.
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