13" Tires

[scodari]

Well after 4 years, we are very close to having another GT returned to the streets. Soon we will have the car painted and I need to purchase new tires. I have 13" slotted mags I bought off E-Bay.

I want to go with Raised White Letters and have found 205/60/13's; has anyone installed these on their cars...any clearance problems? From what I have read, this larger tire will impact the speedometer; is this true?

Has anyone had any luck finding a 70 series with Raised White Letters? Perhaps a 195/70/13 or 185/70/13? I have searched the internet with no luck.

Thanks all!

[namba209]

I have a set of Sumitomo tires on Willit? of the same size. Just out of curiosity, I measured the tires against the original spare tire I have and the circumference is within 1/4" of both tires, so your speedo shouldn't be impacted. I haven't had any clearance problems with them at all. HTH.

[BQS4]

I'm running 205/60R-13 Sumitomos and Falkens on two of my cars, and no speedo errors. The Wife's Opel is running 185/70R-13 and her speedo matches mine.

[saxybiker]

I believe you can still get Cooper Cobra GTs in the 185/70/13 size, maybe even from a local supplier

Allen

[RallyBob]

Stock 165R13 tires are roughly 23.39" tall.

205/60R13 tires are roughly 22.68" tall.

About a 3% difference, that's all. Probably still well within spec for a factory speedo!

Bob

[BMWonly]

I used 205/60-13 on 13x5.5 BMW wheels with ET18:

http://www.opelgt.com/photos/showpho...9/ppuser/22461

No rubbing at all, since they are slightly smaller. I think it's one of the best sizes for the GT once you decide to leave the skinny stock route ...

Dieter

[wrench459]

My western five slot Alm. rims are running the 205-60-13 tire.
No problems at all just some "friendly" rubbing on the inner fender well.
Speedo is off a few mphs .. but the handling is so much better with the 60's
vers the 70's.

[booeman]

someone had this web site posted a while back. handy little tool.
Tire size calculator

[Dale .D]

I put 205 -60-13s on the back & 185-70-13s on the front on original rims .Works great . Didn't want to put the same on the front. To much armstronging it in parking lots but I see allot of opelers put 205 all around too.

[broszzy]

Can some one give me some feed back on these rims on craigs list im looking to run 205 60 13 on all four corners, of my 73 GT From what I"ve read it sounds like I would have no problems but just want to check before I spill all that green stuff

thanks Pat

http://images.craigslist.org/0101080...07f200f91a.jpg

[RallyBob]

Originally Posted by broszzy Can some one give me some feed back on these rims on craigs list im looking to run 205 60 13 on all four corners, of my 73 GT From what I"ve read it sounds like I would have no problems but just want to check before I spill all that green stuff thanks Pat http://images.craigslist.org/0101080...07f200f91a.jpg

From the photo you posted it looks like they will hang outside the finders quite a bit. Note the excessive offset.

[broszzy]

yup way to deep dish just went to look at them. The wrong bolt pattern too, nice rims though he said he bought them about ten years ago and only had them on his car a month been in the garage every since.

Pat

[scrapman]

I'm running the 205/60/r13's all the way around. My rims look very similar but since they came with the car, I'm not sure what brand. The front rubs the back of the wheel well when you turn hard. The wheels do extend slightly past the fenders. I like the stance and as before mentioned, they handle great, except at low speed it takes some arm to crank them around.

Rick

[gtblast]

I just picked up a nice set of 13" x 5.5" slotted mags for my GT and I bought new Cooper Cobra GT RWL 205/60/13 tires. They look great, and from the calculations, the speedo difference is not a problem.

[namba209]

Originally Posted by scrapman I'm running the 205/60/r13's all the way around. My rims look very similar but since they came with the car, I'm not sure what brand. The front rubs the back of the wheel well when you turn hard. The wheels do extend slightly past the fenders. I like the stance and as before mentioned, they handle great, except at low speed it takes some arm to crank them around. Rick

Rick, I had the same minor problem turning the front tires at a standstill, until I checked the tire pressure and found it was a tad low. Jacked the pressure up to 32 psi and it became easier to turn the wheels at a standstill. HTH.

[tekenaar]

. . . was looking for something else entirely and ran across this quickie 13" tire dimensions chart from quite some time ago . . . might be useful . . .

Tire Size Comparison - inch/metric

Specification Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumference Revs/Mile Difference
165/80-13 . . . 5.2in . . 11.7in . . 23.4in . . . . 73.5in . . . . 862 . . . . . 0.0%
185/70-13 . . . 5.1in . . 11.6in . . 23.2in . . . . 72.9in . . . . 869 . . . . . -0.8%
195/70-13 . . . 5.4in . . 11.9in . . 23.7in . . . . 74.6in . . . . 849 . . . . . 1.5%
205/60-13 . . . 4.8in . . 11.3in . . 22.7in . . . . 71.3in . . . . 889 . . . . . -3.0%

Specification Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumference Revs/km Difference
165/80-13 . . 132mm . 297mm . 594mm . . . 1867mm . . . . 536 . . . . . 0.0%
185/70-13 . . 130mm . 295mm . 589mm . . . 1851mm . . . . 540 . . . . . -0.8%
195/70-13 . . 136mm . 302mm . 603mm . . . 1895mm . . . . 528 . . . . . 1.5%
205/60-13 . . 123mm . 288mm . 576mm . . . 1810mm . . . . 552 . . . . . -3.0%

[2 Fast 4 U]

Or try this:
tire-calculator #1

tire-calculator #2

tire-calculator #3

[Aardvaark]

I've been using 175/80-13's on my Manta with 5 1/2 wide rims. They give a bit of overdrive from the 165/80-13 and increase the load rating. They worked very nicely on my 2230 mile trip to Charlotte this weekend.
Probably not the best for extreme handling but feel fine with stock
suspension and offer a more relaxed gait on the highway.

[tekenaar]

Originally Posted by Aardvaark I've been using 175/80-13's on my Manta with 5 1/2 wide rims. They give a bit of overdrive from the 165/80-13 and increase the load rating. They worked very nicely on my 2230 mile trip to Charlotte this weekend. Probably not the best for extreme handling but feel fine with stock suspension and offer a more relaxed gait on the highway.

. . . those tires cannot be used on Kadetts though, rub on the front inner fenders! . . . ask me how I know!

. . . oh, and there's NO WAY they'll fit in the spare tire well in the trunk either!

[2 Fast 4 U]

Originally Posted by tekenaar . . . those tires cannot be used on Kadetts though, rub on the front inner fenders! . . . ask me how I know!

Originally Posted by tekenaar . . . oh, and there's NO WAY they'll fit in the spare tire well in the trunk either!

just let the air out

[OpelNewb]

How about using a 195/60/13 has anyone run that size on a GT.

[namba209]

Well, I've got Sumotomo 205/60/13 on Willit?, as do some other folks on the site. They are/were available at www.tirerack.com at a fairly good price, and they're pretty close to the factory original diameter, so the speedo won't be too far off. HTH.

[Bill Hoffmann]

Originally Posted by OpelNewb How about using a 195/60/13 has anyone run that size on a GT.

They could work, but will read 5% too fast on the speedo and may be a little too wide for the stock rims if you check manufacturer's specs. You are better off with 185/70R13 on stock rims or 205/60R13 on 5 1/2" or wider rims. Both of those are common sizes, if you can consider any 13" tire common these days.

Bill

[OPELFIEND]

I have a set of 205/60/13 on American Racing slotted mags for sale. Came off a 73 GT Tires have ~2000 miles on them, and have raised white letters. Lug nuts and all. They're just not my bag. $300.00 if anyone's interested.

[gtblast]

Originally Posted by OPELFIEND I have a set of 205/60/13 on American Racing slotted mags for sale. Came off a 73 GT Tires have ~2000 miles on them, and have raised white letters. Lug nuts and all. They're just not my bag. $300.00 if anyone's interested.

I have a set of American Racing slotted mags on my 70 GT with 205/60/13 RWL Cooper tires. There are no problems with rubbing, etc. I would jump on the set offered above if I didn't already have a set!!