185/70 R13 Tire Recommendations?

11312 Views 9 Replies 5 Participants Last post by ddoyle, Jun 7, 2003

jimsky

Discussion Starter · Jun 6, 2003

OK, I've decided to stick with the OEM rims and after doing some site search keyword lookups I've decided I'll go with the 185/70 R13's. I intend to use the GT for some spirited street driving only, staying below my 2500 mile annual historic auto insurance limit. Sticky, nice handeling tires would be good, treadwear life for me is not that important.

I've looked around on the web for what's available in this size. Not a lot of preformance tires, mostly run of the mill kind of stuff.
My person favorite for my daily driver - a Saturn SL2, is the Pirelli P400, and it comes in the 185/70 R13 size. It's called a touring tire but it's got good dry/wet traction and road feel. Crummy in the snow (I don't care), reasonable price, and it gets pretty good reviews.

If possible I'd rather find a 'sportier' tire for the GT. Would anyone like to share their personal favorite if you can recommend something that fits my needs. Thanks.

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Travis

· #2 · Jun 6, 2003

If you were willing to run 14" wheels, and it sounds like you're not, I'd highly suggest the Yokahama AVS ES100. It is a wonderfull tire and reasonably priced. In 13" you won't find much. BTW, 70 series tires aren't going to handle to well. You're much better off with a 65 or preferably 60 series. Go much lower than 60 and you start to give up ride comfort....

-Travis

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Paul

· #3 · Jun 6, 2003

Travis is right, very few tires for 13's period. It seems that in the last couple of months several of the ones Tire Rack carried in that size are no longer available.

So I checked www.1010tires.com. If you only plan to drive 2500 miles per year, then I suppose you aren't going to be "Mileage Sensitive". Also, I presume that Rain/Snow driving will be a minimum.

So... If I were buying the tires I'd get Toyo Proxes RA-1, They are available in 185/60-13 and 205/60-13 with a "V" speed rating to boot.

These were an excellent dual purpose Autocross/Street tire several years ago. You could drive them everyday and to the track and then Autocross on them. Some racers used them as their rain tires. So they will get you home in the rain. Personally, I'd have no problem spending $100 or so per tire for these, especially since this will problably be the last set you will buy.

HTH
Paul

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Travis

· #4 · Jun 6, 2003

Paul,

That's not a bad idea for low mileage vehicles. Although I've not run them myself I've heard of people using the Yokohama A032R
in much the same manner. Low mileage street and they'd be OK at an autocross or track event...

Another idea would be the Yokahama AVSi. This is an excellent tire that was discontinued(replaced with ES100) 6 months or a year ago and was available in 13". You MAY be able to find a used set if you look hard enough

-Travis

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Paul

· #5 · Jun 6, 2003

The A032R is not as good in the rain. Two different peoplein our region drove and ran on these.

I knew several Neon drivers who started out on the Toyos before graduating to Hoosiers. They were able to run 1 to 2 seasons, plus daily drive. They were safe in the rain.
Tire rack still had some AVS intermediates as of a couple months ago. I don't see them anywhere now.

Paul

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jimsky

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jun 6, 2003

Thanks for the replies. As far as the Toyo Proxes RA-1 in the 205/60-13 size, would they fit on the standard 5" rims? Any others issues I should be aware of like clearance or speedometer accuracy with these size tires?

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Paul

· #7 · Jun 6, 2003

I found these on www.1010tire.com

Falken Ziex ZE-512 185/60-13. They are smaller in diameter so your speedometer will indicate a couple of miles per hour faster than actual speed.

I've run 205/60-13 on my 5.5" wide Manta steel wheels with acceptable results.

Paul

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Travis

· #8 · Jun 6, 2003

Those Falkens have a 420 tread wear. You could hurt yourself if you hit your head on those

The other option which I've mentioned before is the HTR200 from Sumitomo. I have a pair that I haven't mounted yet. They have a tread wear rating of 380 which is pretty hard but better than the Falkens and 1/2 the price. BTW, tread wear rating isn't the end all comparision of grip of a tire but it is a good place to start...

Also, I have a set of Kumho Victoracer V700 205-60-13 mounted on 5.5" '75 Manta wheels and they have an obvious but small cantilever. On a 5" wheel they'd have a big cantilever. The problem is that the width of tires of a given size tend to vary by brand and even models within the same brand. It's difficult to predict how well a tire is going to fit. However, the manufacturer likely lists a minimum reccomended rim width for that tire.

-Travis

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dcm013

· #9 · Jun 7, 2003

I have 185/70 P400's on both my Manta and GT. I wouldn't try anything wider (ie. 205's) on the 5" stock rims. In fact the tire store I went to advised me against 205's even on the 5.5" aluminum rims I put on the GT.

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ddoyle

· #10 · Jun 7, 2003

I run the same Falkens on my 73 Manta. Bought tires in June 99.
Running 205-60-14. Just shy of 50,000 miles and still average 6/32 of tread left. No racing or autocross but car is driven daily in rain, snow or sun. I am VERY happy with them!!

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