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What does that even mean "Legends Car Dealers", is that a shop, a store? Even google was little bit vague. I'm confused with how I would buy them if I wanted to.
Legend cars is a type of spec racing. There are suppliers for them across North America, often near race tracks. They have Federal 595 tires because that's what is spec'ed for their racing series. Trying searching for a "Legend Cars Supplier".
Originally Posted by hcaulfield57
What would be the advantage of the 205 over the 185? Wouldn't the 185 offer better handling and cornering since it has a lower sidewall? I'm asking because I know little to nothing about this and am trying to learn, not be confrontational
I'm not sure how much you know about tires, so please forgive me if you already know this.
205/60r13
The 205 is the width in mm. The 60 is the profile, or sidewall height (it is the width times XX% e.g. 205x60%=123). The r stands for radial and the 13 is the wheel diameter in inches. The width is approximate, and can vary significantly between manufacturers.
205's will give better grip from having a larger contact patch.
I gave $400 for the set last time. Little pricy for 13's but they were worth it to me. Now I have hankook RS-3's in a 225 45 15 all around, haven't gotten to get the car out yet.. it's not finished.
The 185 might give you more precise steering but the diameter is small and will have you revving pretty high at highway speeds. Your speedometer will be way off. The 205 is closer to original tire diameter and offers a wider cross section for more lateral grip.
To me, that seems like a worthy trade-off. I feel I'd be happy to trade off top-speed for acceleration and have more precise steering and handling. Entering the specs in an online-speedometer calculator it stated that the speedometer would be reading ~4mph too high, which is not too bad in my opinion.
I'll have to see if I can find a source for these tires in CO, seems like it would be better than the alternative of using all-seasons or on the other end of the spectrum race-tires.
Perhaps I wasn't clear when I said more precise. You'll have better steering feedback with the smaller tire but the larger one will give you more cornering and acceleration grip. The 205 is a better tire.
Perhaps I wasn't clear when I said more precise. You'll have better steering feedback with the smaller tire but the larger one will give you more cornering and acceleration grip. The 205 is a better tire.
Okay, I'll take your word for it. I really don't know a whole lot about these cars, I'm still learning. I'm concerned about wider tires making the handling sloppy, but 205/60 seems to be the pretty much de-facto size people use on the stock wheels.
My car is currently on 175/70 snow tires. It seems to handle pretty good, but there isn't much feedback from the tires during steering. That's largely what I'm concerned about.
welllllll. If you are not too bummed with the handling on skinny snow tires, I am thinking just about ANY new tire is going to seem pretty impressive. Maybe spring for a set of original-size 185/70-13s in one of those cheap chinese brands? A set can be had for around $200. Likely with free shipping even. These are perfectly fine for street use, won't break the Bank...and as a modern tire, the handling will certainly cover anything our old RX7s would throw at it.
ebay is full of 'em.
Okay, found a source for the Federal 595 in CO. Can I get some opinions on whether I should get them? My car is stock and the only "mods" planned are RB front sway bar and probably some stiffer springs/shocks. At $400 a set, they're not cheap but I don't mind paying for a good product. I'm mostly concerned about tire wear, noise and putting stress on suspension components from the sticky tire. I don't want to spend the money to find out I hate them. Would I be better served with just a set of generic all-seasons?
Keep in mind I've been driving my car on snow tires. I'm pretty happy with the way it handles, but that being said I don't really know any better Thoughts?
I have some Trazano H550-A tires on my car now. I think they're discontinued but they're on par with the typical all season tires you'll find available in 185/70R13. They are fine for driving around town. They are quite vocal when aggressively peeling out of side streets. Mind you I have a completely stock 12a drivetrain. They exhibit a faint high pitched whirr at highway speeds but its not bad.
What makes me nervous is being in traffic surrounded by cars that have wider tires, bigger brakes, abs, airbags, and drivers texting and yapping on their phones. Cheap 185 series all seasons puts me at a disadvantage when it comes to emergency stopping.
I just ordered some Tokico HP (blues) shocks and Racing Beat springs since my car is basically sitting on the front bump stops. I can't comment on handling of these tires until my soft suspension is resolved but I will mess around with them a bit before upgrading. I'm debating either getting the Federal tires or perhaps getting a set of 14" or 15" aftermarket wheels so I have more choices when it comes to tires.
Okay, found a source for the Federal 595 in CO. Can I get some opinions on whether I should get them? My car is stock and the only "mods" planned are RB front sway bar and probably some stiffer springs/shocks. At $400 a set, they're not cheap but I don't mind paying for a good product. I'm mostly concerned about tire wear, noise and putting stress on suspension components from the sticky tire. I don't want to spend the money to find out I hate them. Would I be better served with just a set of generic all-seasons?
Keep in mind I've been driving my car on snow tires. I'm pretty happy with the way it handles, but that being said I don't really know any better Thoughts?
I used to run studded snows during the winter back in the day when my 7 was
a DD and it is night and day going from those to performance tire like the 595. I
expect you will be thrilled with them. They aren't that big a difference in size to
unduly stress your running gear. Not sure how noisy they will be but I bet the
snow tires are louder.
Tires have arrived! Super excited, will post pictures and impressions once I get them on the car, which the way things are going right now, unfortunately probably won't be until next week. Oh well.
Okay, tires are mounted, posting my impressions below. Please read my impressions through the following lens however: When I purchased the my FB in December, it hadn't been driven for ~7 years. The tires on it were at least that old and were starting to crack. I was originally planning to daily drive this car so I purchased some snow tires for the car. I quickly changed my mind (I want to preserve, rather than destroy this car), so I've been driving around on 175/70-13 snow tires since then.
I got the tires mounted this afternoon, and I've done a bit of driving around town and on the highway. I'm very happy with the way the tires turned out. They've totally transformed the feel of the car. I have loads more confidence in the car now, and it feels way better. The tires are very quiet, and the ride is way more smooth than before. Acceleration feels much improved, very smooth now. I feel like the car has gained 10hp. Braking is significantly improved. With the snow tires I could lock up the wheels pretty easily, especially the rear wheels (I have drum brakes). I can't do this anymore, the car brakes very quickly. My RX-7 is easily the fastest braking car I've driven. Handling is hugely improved, I used to get lots of tire squeal, but that's gone now. The car feels like it has a tremendous amount of grip and sticks to the road like glue. The handling is really good in my opinion. I feel a lot more of the road without any added harshness. The steering feels much more responsive and communicative. Basically the car feels improved in every way.
I can't comment on tread-wear since I only just got the tires. I haven't driven them in the rain, so I can't comment on that either. I'm hoping to get up to the mountains tomorrow, but we'll see. I'm glad I got the 205/60-13 as well. The only real downside I see is that I don't imagine these tires would have much chance of surviving contact with a nail or something. They pick every little thing up on the road. These were a good option for me, since the idea of going to a larger diameter wheel makes me cringe. I'm likely alone in this, but I prefer to keep my cars with the stock wheel diameter. I'd definitely recommend the tires, they really transformed the car. Little car with big sticky tires is an awesome combination.
1) How far off is your speedometer? On the highway use a smart phone app or GPS and compare.
2) Got any photos of them mounted up?
I'm on the fence between getting some 15"s or getting these tires for the + wheels. I have 10 year old chinese all seasons on right now and the sidewalls are so soft the car jiggles like a jello mold. They may not be as bad as those snow tires you had but they are certainly the worst set of tires I've ever driven on, and I run snow tires every winter on all my family's cars.
Hmm, I thought I just posted, but it mysteriously disappeared. According to an online tire size calculator the speedometer should be reading 1mph high up to 40mph and reading 2mph high beyond that. This seems acceptable to me and is erring on the side of caution, at least I will not be accidentally speeding. Few pictures, let me know if you want any more.
I also forgot to mention that the tires look really cool. I'm glad I can keep the stock "plus" wheels and also have some decent tires. Part of me would like to have some wider vintage 13" Japanese wheels (maybe SSR's or Watanabe's), but I'm really happy with this combination so far.
Last edited by hcaulfield57; 05-08-16 at 01:14 PM.
Any chance you might be willing to disclose your source? Would like to order a set, but just can't find any.
Any Legends Car dealer should sell you a set. I got mine through Leary Racing Products in Denver, CO. They were friendly and nice to work with. I'd contact them, they may be able to ship you a set, I remember them asking me if I wanted them shipped. I picked them up, since I live in town. Could possibly get expensive with shipping though. I'm very happy with the tires, and will definitely be buying another set assuming they don't wear out very quickly. Took my FB up to the mountains again today after work, and they performed admirably. Loads of grip, and much better steering feedback. But my FB is my first sports car, and these are my first high performance tires, so take it with a grain of salt.
I actually hope other people buy these, because it sucks that so many 13" tires have been discontinued. Surely there has to be more 13" tires out there though, pretty much any vintage European/Japanese car had 13" tires stock.
Any Legends Car dealer should sell you a set. I got mine through Leary Racing Products in Denver, CO. They were friendly and nice to work with. I'd contact them, they may be able to ship you a set, I remember them asking me if I wanted them shipped. I picked them up, since I live in town. Could possibly get expensive with shipping though. I'm very happy with the tires, and will definitely be buying another set assuming they don't wear out very quickly. Took my FB up to the mountains again today after work, and they performed admirably. Loads of grip, and much better steering feedback. But my FB is my first sports car, and these are my first high performance tires, so take it with a grain of salt.
I actually hope other people buy these, because it sucks that so many 13" tires have been discontinued. Surely there has to be more 13" tires out there though, pretty much any vintage European/Japanese car had 13" tires stock.
Oh theres lots of stock size 13" rubber out there but none of it is performance
rubber and when you go to 205/60x13 its nada. With so many 70/80s imports
out there you would think it would be a good market. Now the Vredenstein are
good tires and come in the right size but they aren't cheap and for the price
you might as well go to rdots.
I heard the Achilles Platinum 185/70R13 is a decent around town tire, the best option in the OEM size. It reportedly has a stiffer sidewall compared to the Kuhmos that TireRack sells and it is H rated instead of T or S. I'm trying to get rid of the feeling of driving around on top of a jello mold. With the RB springs and Tokico HP blue shocks installed, it's now obvious these Trazano tires are garbage. Rolling through traffic at 5-10 mph feels like I'm in a baby bouncer even when inflated to 40psi. I need a stiffer sidewall so I'm between the Federals (which will be super sticky, but still have a big sidewall), the Achilles (which will be better than what I have but still a 4 season passenger car tire), or new 15x7 rims and some Toyos or Yokohamas (which will give me better feedback, the right amount of grip for my needs, but sacrifice the nostalgic look of the "+" wheels). Decisions, decisions!
I heard the Achilles Platinum 185/70R13 is a decent around town tire, the best option in the OEM size. It reportedly has a stiffer sidewall compared to the Kuhmos that TireRack sells and it is H rated instead of T or S. I'm trying to get rid of the feeling of driving around on top of a jello mold. With the RB springs and Tokico HP blue shocks installed, it's now obvious these Trazano tires are garbage. Rolling through traffic at 5-10 mph feels like I'm in a baby bouncer even when inflated to 40psi. I need a stiffer sidewall so I'm between the Federals (which will be super sticky, but still have a big sidewall), the Achilles (which will be better than what I have but still a 4 season passenger car tire), or new 15x7 rims and some Toyos or Yokohamas (which will give me better feedback, the right amount of grip for my needs, but sacrifice the nostalgic look of the "+" wheels). Decisions, decisions!
40#'s? that's why its bouncing. Drop it down to like 25 or 30 it won't bounce so much.
15" wheels are the only way to go for good (non-Chinese) tires.
03-23-16, 12:51 PM
Thoughts?
Oh well. 
