Although both my cars have good tires on them I was curious about what is available. I hit the tirerack site and for the stock sizes there is only once choice in each size. I had looked at this just 6 months ago and there were more choices.

185/70-R13 Kumho Solus KR21 ($66) This probably is a much better street tire than the original Bridgestones.

205/60-R14 Hoosier R6 ($225) This is a competition tire and probably a terrible street tire. They are clearly dry pavement tires and probably not legal for street use.

BF Goodrich, Firestone, Goodyear, Michelin and Yokohama have nothing in either size. Cooper has one tire in 185/70-R13 size.

It is depressing when you go back and look at old Rotary Rocket magazines and they were comparing lots of brands for different performance characteristics. I know there are a few other tires available in both sizes but will that be true in a few years when you next need tires?

I know there is nothing that can be done. The companies make the sizes that sell. I guess the next time I may have to replace the wheels too. There are plenty of choices for a 15" rim.

 

Before Christmas I was looking for 195/60/14 and felt the same. I ended up getting a set of michelin pilot whatever they ares at Samsclub with a 70 dollar rebate for buying 4. I am amazed at how wonderful they are in the rain. It's been 20 years since I've autocrossed, so I won't comment on at the limit type performance. They are far superior to the Bridgestones they replace, wet or dry, when it comes to two lane roads and highway ramps.

 

lol, yes the Hoosier R6 is a bad choice for a street tire. great choice for racing though

 

The last set of tires I purchased for an FB were the 185/70-R13 Kumho Solus KR21's about three years ago.

Excellent overall performance and a great street tire for the price. You won't get many options in 15" tires for $66 each.

I sold the car last summer after putting 50,000 miles on those Kumho's and they still looked new.

I think they had a 70,000 mile warranty but I'm sure I would have gotten over 100,000 miles out of them on the FB.

Incidentally, Bridgestone is made by Firestone, and Firestone made the Wilderness AT tires on my Jeep that delaminated at 65 mph and nearly got some people killed.

And then, after that, Firestone wouldn't replace the tires or repair the damage to the Jeep. Needless to say any tire with a "stone" in the name is on my **** list.

 

Toyo makes there Proxes tire in a 205/60/14, $46.00 each

 

I wrote to Mickey Thompson and told them that there were thousands of old Japanese and British car owners who'd love to spend money on "performance" tires in 13 and 14 inch sizes, and that they were in a good position to fill that void in the market. Could happen.....

 

Some other brands I have found in a 185/70/13 are Goodride SP06, Negotiator S1015 Touring HP, and Capitol Sport.

 

I should have mentioned what I bought for the EV last summer. Two of the local tire places had these. Doral SDL70 185/70-R13 and they were $45 each. This was at the local Goodyear place. I had considered the Solus but as an EV this car will see maybe a little more than 5000 miles per year so even crummy tires should be replaced before the tires look worn out. The surprising thing is that these are pretty good street tires. They seem to do pretty well on dry pavement and I drove in a little snow last week and they did well coupled with the LSD. No idea how they would do on a track but then anyone serious about that would not be using the stock rims or tire sizes.

 

No, firestone is made by bridgestone for the american market. Bridgestone is one of the big guns in tyre manufacture and developement. Firestone is the dodgey susidiary.
I ran a set of cheap firestones on my fb once - The ones that had the same treadpattern as the wet tyres used in indy cars at the time - they were terrible.
One day i ended up doing at least 4 pirouhettes at 120kmh, narrowly missing powerpoles becuase the useless things had no grip and was spinning the wheels in 4th.
Atmittedly, the road was slightly wet and i was driving like a ******** trying to hold a 4th gear skid all the way home, but the things just had no grip and were in no way a "sports tyre". First thing i did after that was get different tyres.

Incidentally, the tyres i had before those were the nearly bald bridgstones the car came with when i bought it and they were really good.

 

I'm sure bridgestones are fine tires, at least these days. In fact my new 2012 Mazda3 hatchback came with a set of bridgestones and they handle well and contribute to the incredible 37 overall mpg I'm getting with the car (they take 36 lb inflation pressure).

I'm just so pissed off at Firestone over their Wilderness tires and their total irresponsibility in dealing with what was obviously a stupid and dangerous mistake they made that I don't want anything to do with them or their partners (although I'll be keeping the bridgestones on the 3 for now).

 

firestone tires totally suck!! 2 of 4 that I had delaminated with plenty of tread left. I've run michelin and pirelli's down to the chords without problems.

Business schools use firestone tire company as an example of how not to run a company. Firestone's original problem was they were making radial tires on equipement designed to make dual ply tires (whatever that is).

Last year I had to buy tires. After making a whole spread sheet of what was availiable in 13 inch, I went with Kumho's.

https://www.rx7club.com/attachments/...res-export-pdf

 

There are a few more choices on TireRack if you go with really skinny 175 size.

A note about brands: EVERY tire maker makes a crappy, cheap tire. So unless a specific model is mentioned, saying "I like Yokohamas" is meaningless.

 

^ true. I ended up ggogling it, firestone has been around since 1900 making tyres for buggies and bicycles befor they started makig automobile tyres,, bridgestone is a japanese company established in the 1930's and bought out firestone in the 80's. In australia we only get a few firestone models, sold through bridgestone, and they are the cheapest (and nastiest) in the line-up. Im sure firestone make good tyres as well as garbage, but bridgestone has always had as good a reputation as any of the other bigger manufacturers and their high end stuff is often on the forefront of technology.

 

You can still buy many of the Old school brands in 185/70-13 from classic car/tire companies. Don't know if these are manufactured under license, imported from Europe or what, but they are damnably expensive.
Suspect our chinese friends are going to be our new suppliers in 13" rubber, if anyone...

Stu Aull
80GS (on 205-13 Sumi's)
Alaska

 

j tso
so name the cheap crappy tires that yokohoma, michelin , sumitomo , bridgestone, or kumho makes?

 

I suspect you are very right...BCT (Beijing Capitol Tire) is slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with here in NY. Its scary when you consider the reputation in other market areas for different products. We are DOT regulated here however and that counts for something. If they cranked out a 215 50 13 I would be first in line to try it out. At the Dollar Rent A Car I work at , we use BCT on all the shuttle bus in LT225 75 16 and they work great.

 

I'm not shopping for you. Bottom line is you get what you pay for, which is why our selection of 13" and 14" tires is limited to $70 all seasons or $200 DOT-Rs with no summer performance in between.

 

t jso
those cheap $56 sumitomos that I had worked out very well.

Look at the pdf image of my spread sheet where I compare tires that are currently available, and you will see I've done my shopping / research and have the facts.

where as you have anecdotal opinions

 

I'd love a pair for 215 50-13! lol

 

Worked well for what? Autocross? Track days? Pootling around town?

 

Like i said...
Coker Vredestein Sprint Classic Tires 51101 - SummitRacing.com

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

Posts about the
Federal 595 205/60R13 tires
on a BMW 2002 forum....
Suspect these are Chinese.

Stu Aull
80GS Alaska

 

I've noticed the only 205/60/14 you can find online is the Hoosier on Tirerack now. I'm finally getting my SE running and ready to drive and its current tires are dry rotted, but can't find replacements, as I won't go to a skinnier tire, I have done that before and will never again.

 

Aaaaaaaaaand:

Great British Cars: Falken ZE912 205/60R13 Tire - Set of 4, Classic Mini Wheels & Tires

Falkens. Note $400 quote is for a set of FOUR.

So it seems we still have some alternatives.

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

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