13 inch performance tires? Choices?
 

Time to give the old girl a new set of sneakers. Problem is, there's not a whole lot out there in 13" anymore. To make this even more difficult, I need something in a 215 or 225 width.

So far (aside from race rubber), all I've found is the Sumitomo HTR 200 in 215/50/13.

That's the tire I've been running for the last three years, and while it is a decent performer (and dirt cheap to boot), I was wondering if anyone knows of any other choices that might be lurking in the shadows.

I'm getting the car ready for the drive to North Carolina, where I'll be running the Tail of the Dragon for a few days. I don't mind the idea of spending a bit more for rubber this time, considering the purpose of the trip, but what else is there besides the Sumi's?



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Theres not much more out there. IIRC Toyo makes some super expensive 13s that are supposed to be good.

BTW-have you ever used 215/50s on the stock + wheels? How does that work? Any rubbing?

I have used both the 205 and the 215 on the stock (+) and had no clearance issues on either. However, with the 215s on the stock wheels, you do get a bit of sidewall bulge and flex, but not enough to discourage me from recommending that size. If I was looking for tires for the stock rims again, I would still go with the 215s...

We were forced to run these at LeMons for financial and lack of choices reasons. They ramped horribly, but were predictable enough to keep lapping. Decent tire for the money, but it would be cool it we had better 13" options. The 215s in front had very little clearance to the front spring, but did not rub.

I think we are going 15" rewind with the 205 rt-615s from here on out.

Ken,

Going to DGRR or just going to drive the Dragon? If you are coming after DGRR, you should swing by VA on the way back (it's a bit out of your way, though). You can crash at my place if you want. I wanted to go to DGRR this year, but I got shipped off to Europe for 3 months instead. Be back in mid-May.

Good luck on the tires. It is getting harder and harder all of the time finding good tires for our rims.

Thanks Kent. We're heading down for DGRR in April, but might be back down that way again later in the year if all goes well (ie. the wife has a good time).. :)

The only other decent tire are the Toyos @ $150.00 per tire. Then theres hoosiers, about the same price, and they're basically slicks with a groove :)

I ran last year with the Sumi's, and was suprised how well they handled. With your width's they should perform fairly well. Depending on how much your willing to spend the Toyo R888's are available in 225, but they are very expensive. The RA1's are available up to a 205, so a little skinnier, but they are the spec tire on the Speed World Challenge cars, so I'm sure losing a bit of width wouldn't matter with the grip they have over the Sumi's.

A timely discussion, as I seem to finally have my tire money together!

Ken, do you have a handy pic of your car sitting on the 215's? I'm concerned they'll look too small in the wells with my RB springs, and so was looking to the 205's. My car's not driven too much or too friskily, but I appreciate nice carving as much as the next guy.

& I just can't stomach my 15-year-old Rikens any more; they're starting to chip at the edges.

FWIW,

I gave up trying to find 13" tires. The only thing I was able to find was at a used tire shop. I found a set of stickers that were never on a car, but they were old stock and had no guarentee on the rubber.

In lieu of spending $150 per tire each time, I decided to switch rims. Got a good price on 14" rims, but considered 15" also. Both have a lot more tires available.

I went with 4 BF Goodrich Radial T/A in 215/60R14 on 6.75" rims for about $90 each. Haven't get them on the car just yet, but expect them to fit without any problems. Should give the car a nice beefy muscle car stance.

Trying to find a decent streetable tire, other than autocross skins, which were listed at 187 each, is the main reason why I sold those wheels you now have. The other factor was the look as I test fitted them on the 'Turd' to see how they looked. Even with lowering springs, I thought they looked a bit silly. Silly looking or not, even on the worn out Hoosiers that came on the, cornering was amazing.

With you're suspension mods, Deals Gap will be a hoot. Too bad the State Patrol leads the pack during the cruise.

Seems like a lot of folks are running 215's and even 225's all the way around without any trouble.

Then I read that some folks say the 215's are too big, expecially on the front, and you aught to step down to 205 or 195.

So who's right?

try naking i think

Scott, I really have no issue with running the Sumitomos again. They do a really nice job, and actually feel a lot better on the new wider rims. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing another (possibly better) option before I dropped the money on a new set.

And the state boys lead the cruise, eh? That's alright. I'll be down there for 5 days, so they can't lead every cruise. :)

As much fun as it would be to run the Dragon on $800.00 worth of race rubber, I will also be driving the car down there and back. Not sure how the big softies would take to a long highway cruise. Besides, if it rained I'd be up a creek for sure.

I'll stick some photos in here so you guys can see how they look, but keep in mind I'm on coilovers and the car runs pretty low. At stock height, the tires do look pretty small if I remember correctly.

So it looks like, unless somebody pulls a rabbit out of their ass, I'll be ordering another set of Sumis. Nothing wrong with that at all. :)

Check local circle tracks. They have awesome tires in 13's over there. I found a set for $50, about 50% tread on it. Can't remember the tire though.

Actually the THP and NCHP aren't there too much. Last year there were a few out on the pull off area's and the odd one cruising the road but I think they start to come out in force later in the season. The best time to run by far is night time. No cops, hardly any traffic, except the two idiots on our first night run last year that wouldn't get out of the way with 20 cars backed up and revving behind them. It's a real Need For Speed experience. I recommend you bring your Diamonds and Hoosiers with you, although with you and your wife plus luggage I'm sure trunk space will be scarce.

Ken, how much have you dropped your suspension? Looks low and mean, sir!

If the Hoosiers hadn't died of old age last year (I bought them used and at the end of their lifespan) then I would probably leave the wife home and bring those. :)

Divindriver: Thanks man! I haven't actually taken any measurements other than making sure everything matched up from side to side. But yeah, the drop is pretty extreme. This weekend I'm going to see if I can raise the exhaust up a little, as it seems to sag a bit in the middle of the car. I'd like to get another inch or so of ground clearance without raising the car up. I daily drive the car, and right now I don't think I'd clear a squirrel if it ran out in front of me, let along a possum or raccoon. :)

But man oh man, does she ever handle at this height!!! Also, she used to get a little "floaty" at highway speeds, and that too is a thing of the past...

You're looking at rubber for the 13x8's right? You should maybe try out the proxies R888 in 205 trim on there. They don't make 225's for the 13's. Also i don't think the R1's are available in 13's neither. they don't list them on their site. Its for reasons like this that I'm going with a 15" tire ... more options. But ya if i were you I'd slap the 205's on there. Reading up a few book about tires and on the internet, they say you should be matching the thread width with the rim width. Not the overall tire width. the 205 R888 IIRC are 7.99" the 225 are 8.66" Its not that much of a difference. One of the guys on a miata forum tried some 225 tires on 7", 8", and 9" wider rims (usings exact same rubber), and he said that everytime he went up an 1" on them he gained 1-2 seconds a lap so was better suited on a 9" rim than an 8".

Just some food for thought.

Kumho Ecsta V700
235/45R13
Blackwall Serv. Desc: 87V Price: $141.00 (each)

Estimated Availability:
Fewer than 11

I'll certainly consider those types of tires when I'm ready to re-shoe the racing wheels, but for now I need a tire that will also perform on the highway, in the rain, etc. The trip will be about 800 miles each way, plus whatever driving we do while we're down there, so race rubber is definitely out of the question for this application.

I went ahead and ordered another set of the Sumitomo HTR 200s in 215/50/13. Total price was $252 delivered.

Thanks for all of the input guys. I didn't really expect to find anything else that would fit my needs, but I always like to make sure before I commit to something...

Do you have any pics of 215s on stock rims? I use LE's with 195 BFGs on the street, but I'm thinking on going with either 215/50 or 205/60 for my stockers at the track. I'm leaning towards the 215s for the wider footprint and the smaller diameter.

I didnt know a set of 13's could look so good! What a good looking car!

Matt, from the looks of your car, it's a bit lower than the 'turd' when I test fitted the Revs on it. I did take a pair of them to the 1/8th mile track one night. ETs were slower with the shorter 8" wide Hoosiers than with the stock wheels, even though they gave a better launch. Wheels look good on your 7.