Anyone tried 185-70 13's on the front of a 1st gen. and a larger tire on the rear? I would like to keep the lighter steering effort, with better rear traction and grip. I've got a '79 S that likes to swap ends. Any mods to keep the rear under control? Thanks,

 

The biggest size you should try to use on the stock rim is a 205/60/13. Any bigger and you have scads of unsupported sidewall. Your traction problems will most likely not be solved by the tires, however.

Do you have a rear swaybar on your 'S' model? If so, removing it seems to help calm down the rear end some.

 

maybe something is wrong with my car, but i dont have any problems with the rear kicking out with the sumitomo htr200's in 205/60/13. everyone says their car is *** happy, but mine isnt


actually, since they are going to start holding drift events locally, i bought a rear sway bar in hope of it helping to kick it out and become more stable.

 

No rear bar on my S. It does have Koni rear shocks. I need new front struts, any ideas?

 

I think you found your problem. The Koni rears are really stiff and if your front struts are not as stiff as the rear end, it will induce oversteer.

 

Well, these cars are tail happy, there's no question, so it may be an issue of perception. I don't find my car to be uncontrollable, but others have been amazed at its tendency to get loose.

The Koni shocks are stiffer than stock, correct? They may be contributing to the tail happy nature of the car, but I'm not going to bet any money on it.

The only thing I can suggest is to get the car up on jack stands and take a look under the rear axle, and make sure nothing is amiss. I had a broken lower link on my '82 and my car tended to want to swing out because of it.

 

Any ideas on a good front strut? I know the better adjustables don't fit the '79-80 cars without mods. Also, how much are the factory hatch struts,and how do they differ from the aftermarket units?