A tire queston

I have a good one for ya I raised the front of my speedser D ..1 inch when i did the rack and beam upgrade. the rear if the car is now a inch lower.

I have a choise i can raise the rear of the car with the adjusters. and run the same 195/65/15 tires 24 inches tall.

Or I can atempt to put a taller tire on the car and also improve the rearend gearing . To put it on target,,I need a 25 and 1/2 tall tire.on the rear and that means a narrower tire.

CP- P has a stock VW replacement for the 165/70 15 that is much narrower .

Would you atempt the 165 Or the 185/70/15 which given the wheel wells being so close may rub.

Guys what would you do.???????????

The 165 is a sure fit; I'd go with it just to make sure.

Here are 2 different tire size caluclators

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

http://www.net-comber.com/tirecalc.html

the michelin X 165/80/15(coker tire) height is 25.2 i believe, pricey though

Personally, I wouldn't use Coker tires for a daily driver. Their tires are made in China, Vietnam and other 3rd world countries.

Customers with Coker tires, that use them on their daily drivers have experienced numerous belt separations and blow outs. In my opinion, they're not safe for anything other than car shows where the owner wants the period correct tire during concourse inspections and judging.

In addition, I have a friend who is a retired Bridgestone tire engineer and he says that tires that are 5 years old, (from the time of manufacture) should be discarded regardless of tread depth. This is not a marketing scheme to sell more tires but a safety issue as tires lose moisture and when they dry out, they separate.

Most Coker tires that are sold are usually 4+ years old. They replenish new tires on their shelf and sell the old tires, which is called stock rotation.

This is an OK practice if they're selling a non-perishable product but not OK for milk and tires.

I know the 165 is a sure fit I already tried some bug tires.

But like to find a curvey road every now and then a just practice.

Id have to do a complete rear trailing arm and rear axle up grade to keep the 195 weigth and it does help.
Im told a 205 is possible after the upgrade BUT OUTCH $$$$$$$

I have the goodyear regattas all around now and they are about 4 years old and I have kept protectant on them always .

I wish i could find a tire in that brand and get it as close as possible

I thinking very strongly trying the 185/70/15s But i think they are taller than 25.5

It apears tha i can't find that tire at the tire rack, or anything close

I got four Kumho POWER STAR 758 165/80 R15 87T BSW from tires-easy.com. I was more interested in an authentic stance and size. They seem to perform well, although I haven't hit any corners very hard.

Tom

Barry, You're not going to find a 185/70/15 tire. For some reason, all the tire companies quit making tires in that size. (Coker has them but they are very expensive and furthermore, read what I wrote above)

Early Porsche 911's used that size and as in my case, I had to use 195/65/15 tires on my 1973 911S.

It has been reported but not confirmed that a tire company, possibly Kumho, has re-introduced the 185/70/15 size tire in Europe but it's not confirmed

Im going to call Kumho tires and see what i can see I may buy 5 if they are not to high.

It's a big NO from Kumho tires So Im stuck again.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp?width=165%2F&ratio=80&diameter=15&startIndex=0&search=true&pagelen=20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&RunFlat=All&x=60&y=11

Barry,

We buy Kumho's several hundred at a time. Seems like they are always on backorder. Last I was told is that our current backorder will be filled by the end of April.
I spent most of the day Monday tracking down tires and found several 165/80s "here and there". Most I could get from one place was Mid America, who found me 50 of them. They might know where a few more Kumhos are.
Unfortunately they were 2x what I normally pay, but what can you do...

Nankang makes a 165/80 I hear good things about them from some of their distributors, although my personal experience with them has been pretty poor. In a 1/2 container I had a TON that were just plain poor quality. I mentioned this to a friend out West who is a HUGE distributor of VW parts and carries only Nankang tires and he said he's literally had 1 or 2 problems in several years (he averages 900 tires a year). I find it hard to believe that I had so many bad tires and it was just luck, but he's a straight shooter, so who knows. Bad taste in my mouth, plus a dent in my wallet, means no more Nankangs for me!

In my search I also found a tire called Nexen. They make 165/80s for $30 - $50 each. You can find a few distributors on ebay if you search "Nexen 165". I know nothing about them, other than what I was told by the wholesale sales manager at the main facility. I'm sure he is totally unbiased ;)
MAM called me back with the Kumhos shortly after I spoke with Nexen, and since I have TONS of experience with their quality (99%+) I decided to stick with what I know.

Thanks Carey,,I did the same search and also found the nexen tires But when I went to the local tire store he went out of his way to find me a 185 or a 175 to get more tire tread on the ground.

He gave it his best shot he could and 3 of each are on there way as of this morning.

He also said he thinks I should drop back to the 5.5 rims on the rear instead of the 6.5s That means I would need to check in with the folks at thunder ranch to get 2 more Beck 550 rims with the shallow offset that matches the rest. Im hanging onto the 6.5s for now they are still very nice and I need to see how this is going to afect handleing . which is a real concern even thou the car is a autmatic. I still want it to recover well in a pinch. You Never know when you'll need that.

News Flash Im told by the folks at Thunder Ranch that Mangle has gone out of busness and any new rims will come from China.

Anyone got a pair of beck 5.5 550 rims they want to part with. These are the Shalow offset rims..

Im willing to bet the chinse verson wont match!!

I've been running 165-15s from here:

http://www.vredesteintire.com/products/sprintplus.asp

$70 each, I've been running Vredestein tires for over 30 years on a variety of European cars, 185-15 on the Jaguar and 165-15 on the speedster. Very happy with them, even in hard turns.

Michael

Barry,

Mangels stopped production on all steel rims last year. There is a new company in Brazil making them, but not in chrome, and they don't sell to many companies (low volume). The China versions are not yet available (supposed to be a few weeks) but they will not be made in the offset you are looking for.

We have the proper (Mangels) rims here. No one here will sell them so if you call, ask for me specifically and I'll spare 2 of them.

Carey

Cary Im in the Usa.. Im thinking your in south america. am I correct? Thats a long way to ship. But if they are the good ones I 'll have to have them ..THANK YOU for your gracious offer!!!

I have not heard from Thunder Ranch I told them to call wensday when Im at home

BUT!
Just in case Im requesting your phone number. and you can expect a call wensdaday if its a no from T.R. Which it most likely will be..

Barry,

If you look under Carey's name on the left side of his post you can see that he is from Indiana.

On my screen the print is kinda fine. Thunder Ranch only has the China rims the old stock is gone So Carey Please what is your phone number?

shop is 574-546-4656
I told Kevin it was OK to sell you 2 of them, so if you can't get me, he'll be able to help you.

Yelp yelp thats wha he said today when I called sorry if i disturbed your work he said you were under a car. i can only asume it was a Spyder.

I also requested any parts brocures you may have. I like to keep a good selection avalible if I here anyone lookin for anything I usaly pass it along.

Thanks Carey

Barry,

No bother at all. Sorry I couldn't pull away... busy friggin' days.
No idea what I was working on when you called. Of the 12 or so cars in the production facility this week, they are pretty well evenly split between spyders and speedsters. Doesn't happen that way too often. One is usually much heavier then the other.
Anyway, glad Kevin took care of you. I'll make sure the wheels go out today if they haven't already.

Carey

Hey Carey The rims arived today and they beat the tires here. Thank you again for a perfect pair of rims. i also ddid no know yo had a place here in Cornellius NC I have had a itch to build a gullwing spyder fastback. I.ve been playing with the concept for quite a while. and atill want some kind of a small sporty coupe thats Vw based