performance tyre size

Post by **superchargedfool** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 3:57 pm

I am currently running 175x70x13 and its ok but not really up to much.

What is the consensus of opinion as to tyre and wheel size for a serious minor, ie mine.

I think 6inch wheels are about as wide as you can go in standard arches.

I realise that too low profile can give lack of give in sidewalls which leads to poor traction.

I have been thinking about 195x60x13 (but an expensive size), 185x60x13 (bit small maybe), 195x45x15 (short sidewall), 195x50x15 (seems my favourite).

Point is some of you have experience of this, and probably already know the answer, go on share with me your opinions.

Post by **Peetee** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 6:07 pm

I'd go for 185/60x14 on 6" rims.
Plenty of choice there

Post by **plastic_orange** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 6:46 pm

If you have 6 x13inch wheels use a 205/60.
Check here for advice:

http://www.carbibles.com/index.html?men ... bible.html

Pete

Post by dp » Wed Jan 21, 2009 9:35 pm

Not advice as I'm undecided myself but I've found 195 60 15 on the back about the limit on the back to be able to carry people in the back and not get tyre rub. I had 205 60 15s and with people in the back or even a sharp bump the tyre rubbed the wing. Might have been possible to trim the wing return a bit. This is with an Escort axle and peugeot 6" wide wheels so, another axle and wheel might give different results. That said not much room on the inner with 205 anyway.

On the front I have 165 50 15s since anything wider rubs the arch. Oddly I've seen the same wheel at the National on someone's Minor with a 185 or 195 ? 15 at the front with no rub.

The 50 profile at the front gives a bit of a harsh ride and I'll change them for a 60 when they wear as they're giving the front chassis rails and me a bit of a battering over bumps. But then I'm middle aged and prefer a bit of comfort

Post by **PSL184** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 11:22 pm

I'm running 185 60 14 with on 6" rims with no problems either front or rear.....

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Post by **superchargedfool** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 9:14 am

bump.

185x60x14 is probably not going to give much more traction and I suspect 205x60x13 will foul but I am willing to be proved wrong.

will 205 go on a 6 inch rim happily or will it look a bit sqeezed on and the tyre walls not do what they are intended to do?

I am thinking in terms of track and serious use here by the way.

Post by **Peetee** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:30 am

185x60x14 is probably not going to give much more traction

What power are you expecting? If 185's won't do the job surely you are looking for a more sophisticated rear set up and/or a bit more weight. I would have thought wider than this would help on a drag strip and hinder everywhere else.

Post by **plastic_orange** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:31 am

Here's a pic of my Minor with 6's with 205's with 8's on the rear (these are too wide for standard wings). Front's don't foul, but car is standard ride height.
205's fit from a 5.5 to a 7 inch rim, so I'd say a 6 inch rim is just about fine

Pete

Post by **aussiemike** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:42 am

185's should be able to happily handle 140-160 hp. especially if they are a good bran.
oh and pete, if i wasnt about to move ocuntries i would be hassling you to sell me that blue moggy!
cheer,s michael.

Post by **plastic_orange** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:48 am

I'm one of these folk who rarely sell their cars - I've owned my MM Minor since 1972, and the MM lookalike (Blue one) since 2004 and wouldn't sell it either. However the 57 Minor will be for sale soon as I really can't be bothered having 4 minors any more. (won't come with the wheels though).

Pete

Post by **MartinB** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 2:59 pm

I think a 205/60 13 on any rim less than 7" will not have adequate sidewall support during cornering and will roll about on the rim too much.

My minor runs 185/60 13 on 7" rims on the front and 205/60 13" on 8" rims on the rear (A021R tyres) and would quite happily put 300 bhp down on the road. 400 plus bhp is another matter though! The tyres are very stable and give good response when cornering, fine for the road but a bit limited for overall grip on the track.

185/60s should be fine for a supercharged A series provided the rear suspension is working properly, might need a 5 link and possibly LSD though. I used to run a 200 bhp Fiat engine with leaf springs on the back with anti-tramp bars and an LSD and had no real traction problems. If the front suspension is not set up right (springs rates, shocks and anti roll bar), the inside rear wheel can lift during hard cornering inducing wheelspin which can give the indication the tyres are not big enough when in fact it is the suspension causing the problem.

A good quality tyre is essential though, what make of tyre are you using at the moment?.

Martin

Post by **minor_hickup** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:27 pm

superchargedfool wrote:bump.

185x60x14 is probably not going to give much more traction and I suspect 205x60x13 will foul but I am willing to be proved wrong.

will 205 go on a 6 inch rim happily or will it look a bit sqeezed on and the tyre walls not do what they are intended to do?

I am thinking in terms of track and serious use here by the way.

185/60r14 has the potential for some decent rubber, while researching tyre and wheel sizes for my project I found Toyo R888s come in this size as well as some serious yokohama tyres.

Post by **superchargedfool** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 1:04 pm

Its funny how life can move in mysterious ways sometimes.

Yesterday I made the decision to go with my current 13 minilites with new 185x60x13 tyres. Today I have stripped the wheels, painted them and am having the tyres I orderred yesterday fitted.

All seems good so far.

Then 30 minutes ago I bought a 205gti track car (well serious) and it comes with 3 sets of wheels. One set are 15 inch speedline gti wheels with r888 new tyres on them. Now if I had bought that yesterday I wouldn't have bought 4 new tyres or spent 4 hours stripping and painting my wheels.

The gti wheels will fit my moggy and the 195 50 15 tyres will be great.

I am well chuffed at having the gti wheels but just wish they had occurred a day earlier.

sods law maybe.

Post by **minor_hickup** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 8:21 pm

That is odd! But at least you can have track/road tyre sets or just winter/summer sets. I run 195/50r15s on my e30 beemer which has 15 x 7" wheels. It seems a good size for price and choice. I've been running Toyo Proxes T1r tyres which are superb mix of wet and dry grip and only about £35 each!