Newbie Owner Questions

[azbeam]

I was wrong. I was looking at the wrong receipt. I went a little narrower with the spare so it would fit in the spare tire well. My spare currently has a P155/80R13 Kumho Solus TA11. TireRack.com lists it as a passenger car tire with a 75k mile warranty and T-rated up to 118 mph.

So I just got my car back from my mechanic. Great guy, well priced and knows what he is doing. For others in the Phoenix area I highly recommend Glen Frost at the MG Shop - (480) 967-5631.

My wheel noise is now gone - we put new KYB shocks on the two front tires and new brake calipers & seals. Not sure exactly what fixed it (we think one of the seals may have been installed backwards previously), but the noise is now gone.

Now on to purchasing new tires. I have decided to keep my original wheels since the splines on the hubs turned out looking fine/average. Just ordered the rim bands and tubes from Moss Motors. I have a few tire options as it seems like the best fit will be 155/80/13 even though i am currently running 175/80/13 (pic attached). The best selection/price appears to be at Discount Tire - https://www.discounttire.com/fitmen...e&aspectRatio=80&diameter=13&width=155&page=0. The Kumho Solus TA11 were recommended earlier by Greggers and get great online reviews. My mechanic said he typically only goes with Michelin, but they are significantly more expensive and Coker appears to be one of the few places that sells them. $50 per tire for Kumho's 155/80/R13 versus $197 per tire for Michelin XAS 165HR13. Four times as much doesn't seem worth it to me, especially with such great reviews on the Kumho's. Greggers I think I would get all 5 tires the same size, anyway you can send me a picture of your 185/75's? Trying to determine how the profile of a 185 versus a 155 will look versus my 175's. If it is negligible I wonder if there will be much of a difference in how they ride. Any ideas?

Thanks again for everyone's help,
Dan

 

[Toyanvil]

If you go to wide, tire shops may not install them if they are to wide for the rims. 155 can be mounted on 4-5 inch wide rim. A 175 needs a rim 4.5-6 inch wide. I don't know how wide your wire wheels are. If they will fit, I would go with 175/70-13 they are close to the same diameter as a 155/80-13 and just a little wider about .75 inch. If you but tubeless, just check inside to make sure they are smooth and will not hurt the inter tubes. I ran tubeless tires on my old BMW GS motorcycle for years with no problems, I just always checked inside first. Somewhere I have a picture of my car with 175/70-13 on wire wheels.