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original size tires for alpine

alpine_64

Donation Time
Thanks!!1
that is a great help.. i might post a link to that on the tigers mailing list.. and the tiger msg board... i now also know the difference if i switch wheels between the alpine and tiger
 

Jay Laifman

Donation Time
Argh. 165/80 now on my car. And no longer available. I like that size. I don't want to go to 185/70 because I don't want the wider look.

That means I am stuck with going to Coker. They have Michelin XAS 165HR13 at $213 a tire.
They also have
640SR13 Michelin ZX
725R13 Michelin X
640/700-13 Vredestein

I believe 600-13 and 650-13 were the two tires for the Alpine.
And those translate to the 165R13 (80 series) and 175R13 (80).

So that seems that all the other options - the ZX, X and Vredestein will all be taller and/or wider. Does anyone know?

For those prices, my son says I should get the Dunlop CR65 racing tires. He may be right. It's only a fair weather drive car now, and it is not getting so many miles that I need to worry about it. I'm likely to hit the age limit of the Dunlops before the wear limit.
 

alpine_64

Donation Time
OK, Tiger girls and boys, I've made one for you too (even though this is technically the SAOCA website! ;))

. I used the red-line of 5800, which if memory serves me is the proper figure for a Tiger (but then I'm old and memory ain't what it once was!).

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3rjzs/images/tire-speed-calculator-tiger-v1.xls

Kevin.. A stock MKI tiger had a redline at the heady heights of 4800 and at 5250 they would pull the pressed in rocker studs from the heads...
 

alpine_64

Donation Time
Argh. 165/80 now on my car. And no longer available. I like that size. I don't want to go to 185/70 because I don't want the wider look.

That means I am stuck with going to Coker. They have Michelin XAS 165HR13 at $213 a tire.
They also have
640SR13 Michelin ZX
725R13 Michelin X
640/700-13 Vredestein

I believe 600-13 and 650-13 were the two tires for the Alpine.
And those translate to the 165R13 (80 series) and 175R13 (80).

So that seems that all the other options - the ZX, X and Vredestein will all be taller and/or wider. Does anyone know?

For those prices, my son says I should get the Dunlop CR65 racing tires. He may be right. It's only a fair weather drive car now, and it is not getting so many miles that I need to worry about it. I'm likely to hit the age limit of the Dunlops before the wear limit.
Jay why not use 175/70/13?
 

puff4

Platinum Level Sponsor
Kevin.. A stock MKI tiger had a redline at the heady heights of 4800 and at 5250 they would pull the pressed in rocker studs from the heads...

Where were you when, in the post before that one, I asked “Also, I've long ago forgotten - what is the red-line for a stock Tiger?” ;)
 

Barry

Diamond Level Sponsor
Argh. 165/80 now on my car. And no longer available. I like that size. I don't want to go to 185/70 because I don't want the wider look.

That means I am stuck with going to Coker. They have Michelin XAS 165HR13 at $213 a tire.
They also have
640SR13 Michelin ZX
725R13 Michelin X
640/700-13 Vredestein

I believe 600-13 and 650-13 were the two tires for the Alpine.
And those translate to the 165R13 (80 series) and 175R13 (80).

So that seems that all the other options - the ZX, X and Vredestein will all be taller and/or wider. Does anyone know?

For those prices, my son says I should get the Dunlop CR65 racing tires. He may be right. It's only a fair weather drive car now, and it is not getting so many miles that I need to worry about it. I'm likely to hit the age limit of the Dunlops before the wear limit.





According to the WSM's, original tire sizes for Series Alpines were 5.60-13, 5.90-13 and 6.00-13. Those bias-ply tire sizes correspond to 145/80-13 or 155/80-13 radials. A 165 section width radial corresponds to a 6.50 section width bias-ply, but as noted, Series Alpines did not leave the factory with 6.50-13 tires.

The other issue is tire section width versus wheel width. Series I through IV Alpines were originally equipped with 13x4 wheels. There may be exceptions, but I am not aware of any 13" radial tires wider than a 155 section width that are manufacturer approved for 13x4 wheels.

Some 175 section width radials are manufacturer approved for 13x4.5" wheels, but only Series V Alpines were originally equipped with 13x4.5" wheels.

The bottom line is that skinny wheels go with skinny tires.
 

alpine_64

Donation Time
Barry i understand what you are saying but im certain a 165 is acceptable for a stock rim ( id even suggest safer)

I had 155 series tyres when my car used to have stock wires and quite a bit of rim protruded..
 

Jay Laifman

Donation Time
Barry, you said: According to the WSM's, original tire sizes for Series Alpines were 5.60-13, 5.90-13 and 6.00-13. Those bias-ply tire sizes correspond to 145/80-13 or 155/80-13 radials. A 165 section width radial corresponds to a 6.50 section width bias-ply, but as noted, Series Alpines did not leave the factory with 6.50-13 tires.

According to TireRack https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/45_conversionchart.jsp,

5.60-13 is from 1949-64 and is equal to 6.00-13 for 1965-1970

Then it says
6.00-13 = 165/80R13
6.50-13 = 170/80R13

So that suggests 165/80R13 is the correct tire per the WSM. That's what I have on the car - and like, and unfortunately, what is now NLA except expensive Coker tires. I'm glad they make the tires and I understand that without volume they need to charge more.

This website says
5.90-13 = 600-13 = 165/75R13
165/75R13 - also a Coker only tire.
 

Jay Laifman

Donation Time
FWIW, 165/80 tires available from Coker:

Michelin XAS $213 each (165HR13)
Michelin ZX $259 each (640SR13)
Vredestein $140 each (640/700-13)(wide option and not wide option)
Dunlop SP Sport Aquajet $250 each (165HR13)

Then the racing tire:
Dunlop 450L13 CR65 $345 each Diam 22.1; Tread 4.5"; Cross section 6.6"
Dunlop 550L13 CR65 $372 each Diam 23.8; Tread 5.0" Cross section 8"

This picture of Miles is probably with the Dunlops.

Ken Miles Alpine.jpg
 

Jay Laifman

Donation Time
It looks like I found a source of 165/80 13s. They are confirming their supply and the dates on the tires. They are not old stock. They are about $60 each.
 

mightyohm

Donation Time
Diamond Back tires has 165/80R13 in stock. They are a little cheaper than Coker but not much. Diamond Back takes OE tires and adds whitewalls to them. I talked to them and they are using Nankang tires for this size. I looked around and couldn't find the Nankang CX668 in 165/80R13 in stock anywhere so I'm not sure where they are getting them. They did say that their stock was limited.

https://dbtires.com/product/diamond-back-13/

My existing tires are Maxxis, which were available in 2015 but are no longer available. The selection of 165/80R13 is getting pretty thin.
 

Mike O'D

Gold Level Sponsor
I have about 4000 miles on a set of Nankangs - they are working great. Spirited street driving in good weather.
 

Tim R

Silver Level Sponsor
Continental make a lovely tyre in 165/80 13 it is very high quality, very quiet and looks great on a standard Alpine wheel. If you go to 14s and use 165/70s you keep an almost identical circumference.
Tim R
 

65sunbeam

SAOCA Membership Director
Diamond Level Sponsor
Do their tires have DOT stampings on them? A friend tried to buy UK tires without the markings and had customs problems.
 
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