26 replies to this topic

[zakats]

Since my recent acquisition (thanks badpenny & gimpilot) I've been toying with various ideas of what to do with the car and making plans. At the moment, I don't have any plans for 'big' power so much as I'm thinking to go after 'cheap' power with simple/cheap/easy/cost effective mods while keeping it in good DD-able order.

tires in question
http://www.tirerack....romCompare1=yes

tire size reference
http://www.miata.net...e/tirecalc.html

Back on track here... I have LS mesh wheels with decent tires that I think I'll DD with but the car came with some pretty neat VW wheels and, just for fun, I'm thinking to buy a pair (2) of sumitumo htr200's in 175/50-13. The tires are super cheap @ $49/ea (approximately $117 shipped) and are not exactly a huge investment but, before spending it, I'd like to pick you guys' brains.

for zipping around and maybe to compliment my AX slicks (should I every use them), these just seem to fit the bill. On a track (ax drag or whatever) this would be a similar effect as running a (numerically) larger gear.

Your thoughts? Anybody run this size? Have pictures?

[gtpilot]

I run 175s on the DD because of the gas mileage difference between those and the 205s that I run otherwise. Do it...

Kirk

[93hpCRX]

Im running 185 70 13, on the front of my car and 175 70 13 on the rear, i have no complaints and the seem to stick just fine for the little bit of zipping around the back roads around here, o and the tires are on the VX wheels i got 5 months ago, On a mild modified motor i can dump it at 5500 and smoke em for a sec but then she grabs and goes



These are the 175


Hope this helps

[ballade]

I'm running the Sumitumo 185 60 13's
For a DD tire their great.
Very weak side wall but I run 40-45 PSi in them
Side wall says they can run 51 psi max
Good long lasting tire which IMO looks great on a 13x5.5 rim

IMO the 175/50 13 are a tad small unless you plan to drop your car 6 inches
All the pictures with my cars on here are running 185 60 13 if you want to look.

[CRXfanatic]

Go for the 215/50-13.

[zakats]

Go for the 215/50-13.

If only I had wide enough wheels, I probably would.

I don't really intend to DD it with these tires so I'm not too concerned with the way they look so much as the way they'd improve 1/4 mile times and acceleration in general. think cheap/easy fun.

thanks for the input guys, I've had the 205 60 13's on VX wheels and they were too wide for the wheels in the interest of handling but they did very well in the straight line with my LS powered car.

OT I'm planning to run a carb'd Si engine/trans with a nice header to see if I can get into the low 15's. RFL85CRXSI claims a 15.0 1/4 time with a carb'd ew3/dx trans swapped crx dx, I'd like to get close to that but I question the viability. Thinking back to my experience with pony cars, the easiest way to improve acceleration/qm times is with a bigger gear- what better way to effectively make a bigger gear than to have smaller tires?

[GrafKröte]

My wintertires last year were 175 50 R13.

[93hpCRX]

I'm running the Sumitumo 185 60 13's
For a DD tire their great.
Very weak side wall but I run 40-45 PSi in them
Side wall says they can run 51 psi max
Good long lasting tire which IMO looks great on a 13x5.5 rim

IMO the 175/50 13 are a tad small unless you plan to drop your car 6 inches
All the pictures with my cars on here are running 185 60 13 if you want to look.

I run 35 to 38 psi in my tires, 51 is a bit to much !

[F22hb]

We're running 155/80/13r's right now. Got them brand new from discount for 200 mounted and balanced so you can't complain. Work fine for a DD and probably help mileage.

[zakats]

My wintertires last year were 175 50 R13.

those don't look too small

[psychoboy]

Since my recent acquisition (thanks badpenny & gimpilot) I've been toying with various ideas of what to do with the car and making plans. At the moment, I don't have any plans for 'big' power so much as I'm thinking to go after 'cheap' power with simple/cheap/easy/cost effective mods while keeping it in good DD-able order.

tires in question
http://www.tirerack....romCompare1=yes

tire size reference
http://www.miata.net...e/tirecalc.html

Back on track here... I have LS mesh wheels with decent tires that I think I'll DD with but the car came with some pretty neat VW wheels and, just for fun, I'm thinking to buy a pair (2) of sumitumo htr200's in 175/50-13. The tires are super cheap @ $49/ea (approximately $117 shipped) and are not exactly a huge investment but, before spending it, I'd like to pick you guys' brains.

for zipping around and maybe to compliment my AX slicks (should I every use them), these just seem to fit the bill. On a track (ax drag or whatever) this would be a similar effect as running a (numerically) larger gear.

Your thoughts? Anybody run this size? Have pictures?

i've run pirelli's and bfg's 175/50/13s on different cars over the years....they are usually way wider than you expect them to be. even the link you posted for the tires says they are 7" wide. i don't know which wheels you are putting them on, but they might look goofy on anything narrower than 6". 5.5" is probably pushing it.

during the euro-lowrider era, 175/50/13s on 13x7 wires and progressive reverse hammers were not uncommon. dig up some pics from the late 90s, and you'll see them everywhere.


since they are smaller than stock, you'll find that you are wringing the heck out of your motor just running normal speeds. you also find that your odo spins faster (might not be a concern, but you should know ahead of time)

[zakats]

That makes perfect sense... I'll likely just run the wheels I have VW 13x5.5's
top of the page-> http://www.myturbodi...heels-4x100.htm

I'd like a set of the "WV" 13x6's if I could get my hands on a set!

[TexanIdiot25]

Do you guys ever run into problems with the brake line brackets and front tires? I noticed when I last put the wheels on that the bracket is rediculously close to the tire. Could be the HX wheels' offset.. But I could barely get a finger between the sidewall and bolt head. It would seem that either a fat enough tire, or a hard enough turn would rub.

[ballade]

Hmm that hatch looks like it's on 175 70 13's
here are a set of 175 50 13 Sumitomos 200's on a 13x6 rim

a 50 series tire is a lot shorter.
and despite what you think these tires need the extra PSI the side walls are very weak.
51 is to much but anything lower then 40 and they become to soft.
it's the tire, not the norm.

[zakats]

Do you guys ever run into problems with the brake line brackets and front tires? I noticed when I last put the wheels on that the bracket is rediculously close to the tire. Could be the HX wheels' offset.. But I could barely get a finger between the sidewall and bolt head. It would seem that either a fat enough tire, or a hard enough turn would rub.

You have VX wheels fwiw. I seem to recall their being somewhat close but it is common to bend the brackets in a more favorable position with these cars. I don't recall them being close enough for concern but that is a judgment call on a car-to-car basis really.

Hmm that hatch looks like it's on 175 70 13's
here are a set of 175 50 13 Sumitomos 200's on a 13x6 rim
a 50 series tire is a lot shorter.
and despite what you think these tires need the extra PSI the side walls are very weak.
51 is to much but anything lower then 40 and they become to soft.
it's the tire, not the norm.

I'd thought they looked like 70 series too but still am not sure. THANKS for the close up picture!