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"Performance" Tires

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amphibispridget

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Does anyone know of any decent performance-oriented tires (or tyres) to fit stock Midget wire wheels (4x13)? All I can find are good all-season touring tires. I don't plan on driving in rain or snow (not if I can help it), so I don't really need all-season tires. I'm not looking for "serious" sports car tires, either; just something a bit better than all-season tourers.
 
For my money you can't beat a plain old Michelin X - The rubber compound is just soft enough to grip like a glue-footed gorilla but they last a LONG time in a light little rig like a Spridget.

I look for deals where you can buy a blemished tire fairly cheap - I think I paid around $150.00 for a set of Five ( Spare's gotta match eh? ) last year - They got about 5,000 miles on em and they still have the little whiskers and look like brand new.
 
Have to argue with you there /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif ... Seriously though, its a pretty good tire. My car came with a basically brand new (though probably now almost 6 years old) set of them. However, they just don't do it for me in autocrosses! Can't imagine why? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Planning to upgrade to a autocross only set of the types that Nial suggested in the spridgets section. I expect a tremendous improvement.
 
Hi - I'm new to the forum here and am in need of some assistance locating a new set of tires for my 71 Midget. I'm based in Madison WI and none of the tire dealers around here have been able to locate a set of 145/13 tires for me. I did quite a lot of searching and haven't been able to come up with anything. Can anyone give me a push in the right direction for being able to locate some?

Thanks,

Adam.
 
First, a hearty welcome to this fine forum. Do post a general hello and tell us more about yourself. Second about your tires, a place to start might be "Tire Rack". There used to be a link to them from this site. I have bought from them online and was satisfied. Their website is informative even if you don't buy. Good Luck
 
I,ve read a few reviews and the Bridgestone Turanza,s are rated the highest in most categories........The important ones anyway.......Road noise, grip, wet grip,etc
 
Yes, welcome to the forum! I was about to suggest Tire Rack as well, I bought a set of snows from them once and was very pleased. They are out of Chicago so shipping will be good too. Try this link:-

www.tirerack.com

And welcome again, from a fellow inhabitant of the frozen north!
 
Tire rack has Yokohama A032R DOT legal race tires in 175 60 13. That is fairly small, but may be a tight fit on 4" rims. They recommend a 5" to 6" rim for it. Kuhmo also makes a DOT legal race tire in that size, the V700. I think Avon does too, but nobody seems to be selling them here. I have a few sets of 13" autocross tires, a couple are 185-60-13 Yokohama 008 RSII's and a set of Hoosier Autocrossers (non-radial). They are not as sticky as new, but way way stickier than ANY non race DOT legal tire. I drive my Lotus 7 on Hoosier V700 Victorracer DOT race rubber all the time. They will get hard long before they wear out. And they will still be grippier than high performance tires. I'm going to buy another set of the Hoosiers to replace the Yoko's mounted up for autocrossing the Cortina.

I would call Tire Rack if I were you.

Whoops, I thought that you were looking for something sportier than so called "high performance" tires.

I use race rubber on the 7 all the time, and it works fine. I tried it on the Cortina, but it didn't work well on the street. It was way too nervous, and followed road irregularities extremely badly.

A spridget is probably about half way between the 1100lb Seven and the 2000lb Cortina. It might drive great on race rubber.
 
I have used the 175-50/13 Simitomo HTR 200 on stock Midget rims. They were fine and space for the rear wheels were OK. Due to the lower profile, the speedo will be off, the car will sit a bit lower and the gearing will be effectively shorter (none of those are a bit deal in my view). The car will be a bit perkier off the line (due to the small OD of the tire). They are a dry performance tire (not for wet weather). They actually seem pretty hard (on a Spridget). Mine had no noticable wear after 25,000 and 6 years...I just threw them out due to age. There is a similar 70 series Sumi, but I have not tried them.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes.jsp?make=Sumitomo&model=HTR+200

I have bought the Kumho V700s and Yoko 032Rs that Super7 has mentioned, and I have run them on stock rims too. I bought 10 Kumhos last year and a set of the Yokos this year. Both are similar in performance and price, but the Yoko comes in "hard" or "soft". I use the "soft" tires on my racer, but I'd guess that the "hard" tires would last for about 15,000 miles on your street car...not bad. They are really a nicer tire than the Sumitomos, but they are about $110 from TireRack (rougly 3 time the price of the Sumis). These Kumhos and Yokohamas are referred to as "DOT-legal race tires" and they do not come with a warranty.
 
Go to www.tirerack.com. Their site is A1. There you will be able to find every tire that fits along with comparatives. I use them for all of my cars.....(77 MGB, 71 porsche 914, 98 porsche boxster, toyota corolla S, Mercedes 230 coupe. Great prices and great service and no I don't work for them.
 
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