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Sumitomo 13 inch Tires

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59diamond

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The tires on my Bugeye are getting a little old and I thought I should start thinking about replacing them.
The Sumitomo tires I have right now have less than 15K miles on them but they are about 8 years old and I would rather be safe than sorry. I would like to replace them with the same ones I have now which are Sumitomo 175/70R13 HTR T4 and were purchased from BIG O Tires in 2011 but I have been unable to find them anywhere an I am guessing they don't make this specific tire anymore. I would appreciate it if someone knows where I can get a set of four of these or what would come close to them.
 
Bill,

Buddy just put a set of these on his BE. SOLAR 4XS 175/70R13 82S Tire from Wal-Mart. $35 ea. Looks aggressive, You want something with as low a UTOQ Rating as possible, not a 75,000 mile tire. Ideally Vredenstein makes a nice tire for our cards and Pirelli Cintaurno's are now available again but you can buy 4 of these for the price of 1 of those. I put some NEXEN 175/70/13 from Wal-Mart on Bugsy they ride nice about $45 ea IIRC.
 
If your old tires aren't showing age cracks or exhibiting broken belts I sure wouldn't be afraid of them. I've run much older tires without any problems. Just replaced a set of Yokohama SR13's! 30 years old???? They were just fine before the car sat for 2 or 3 years but they seem to have gotten out of round now. I wasn't afraid of them but the flat spot just wouldn't come out!:rolleyes2:

Kurt
 
I checked out my tires and they look good so I plan to keep them for now, although I did enter a contest to win a free set of tires from Vredenstein if I promote them for a six month period. If I win I plan on donating my present tires to someone in need.
 
Mine had good amount of tread but I started thinking about how old they were
checked the dates don’t ride on out of date tires they can catastrophically fail
bought a set of these less than 200 for all four
Kumho Solus TA11 Touring Radial Tire - 175/70R13 82T
 
SD
Bought the same last year at this time. I had the same feeling about my 30 YO
Vredenstein​
tires.
I would hate for one to go boom while going around a corner in 3rd at 6 Grand.
 
Big difference between 8 to 10 year old tires and 30 year old tires. I had to give up on 30 year old Yokahama's that were great tires in there day and not available in this country anymore. They were too out of round to drive anymore. I've had tire failures in the past but nothing that didn't give me good warning.

Kurt
 
Kumho Solus are a 700utqg rating. If performance isn't a consideration they will at least wear a long time. I would say that that isn't what we need for the limited miles we put on. I want my Falken Sincera's in 13" back!!

Kurt
 
nomad said:
Big difference between 8 to 10 year old tires and 30 year old tires. I had to give up on 30 year old Yokahama's that were great tires in there day and not available in this country anymore. They were too out of round to drive anymore. I've had tire failures in the past but nothing that didn't give me good warning.

Kurt
Click to expand...
A008Rs?
Rut
 
Rut,
You're showing your age. I, too, had a set of A008Rs on a 1981 911SC way before an R rating meant anything. Those were in the top three of street performance tires I've ever owned. I broke down and put a set of Nexens on my TR3 and have been very happy with them. I just moved them from a set of wires to some centerlock Minatours purchased from Rimmer. Brexit and the exchange rate make for some very competitive UK shopping.
We need to get together sometime.
 
Yep, Rut. Not a crack in them but they had gotten hard enough that the slightest pressure would make them squeal.:playful:

Kurt
 
nomad said:
Yep, Rut. Not a crack in them but they had gotten hard enough that the slightest pressure would make them squeal.:playful:

Kurt
Click to expand...
Last set I had were on an GSL-SE RX-7 slightly modified. Did the Mitty a couple of times at Road Atlanta with a couple of friends from Birmingham, one with a 930 Turbo and the other with a vintage 904. The 904 made it a half lap before the carbs caught fire and it was relatively minor damage if you can say that about 904 carbs. I did do a rear end off road excursion in the 930...just didn’t have the balls to keep the hammer down.

Jim,
Yes we do...I was in Montevallo for an Art/craft fair in the park a few weeks ago, very nice venue.
Rut
 
Rut, I nearly bought a 904 at Road America in the early 70's. Just an old non competitive race car back then and I could have had it for not much cash. Figured I would de-tune it and make it into a "Cafe Racer" for the street. One of many "woulda coulda" deals!:sorrow:

Kurt
 
nomad said:
Rut, I nearly bought a 904 at Road America in the early 70's. Just an old non competitive race car back then and I could have had it for not much cash. Figured I would de-tune it and make it into a "Cafe Racer" for the street. One of many "woulda coulda" deals!:sorrow:

Kurt
Click to expand...
The deals we could’ve had...I traded my 63 VW convertible for a 67 TR4a in 68 and that started me on a life of LBC ruin. Passed up a 63 XKE for $500 along with several bath tubs (356s of about any variety) for $300-500 in college. In 72 a used Cobra was for sale at the Ford dealer for under $2k...I’d be dead now. Dino’s were for sale at Road Atlanta during several races for $4500 or so in the mid 80s and I thought they were over priced. Man, how things have changed!
Rut
 
"Man, how things have changed!"

Understatement that. In the early '60s I bought a 7 or 8 year old 190SL for less than $2k and traded a couple years later with a broken motor for about the same. Highest price I have seen on one recently was a little over $200k.
 
Reviving this.....
I won't get into the tale of woe regarding the XKE I rebuilt from a totaled car....

Instead, back to Sumitomo tires. I can't seem to find them in 155/80 13. In fact I can't seem to find any 155/80 13 tires with a tread pattern that I like. Any suggestion's? I'm tempted to go overseas like the Lotus crowd is doing.
 
SD Bugeye said:
Mine had good amount of tread but I started thinking about how old they were
checked the dates don’t ride on out of date tires they can catastrophically fail
bought a set of these less than 200 for all four
Kumho Solus TA11 Touring Radial Tire - 175/70R13 82T
Click to expand...

I put a set of these on my '69 Sprite when I had to replace all four Uniroyals due to bent rims. I really like them, but I probably don't push my Sprite as aggressively as some of you do. Compared to the Uniroyals they feel like they are glued to the road. Of course, having round wheels instead of oval ones probably helps, too.

I have essentially the same tires but in a 17 inch size on my 2015 Nissan Rogue. For a crossover SUV with a higher CG than a sports car, those tires really stayed pretty well glued through the turns. Nissan's electronic nannies also do a pretty good job of keeping the rubber attached to the road, which could be why the vehicle handles well.
 
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