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Tires for 78 Midget w/Rostyles?
- Thread starter RickB
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tweety
Jedi Trainee
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I checked, and I do have 165 r13's on my '79. I got them a little over a year ago. In the 13" rim size you're stuck with an 80 aspect height.
Also, take not of the dot date on whatever tire you buy. From what I understand, there's not much of a demand for 13" tires anymore. Much of the stock out there has been sitting on a shelf for a couple of years. Basically, you can get stuck with a tire that has half of it's life eaten up before you even buy it.
Also, take not of the dot date on whatever tire you buy. From what I understand, there's not much of a demand for 13" tires anymore. Much of the stock out there has been sitting on a shelf for a couple of years. Basically, you can get stuck with a tire that has half of it's life eaten up before you even buy it.
lbc_newbie
Jedi Warrior
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Rick, since you're local, I got Falkens from Discount Tire...
https://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/searchTiresBySize.do?r=WASINT|pc|98296&cs=185&ar=70&rd=13
https://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/searchTiresBySize.do?r=WASINT|pc|98296&cs=185&ar=70&rd=13
tweety
Jedi Trainee
Offline
U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number
This begins with the letters "DOT" and indicates that the tire meets all federal standards. The next two numbers or letters are the plant code where it was manufactured, and the last four numbers represent the week and year the tire was built. For example, the numbers 3197 means the 31st week of 1997. The other numbers are marketing codes used at the manufacturer's discretion. This information is used to contact consumers if a tire defect requires a recall.
regarding tire age:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=138
This begins with the letters "DOT" and indicates that the tire meets all federal standards. The next two numbers or letters are the plant code where it was manufactured, and the last four numbers represent the week and year the tire was built. For example, the numbers 3197 means the 31st week of 1997. The other numbers are marketing codes used at the manufacturer's discretion. This information is used to contact consumers if a tire defect requires a recall.
regarding tire age:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=138
lbc_newbie
Jedi Warrior
Offline
Sorry, Rick... I'm not near the car and can't recall the exact size of mine. I'll get home and let you know shortly.
tweety
Jedi Trainee
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https://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
This little program allows you to compare the size of one tire against another. What's really cool is that you can view the difference from side or the end so you can tell the width as well.
All I can tell you is that there is only about a half an inch between my side wall and the fender in my swa '79 midget. Again, I'm running 165 8 13's
This little program allows you to compare the size of one tire against another. What's really cool is that you can view the difference from side or the end so you can tell the width as well.
All I can tell you is that there is only about a half an inch between my side wall and the fender in my swa '79 midget. Again, I'm running 165 8 13's
lbc_newbie
Jedi Warrior
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Rick, I have the Falken 185/70 R13 and they fit real nice.
OP
RickB
Yoda
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What about on hard turns? I suppose your car is at the factory set height still?
Mine is lowered, so tire rubbing is more of an issue.
Anyway, thanks one and all - I just got a set of 165x80x13's installed at the local Les Schwab place. It's nice to do business locally and they are close so I can take it in for rotating often and flat repairs are always free.
Mine is lowered, so tire rubbing is more of an issue.
Anyway, thanks one and all - I just got a set of 165x80x13's installed at the local Les Schwab place. It's nice to do business locally and they are close so I can take it in for rotating often and flat repairs are always free.
OP
RickB
Yoda
Offline
Haven't checked pressure yet - I'm sure they are over inflated, that's SOP for Les Schwab.
It's officially top down all the time weather here in the NW. They say it should top 100F next week and the lows will be around 70F.
This morning I drove to work with the top down for the first time this year (intentionally - I'm not counting the time the top blew off the Sprite on the way in). :wink:
It's officially top down all the time weather here in the NW. They say it should top 100F next week and the lows will be around 70F.
This morning I drove to work with the top down for the first time this year (intentionally - I'm not counting the time the top blew off the Sprite on the way in). :wink:
bthompson
Jedi Warrior
Offline
Well, now I'm curious...I've read lots of discussion on how <span style="font-style: italic">wide </span>a tire we can use. How <span style="font-style: italic">tall </span>can we go and still fit? My de-bumpered 1500 sits high enough that it looks like I could put a truck tire in there.
Lowering the revs by ~8% sounds mighty attractive to me. And tires are a lot cheaper than a 5-speed.
Lowering the revs by ~8% sounds mighty attractive to me. And tires are a lot cheaper than a 5-speed.