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Tires

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DJThom

Jedi Hopeful
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Hi All

I've got 4 reasonably good tires that will see me through a couple more seasons, but need a tire for the spare wheel.

The tires I have now are Michelin 145-13 XAS. The sidewall height is around 90mm, so in today's nomenclature that makes them 145/60-13 or 145/65-13.

Where can I find some? Tirerack and Coker don't have those sizes.

Alternatively, when I go to replace my tires, what size should I get then if different from above?

Thanks
Darren
 
Decent 13's are getting hard to find these days now that there are no new performance cars that use this size. As sales drop, production lines get closed. You may have to go to a Vintage race tire despite their lack of DOT approval. Check Vredstein, I think they make a 13" tire for rallying.

Google Dunlop race tires, their US distributors carry other lines too and you might get lucky.
 
Darren, those XAS Michelins MUST be decades old! I've a set of Goodyear 145/80-13's on the Elan now. I wouldn't use THOSE for more than rolling it about in the garage. Any XAS would be like a ticking bomb.

Have you checked available Sumitomo's? The Elan has a VERY limited amount of room and these 145/80's were FINE on it.
 
I agree with Dr.Entropy,they must be as hard as nails by now with very little grip-dangerous on a push bike let alone an Elan.145/13 should translate to 145/80/13 in modern sizes
 
They still make the XAS's and apparently they are now made with a soft compound and are great, albeit narrow.

Cokers website says they carry them in a 165/13

You can get the Vredesteins here https://www.universaltire.com/cart.php?target=category&category_id=340

Not a high performance tire though

See these threads
https://www.lotuselan.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=67357&highlight=#67357

https://www.lotuselan.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=69144&highlight=#69144

I run Bridgestone RE92's which are not bad, 165/65/13 but the diameter is slightly smaller than stock, so not so good for the freeway.

I am looking for something a bit more high performance. Unfortunately, Yokohama stopped making the A032 in 13"

The Sumitomo's HTR 200 are supposed to be decent but they won't fit a stock Elan without smaller spring perches and fender flares
 
Thanks all for the info. I don't disagree. The tires are pretty hard even though they have been stored indoors and have hardly been driven on before the PO started a restoration that I've had the pleasure of finishing. It's just that my Lotus fund is pretty depleted at the end of this process...

I don't do a lot of freeway driving, but I do go attend a few vintage races every year that require it, so I'm hesitant to go with the RE92's per Morgan's note above.

I never saw anyone report back on those links above with feedback on the 155/80/13. I'd like to look into that one...
 
They will chew up your newly redone front fender lips with steering input and a bump.
 
So it seems the narrower but taller 145/80 may be the best bet in terms of fit and larger diameber versus the 165/65/13.
 
Remember that one of the charms of a car like a Lotus is the driftability of the car. I can understand putting hyper-sticky rubber on an autocrosser or other track car, but be careful not to alter the handling characteristics of the vehicle: i.e. the balance between power, grip and agility. Although with 155/145-13's there is probably no chance of that happening even if you wanted.
 
Yes, running stock rims. If the 155/80/13's will chew up my wheel wells, what about 165/70/13? Never saw anything on that size in the above links. There is a Yokohama tire at tire rack of that size.
 
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