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TR2/3/3A TR3 tire size & recommendations for disk wheels

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tdskip

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Good morning folks.

For stock disk rims what do you all think the best tire size / maker would be for fast road use?
 
Probably 165SR15 is about the widest that would fit safely while maintaining close to original diameter (and, therefore, gearing, etc.). Choices are getting pretty limited, though, and recent indications are that even Tirerack.com has the Kumhos in that size on backorder.
 
When I had the TR3, I bought 165/15 Vredestein Sprints. Great tires and rated highly.

Our sponsor, Tire Rack, doesn't seem to have Vredesteins, but this place does:

https://www.britishwirewheel.com/tires.htm
 
Re: TR3 tire size & recommendations for disk wheel

tdskip said:
Hi Andy & Mickey - thanks for the super fast response.

Would that translate to a 185/70SR13 in a modern tire?
Click to expand...
Well, actually 185/70 15! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif But yes, that would be about the same diameter. Problem is that most tire manufacturers will want to see at least a 5" wide rim for a 185/70....
 
Re: TR3 tire size & recommendations for disk wheel

Ah - thanks. Not enough coffee yet to do the math....

Tirerack.com seems to show a pretty good choice (as in more than one brand in stock) for 185/70/13, 14's and 15's.

Are the 185/70/15's a good choice for fast road use or do you think are they too much tire for the car/chassis?
 
Re: TR3 tire size & recommendations for disk wheel

FYI - if you mis-dial the Tire Rack toll free number you get connected to a phone service offering "fascinating and stimulating conversation....". I didn't stick around to find out, but I'm guessing it was most likely not conversation about tires...
 
Re: TR3 tire size & recommendations for disk wheel

I ran 185/65-15 on stock rims for awhile on my TR3A, and liked the result. Not an approved match, as Andy says the tire makers recommend a 5" minimum wheel width. But I found a shop that was willing to install them for me, and they handled noticeably better than the old 165s did, IMO. But I also had sway bars by then, so maybe they wouldn't work as well on a stock suspension.

Our local club takes a run up Angeles Crest Hwy (which is a fairly twisty mountain road) every year. Few years back a fellow club member with a very original TR3 was complaining that everyone else was driving too fast ... I told him I wanted to drive faster /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif

The results were so good that I continued going wider ... wound up with 205/55-15 on TR6 rims. Next step was going to be a stiffer front sway bar and maybe a Panhard rod, but unfortunately there was this Toyota that wasn't watching the road ...
 
Re: TR3 tire size & recommendations for disk wheel

TR3driver said:
I ran 185/65-15 on stock rims for awhile on my TR3A, and liked the result. Not an approved match, as Andy says the tire makers recommend a 5" minimum wheel width. But I found a shop that was willing to install them for me, and they handled noticeably better than the old 165s did, IMO....
Click to expand...
Yeah, I didn't want to say this, but Randall has "opened the door": I personally have also violated manufacturers' recommendations without harm. Although 4.5" rims used to be acceptable in the olden days for a 175/70SR13, most tire manufacturers now seem to want a minimum 5" rim. But I've run 175/70 tires on 4.5" rims for the better part of 30 years now off and on and have never had any problems at all. I don't really want to come right out and say that it should be fine to run 185/65 15s on your stock 4.5" TR wheels, but.... /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/whistle.gif
 
Re: TR3 tire size & recommendations for disk wheel

Thanks guys. I'm going to need a non-LBC tire place to install these, someone like Big-O.

Will they do this if I choose the 185/65 15s, or do you think they are going to refuse due to safety issues???
 
Re: TR3 tire size & recommendations for disk wheel

A lot of chain tyre shops will not mount tires to wheels that would in anyway implicate them in a potential lawsuit. Fed laws for tire shops have gotten stiffer the last few years, so the shops are treading lightly, when it comes to mods and widths...

Might be able to buy the tires and take them to your friendly gas station for mounting.
 
Re: TR3 tire size & recommendations for disk wheel

Depends on the store. IMO, big chains (like Big-O) are more likely to refuse. But my little independant shop never said a word. They also seem a lot happier to get my business when I bring my own tires (from TireRack). The big guys tend to get testy about that too.
 
Re: TR3 tire size & recommendations for disk wheel

Andrew Mace said:
Although 4.5" rims used to be acceptable in the olden days for a 175/70SR13, most tire manufacturers now seem to want a minimum 5" rim.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, I didn't even know that. The folks at Walmart didn't bat an eye when I asked them to mount 175/70 on my Sports 6 rims (which I think are 4.5" or maybe 4").
 
Re: TR3 tire size & recommendations for disk wheel

For those interested, the rule of thumb for tires that are larger then a "50" series is that the rim width must be at least 70% of the tire width. You can play with the math going back and forth between millimeters and inches, but what it comes out to, is that for 185 tires...5" rim. For a 4 1/2" rim, 165's. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

Edit: Here are some actual calculated numbers I did on a post last month...

165 = 6.5" x 70% = 4.5" rim width
175 = 6.9" x 70% = 4.8"
185 = 7.3" x 70% = 5.1"
195 = 7.7" x 70% = 5.4"
205 = 8.0" x 70% = 5.6"
215 = 8.4" x 70% = 5.9"
 
Re: TR3 tire size & recommendations for disk wheel

TR3driver said:
Andrew Mace said:
Although 4.5" rims used to be acceptable in the olden days for a 175/70SR13, most tire manufacturers now seem to want a minimum 5" rim.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, I didn't even know that. The folks at Walmart didn't bat an eye when I asked them to mount 175/70 on my Sports 6 rims (which I think are 4.5" or maybe 4").
Click to expand...
Genuine, original Sports 6 rims were "heavy duty" rims (as found on the Herald Estates and Couriers), but only 3.5" wide!

But then, I know someone with a Triumph 10 sedan who put 185 x 13 tires on his original 3.5" rims! Like the "balloon" tires of the 1930s....
 
Re: TR3 tire size & recommendations for disk wheel

Andrew Mace said:
Genuine, original Sports 6 rims were "heavy duty" rims (as found on the Herald Estates and Couriers), but only 3.5" wide!
Click to expand...
It's gone now, so I can't check, but I believe they were the original "heavy duty" rims.

And the 175 tires did look a little like the old 'balloon' tires !
 
Re: TR3 tire size & recommendations for disk wheel

So, to net all of this out, it does look like for the stock TR3 rim a 185/65 15s should work fine so long as I can find a local place to install them. Yes?

(sorry for triple checking - I'll explain next week)
 
Re: TR3 tire size & recommendations for disk wheel

All I can say is, they worked fine for me, even though the "experts" say not to do it. Beyond that, you're on your own !
 
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