twobone Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I know the standard thinking is a 185 tire on a 13X6 rim. Just curious if anyone has had experience with a 205 tire on a 13X6? I have read in other forums for other cars that you can have issues with over-size tires. Interestingly, Toyo has the R888 description for rim size for the 205/60/13 as: 5.5 - 6.0 - 7.5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I've run both the RA-1 and R888 in 205/60-13 on 6" rims with no issues. Before doing that I spoke with Toyo and one of their dealers who specializes in race rubber and they both indicated that although 7" might work a bit better, there was no problem running that width on a 6" wheel. -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobone Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 John, You are a prince among men! I may end up finding I lose a bit of steering delicacy, but I'd like to beef up my stance a bit. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bball7754 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Also run 205 RA-1's on my 13X6 rims. No issues with about 10-12 trackdays on them. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobone Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 bball7754 Can you post a pic if you have one handy of your car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I really wanted to go with 185/60-13 up front for steering feel, but I wasn’t willing to lose 1/2” of ground clearance. BTW for what it’s worth, I prefer the RA-1 to the R888. The sidewalls are softer on the former which seem to work a little better on such a light car and result in (to me at least) sweeter handling. Grip, however, is noticeably better with the R888. -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I ran 205/55-14's on my Miata for auto-X. Some guys ran 225's on their 6" stock Miata rims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobone Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 Interesting observation. For a very very short time I had RA1s on my 911 (which I sold to buy the Caterham). I found them not very grippy or confidence inspiring. Then again, I never got any heat into them. I'm hopeful the R888 will serve me well. They are also a fair bit cheaper. Lets hope my lower back can handle the harder sidewalls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bball7754 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Sure. From a trackday at Hallett. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobone Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 I'd like to beef up my rather skinny stance. My tires have lots of tread left, but I can't find a date on them and they are starting to "age-crack". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxologist Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 275s on a 6" wheel. just do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboeric Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I can't find a date on them and they are starting to "age-crack". How to find the age of a tire: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 As I have posted before (many times, sorry to be so persistent guys), the single best change I made to my Caterham to date was new RA1's. And I have made a LOT of changes.The car's handling was transformed. I have put 10-12K miles on them, including many track days and they are still going strong, tho visible tread is nearly gone, so they are dry tires only. Steve(BBall): Any problem matching your lovely Pansport-type wheels to your Caterham's bolt pattern? Who manufactured the wheels? Do you have the 3.90 diff? If so, does the engine spin like crazy w/the smaller diameter wheels (My car has 15" wheels and 205/55 tires, so 13" tires wld basically subtract a gear, and make highway cruising difficult/noisy). Mike M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Mike, the difference to gearing may not be as dramatic as you think. The circumference of the 205/60-13 is only 5% smaller, so if you are turning 3000rpm at cruising speed, you would now turn 3150rpm. The good news is that thanks to the gearing you'll now get to cruising speed a little more quickly -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bball7754 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Mike - What John said. I would say it's a couple thou higher at highway speeds. However, I do feel the difference at track days. The 13" wheels (my "normal" wheels are 14") feel lighter at turn in, and it feels like it accelerates a bit quicker. They actually are Panasport wheels. I purchased them used from a Caterham owner with a deDion car, so I knew they would fit. I think you'd notice quite a bit of difference going from 15" to 13". Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 (edited) Thx guys. When I went from 185/60-14 to 205/50-13 on my Miata, I lost a gear (4th became 3rd, etc.). Since it was purely for track use I didn't care, car accelerated harder, cornered much better. On Hoosiers I was just 2 seconds a lap slower at Putnam than in my Caterham. The Miata had 15 more hp but weighed 1000 lbs more. Tires help:)! I am toying with a dedicated track wheel/tire set up so 13" mite be the way to go.Love the Pansport look. Edited January 25, 2011 by Kitcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Here's a link to a tire size comparator. http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html Its at the bottom of the page. Keep in mind that all tires of a give size are not created equal as far as diameter, width and aspect ratio but it gives a pretty good comparison. It is set up for the stock tire size for an early Miata but you can change it to whatever size you want and can put several tires sizes in there to compare many sizes against your base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest speedcraft Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Agree with Kitcat...in that tires make a noticeable difference. ive run a few sets of R888's [13"] and recently put a set of staggered 175 fronts, 205 rears of the CR500's on and the dedion car turns i think the way it was meant to. the R888's in contrast feel heavy and slow on the turn in [185 fronts 205 rears as well as ive run 185's all around]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian7 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 but I can't find a date on them look for a 4-digit number molded in to the sidewall inside an racetrack shaped area, it is the month and year of manufacture of the tire. e.g. 2409 would be the 24th week of 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Its the last four digits of a much longer number. It looks indented into the tire vs. everything else on the sidewall which is raised lettering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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