tire size

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toml
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2010 10:40 pm
Your car is a: 1978 spider

tire size

Post by toml »

Can anyone help in picking a good make and tire size for my 1978 spider? . Thanks
redcars
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Posts: 487
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:36 pm
Your car is a: 1981 Spider 2000
Location: Collinsville, IL

Re: tire size

Post by redcars »

More information is needed before that can be answered. Do you what to stay with the orginal 13" wheels, or are you going to go to anouther fiat wheel like the 14" later wheels, or maybe 15"or 16" or larger after market wheels? No recommendation on tires can be made untill you decide which size wheels you what. FYI 13" and 14" tires are getting hard to find in most sizes and most of what you can find is not a porformance tire. If you don't want your gearing to change keep you tire diameter close to the orignal tires. Just food for tought. Happy hunting.
1987 Lotus Super 7 clone
1981 Fiat Spider 2000 AT
1982 Fiat Spider 2000 5sd
1970 Fiat Coupe
toml
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2010 10:40 pm
Your car is a: 1978 spider

Re: tire size

Post by toml »

Thanks, the size on the car now is p185/70r13. They have good size cracks in them and need to be replaced. I think the car was sitting for years.
redcars
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Posts: 487
Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:36 pm
Your car is a: 1981 Spider 2000
Location: Collinsville, IL

Re: tire size

Post by redcars »

I checked Tirerack and they offered 2 tires in the 185/70R13 size which would keep your gearing close to stock. Both of these tires would work OK if you don't plan on hard corning, although they would most likely work better than what came on the 124 when it was new.
1987 Lotus Super 7 clone
1981 Fiat Spider 2000 AT
1982 Fiat Spider 2000 5sd
1970 Fiat Coupe
toml
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2010 10:40 pm
Your car is a: 1978 spider

Re: tire size

Post by toml »

Thanks
So Cal Mark

Re: tire size

Post by So Cal Mark »

We use Sumitomos in 185/60 or 205/60 with the stock wheels. They work well and are pretty inexpensive
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Zippy
Posts: 585
Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 10:06 pm
Your car is a: 1978 Fiat
Location: Real Close to Milton, WA

Re: tire size

Post by Zippy »

Go here http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-3985371-10436925 enter your tire size. Last time I checked there were 29 different tires ranging in price from about $41 to $69. Of course you will have to add shipping and pay to have them installed but it gives you a good selection to go shopping for.

I have never used their service so I can't vouch for them. I use this site for reference and then shop around to find a local store to buy from.
1978 Spider
mdrburchette
Posts: 5754
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 5:49 am
Your car is a: 1972 Fiat 124 Sport
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Re: tire size

Post by mdrburchette »

Can you still get 205/60's in a 13"? I'd like to put something like that on the CD30 wheels I have set aside for my X19. I gotta do a complete suspension reubuild on it first though.
1972 124 Spider (Don)
1971 124 Spider (Juan)
1986 Bertone X19 (Blue)
1978 124 Spider Lemons racer
1974 X19 SCCA racer (Paul)
2012 500 Prima Edizione #19 (Mini Rossa)
Ever changing count of parts cars....It's a disease!
So Cal Mark

Re: tire size

Post by So Cal Mark »

yes, 205/60 is still available
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Zippy
Posts: 585
Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 10:06 pm
Your car is a: 1978 Fiat
Location: Real Close to Milton, WA

Re: tire size

Post by Zippy »

mdrburchette wrote:Can you still get 205/60's in a 13"? I'd like to put something like that on the CD30 wheels I have set aside for my X19. I gotta do a complete suspension reubuild on it first though.
I have the Ohtsu Bestum tires on my CD30s. As near as I can tell Ohtsu was either aquired by Falken or was a division of them or their parent company. These tires are no longer available. If I ever have to replace them I will either go with the Sumitomo HTR200 (even though I have heard they are not rated very good) or if I have enough money the Toyo PROXES RA-1. I will consider any other recommendations
Here is a link to a full size image of my tire and wheel. If you hit Ctrl - you can zoom out. Ctrl + to zoom back in. You can see all the details of the tire.
http://www.cruzin.us/CD30.html
1978 Spider
mdrburchette
Posts: 5754
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 5:49 am
Your car is a: 1972 Fiat 124 Sport
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Re: tire size

Post by mdrburchette »

Your wheels are beautiful!
1972 124 Spider (Don)
1971 124 Spider (Juan)
1986 Bertone X19 (Blue)
1978 124 Spider Lemons racer
1974 X19 SCCA racer (Paul)
2012 500 Prima Edizione #19 (Mini Rossa)
Ever changing count of parts cars....It's a disease!
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ga.spyder
Posts: 3478
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:19 pm
Your car is a: 1982 Spider 2000
Location: Blairsville ,Ga.

Re: tire size

Post by ga.spyder »

I put the 205/60 Sumi's on the X(per Marks reccomendation).They are a good fit,and the car handles much better.They are very cheap fron TireRack,and are the only performance tire listed in that size range.You have to go to 15'' to get a large selection of summer performance tires.
Craig Nelson

1982 Spider 2000...pride and joy
1981 Fiat X1/9..gone but not forgotten
1976 124 Spider..the self-healer
2001 BMW 328ci daily driver and track car
Fling It Around Turns !
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Zippy
Posts: 585
Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 10:06 pm
Your car is a: 1978 Fiat
Location: Real Close to Milton, WA

Re: tire size

Post by Zippy »

mdrburchette wrote:Your wheels are beautiful!
Thanks, I wish they all looked that good. The front driver's side wheel had a leaking cylinder and the brake fluid ruined the finish. I thought the PO powder coated them but I guess they are just paint. I just haven't taken the time to fix it. The center caps are all starting to fade too. :roll:
1978 Spider
LStevens

Re: tire size

Post by LStevens »

I got some 185/70/13 Falken tires for my 74 spider at America's Tires. I got a $50 rebate for buying 4 and another $50 rebate for signing up for their credit card & $20 back for donating 5 canned goods. So with my CALIF taxes, mounting, life-time balancing, rotation, repairs & 4 certificates for FREE Replacement my 4 tires came out to $195.13!

They're nice tires - good tread pattern and handle pretty well

http://www.americastire.com/dtcs/tires/ ... r=70&rd=13
surfingfreeman
Posts: 388
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 10:34 pm
Your car is a: 1982 2000 FI
Location: Burlingame, California

Re: tire size

Post by surfingfreeman »

I'm going down to Big O tire in the morning to have them put on a set of 195/60/r14 tires, they are the HTR 200 by Sumitomo, I was trying to find the 205/60/14 but according to Sumitomo they stopped making that Model size, out the door price for everything mounted was $350 the tire seemed to have favorable reviews on tirerack and in their "tests".
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