I recently purchased a set of 16" X7" Panasports and a set of Dunlop ??? 205 X
55 X16 inch tires. I bought the 55 series tires because they were the tallest
performance type tire I could find that had the look I wanted. I previously
had 215 X 60 X15 tires on my standard TR6 wheels. I have tube shocks in the
rear, "uprated" (read slightly stiffer and shorter) springs and have
experienced no rubbing of any of the tires on the body. My personal opinion is
that the 205 series is about as wide as you want to go on a street type driver.
I also have noticed a distinct increase in the harshness of the ride over
bumps in the road with the shorter aspect ratio tire and 25 psi of air in the
tires. I believe that the increase in harshness is related to the 55 aspect of
the tires, not the Panasport wheels. The best I can determine the 205 X 55 X
16 are about 4% smaller than the stock wheels making my speed about 70 MPH when
the speedo reads 75. This does increase the RPMs slightly but I have OD so it
is not significant to me. The overall ride with the new wheels, except over
bumps, can best be described as smoother than with the stock wheels. I think
the Panasports ride better and look wonderful. I got my Panasport wheels at
Spruell (NFI) for $208 each plus shipping, which was less than anwhere else I
could find.
Mike Lunsford, 1970 TR6
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