Fred,
Even on the round tail spit, with less tire clearance than the square
tails, you can go bigger than 175's. Right now I am using the same tires on
the street as those I autox on, figuring I don't drive that far anyway.
I am using 185/60/13 Yokohama A008R on all four corners without any
rubbing, even though I am lowered in all corners (again decreasing
clearance). I was beginning to become less than aesthetically pleased with
my spit until I bumped up the tire size. Now it looks less rickety. I
would recommend picking up a set of TR7 wheels at this size, however, from
Team Triumph or TSI to limit the bulge in the side wall. The 7 wheels I got
look nearly identical to my 76 spit wheels since they have the same hole
pattern.
Moving up to this tire size has made such a dramatic improvement in the
handling of the car that it no longer seems like the same car to me. I am
even considering trying 205/60/13 yokos in the rear to get rid of some of
the excessive inherent spit oversteer.
For a street tire, since most spits don't get many miles, I recommend
Yoko AVS Intermediates. Great grip and still good wear at $65 a piece, not
bad, and come in the right size.
Hope this helps,
Jim Libecco
76 ESP spit/summer daily driver
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 17:42:25 -0700
From: Fred Griffiths <griffco@mail.cadvision.com>
Subject: Tire sizes
Firstly, Happy New Year to those who have just had, or are about
to experience it. My computer still works, but my Spit won't start!
Millennium bug? Coincidence? It's only minus 10 Celsius.
I inherited two Spit rims with Pirelli P44 175/70 R13 tires on
them, good enough to keep. Now I need two more, but wonder about the
wider look of these tires. I use Michelin ZX (or is it XZX) on my other
Spit and these 175/70 tires look soooo wide. Would they be suitable for
front tires as well, or preferably rear? Would it be wise to use
different width tires front and rear?
Any experiences?
Cheers, Fred
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