Bigger wheels

[denguy]

Finally got my 13" wheels on my 91. Kinda disappointed. The car looks better and rides better but has definitely lost some "pop". The 13s weigh a lot morer then the 12s [inertia] , of course, and reduce the gearing advantage [dia]. With this little torque available, the factory probably had the right idea with 12s. Going to check gas mileage pretty soon. I was getting 43 around here. It's flat and I never get over 55 mph.

[Safety Guy]

If you can find them and get a decent price, get a set of one of the following sizes:

175/60-13
165/65-13
165/70-13
185/60-13

I put them in order of my own preference. I wouldn't use the 185s if you have 4.5" wide wheels, but 5" wide should be fine.

If you really want some mechanical advantage in your tire size, then try this one:

175/50-13 Sumitomos. I wouldn't use this size if you are hauling heavy loads though.

Some other odd sizes that would be good if you could find them:

155/70-13
145/80-13

Karl

[bhazard]

155/80-13 and 175/70-13 are gonna be your two main choices. They're both well oversized (about 7-8% taller than stock) but youre gonna have to dig a lot deeper or pay more for the oddball sizes. Personally I'd take the 175/70 over the 155/80. They're shorter and will make the car handle better.

175/50-13 is a distant third in availability but those are actually a good bit shorter than stock. I'd use these if I wanted the car to handle and accelerate a lot better on an otherwise stock festy, also if the car was lowered. Pretty much all the tires in this size are gonna be summer tires so take that into consideration if you dont have a set of dedicated winter tires.

175/60-13 is pretty much identical in diameter to stock 12's but I've never actually found any. They would make the car handle a lot better and not mess up the gearing. Weight is still going to be higher though unless youre running a super light wheel like VX alloys.

165/65-13 is also pretty much identical to stock diameter, but less sporty than the 175/60.

[blkfordsedan]

I love the 175/50R13 Khumos that I have. They're pretty close in diameter to the original factory 145/80R12's. Just going from from 155/80R12 to the 175/50R13 made a noticeable difference in "zippiness" and a huge difference in handling. I typically drive 55 to 60MPH on the highway and the shorter tire put the cruise RPM right in the power band. It overtakes hills much better and my MPG increased. I think Tire Rack carries them at a reasonable price.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=175%2F&ratio=50&diameter=13&x=80&y=11

[1988festivazoom]

If u get the 185/60/13 I just bought some, they are nexen cp641's I love these tires and they are the same height as the factory 12's. My gps with the tires reads the exact same spped as my speed does. My other wheels and tires for summer are 195/60/14 falken azenis on alum wheels and there is a huge difference in acceleration with the smaller wheels. For the 185/60/13's I payed 330$ roughly mount and balanced and they are a 55,000 mile tire (supposedly) assuming u don't burnout.... but what fun would that be!

[denguy]

After reading the above it looks like i bought the wrong 13" tires.

[Safety Guy]

Lemme guess: 185/70-13, perhaps? Or forshame 185/80-13?

165/80, 175/80, 185/70, 195/70 would all be way too large to work, or at least, work well. They're just too tall.

On the other hand, for a mudder or winter car with raised suspension and maybe some other mods, 165/80-13 studded snows would be great. They would be relatively skinny to dig deep into the snow and should still fit without too much trouble. Raising the car up also helps keep it from pushing snow and hanging up in drifts.

Karl

[denguy]

Mine are 175-70 13. They fit OK with no rubbing ever and the car looks better then it did with the smaller stock wheels and tires. I guess you can't have everything.

[Charlie1717]

Mine are 175-70 13. They fit OK with no rubbing ever and the car looks better then it did with the smaller stock wheels and tires. I guess you can't have everything.

Those are fine (pretty common to find) They are taller than stock (7% I believe) I think someone said that before ^^ So when calculation gas mileage take that into account x 1.07 since your speedo will be a tad slow. I use a gps to figure out about how much it's off. It's really not a problem until I'm going interstate speeds where I need to remember it's wrong :p

[perucho]

...The 13s weigh a lot morer then the 12s [inertia] , of course, and reduce the gearing advantage [dia]...

How much morer do you think the wheels weigh?

I would be more concerned about the tire weight and height. A 15-pound tire will easily double the weight of a 13-inch wheel. And when you calculate the rotational inertia, the weight is linear but the radius is exponential. A tall, heavy tire is a lot morer bader than you think

I say, keep the wheels and tires. Get Aspire brakes and a BP to compensate!

[denguy]

What's a BP?

[25Horseplay]

What's a BP?

A bigger engine, its a 1.8 liter DOHC from an Escort GT or Protege LX.

[denguy]

Thanks...........