New 12" tires

[denguy]

Anyone know of a source for new 12" tires?

[rollertoaster]

I got a 2 145r12s during winter from tire rack for $53 each. After seeing how cheap and plentiful 13 inchers are I'll be most likely going that route.

I was considering 14"s but the selection seems to be better in 13"s


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[sc72]

Check with Neanderpaul he had a new pair of sticker tires.

[denguy]

I'm giving up on the 13" wheels on the front. I changed everything in the front end on 2 Festys and couldn't lose the shake at 55+. Could be the wheels I was using [hyundis]. Put my old 12s back on and every thing was ok. I'm tired of fooling with it. Maybe the little Festy front end is tuned for tiny 12s and that's about all it can handle. The 12" wheel and tire weighs 20#s , the 13" wheel and tire wheighs 30#s.

[TominMO]

I'm giving up on the 13" wheels on the front. I changed everything in the front end on 2 Festys and couldn't lose the shake at 55+. Could be the wheels I was using [hyundis]. Put my old 12s back on and every thing was ok. I'm tired of fooling with it. Maybe the little Festy front end is tuned for tiny 12s and that's about all it can handle. The 12" wheel and tire weighs 20#s , the 13" wheel and tire weighs 30#s.

Sounds like your tires are not properly balanced. Many people here are running heavier wheels and tires with no issues.

[mikeand]

I just got two Hercules brand tires for $40ish a piece, $67 a piece out the door, mounted and balance and all the other crap.

[briggs]

I'd say out of balance also

[WmWatt]

Here in Canada Canadian Tire had 12" tires in their flyer a few weeks ago. I didn't think they carried them any more. I was intending to go to the RV store and check out the 12" trailer tires to see what the load capacity is. My current tires have the load capacity printed on the sidewall. If 12" trailer tires can be used there should be lots of them at all those RV stores in Florida.

[fastivaca]

I'm giving up on the 13" wheels on the front. I changed everything in the front end on 2 Festys and couldn't lose the shake at 55+. Could be the wheels I was using [hyundis]. Put my old 12s back on and every thing was ok. I'm tired of fooling with it. Maybe the little Festy front end is tuned for tiny 12s and that's about all it can handle. The 12" wheel and tire weighs 20#s , the 13" wheel and tire wheighs 30#s.

If I remember correctly Festivas and Aspires use "hubcentric" wheels which means they rely on a snug fit in the middle to keep the wheel centered on the hub. If the center bore of the wheels you are using is too big then there's room for the wheel to move around, even with tapered lug bolts. If that happens you will experience shakes, wobbles and vibration as if the wheels were out of balance.

I've run with 13" wheels with the correct center bore for quite some time and haven't had any problems that a proper wheel balance didn't fix.

[kumalaba]

Here in Canada Canadian Tire had 12" tires in their flyer a few weeks ago. I didn't think they carried them any more. I was intending to go to the RV store and check out the 12" trailer tires to see what the load capacity is. My current tires have the load capacity printed on the sidewall. If 12" trailer tires can be used there should be lots of them at all those RV stores in Florida.

i wouldnt run trailer tires

[roycehof]

Tires-easy.com has 12 inch tires.

[200KGPGTP]

Got a set of 4 from tirerack about 2 months ago

[denguy]

I think Festivaca may have hit the nail on the head. My Hyundi wheels have center holes that are made in such a way that they have no contact with the center hub on a Festy. I just assumed that the tapered lug bolts would hold them on center. I have checked them for runout after driving and found them to be out. I will have to look into making some sort of spacer-bushing to keep them centered or just give up on them.

[Banana Bonanza]

I think its a bent rim. Cars make it to junkyard for a reason and rims off them can look perfectly fine but be bent and you never will balance out a shimmy-shake on bent rim.

I had to convert to 13 inch cause nobody local had 12 inchers and the mail order places wanted crazy prices. I was perfectly happy with 12 inch back when Wallyworld had them $25 cash and carry. I never balanced them back then, I mean pay half the price of a new tire just to balance it? No shimmy-shake. They were just el cheapo new tires and tread wore evenly but didnt last 10k miles.

Anyway converting to 13, I have two Mazda 323 steel rims. Neither fit the center snuggly like original Festy rims. One Hyundai steel rim. Its open center depending entirely on bolts And I used the original yellow temporary spare tire rim that came with the Festiva. Its 13 inch and is wide enough to mount a 155R13 with no problem. For spare I have one of the 12 inchers that is still in pretty good shape though I also have a 3rd 323 rim that needs a tire. The Festy rim and the Hyundai rim both have good tires mounted unbalanced and they are on front of car. The 323 rims are on back of car and have the tires that came with them from junkyard though going to have to replace them with Wally's cheapest 13 inch as they are cracked and wearing down to marginal tread. I have no problem with shimmy or shake though I rarely go over 60mph. The faster you go, the more balancing matters though usually if you have balance problem its usually going to show at 45 to 55.

As to trailer tires, they arent cheap. If stuck someplace and desperate to get back on road, they arent any worse than driving on temporary spare. But not good idea to put four of them on long term. Saying that, I knew a guy with some 60s era Subaru way back when, that had 12 inchers and he used trailer tires. Said he had no problem. Just cant imagine them handling real well but whatever. Said they lasted forever.

[Safety Guy]

I'd only use trailer tires in a dire emergency, to get to a better tire. I wouldn't exceed 55 mph with them then.

Karl