Tire manufacturers have specs for the acceptable rim
width for each of their tires. When I got Yoko A-509
205/60/13 put on my SS repo LAT-70 the 5.5inch width was
OK with them(Yoko). Other than a little inside tread
wear from my negative camber on the front, wear pattern
looks fine. One of the fastest autocrossers around here
(Terry Taylor) has 205/60/13 Kuhmo's(I think it was) on
his original LAT-70s. I must have missed something,
WHAT exactly is the safety concern everyone is talking
about???
Gary
> Malcolm,
> I had not been aware of saftey concerns with mounting too wide a tire on a
> narrow rim, but the tire & rim width need to be a reasonable match for the
> tire to work properly.
> Too wide a tire will have the tread surface held in an arch, and you will
> not have full contact with the road.
> Additionally there will be a lot of side to side flex of the tire on the
> wheel, contributing to instability.
> I have chosen not to go over a 185/70-13 on my LAT 70 for those reasons.
> I am running Bridgestone Potenza's, H rated, not the stickiest thing around,
> but good for general road travel.
> I did at one time have a set of Yokahama 008 street legal autocros tires on
> the wheels, I believe they were 195/60-13. They were very sticky, but wore
> unevenly on the narrow wheels. I can see how the increased loads from modern
> performance tires could contribute to suspension failures, such as fulcrum
> pin breakage.
> I've been running tubes on my rims for 20+ years & have never had a tire
> failure, but I rarely get over 100 mph.
>
> Doug Leithauser
>
>
> Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2002 08:41:59 -0400
> From: "Malcolm McDonald" <suprmac@mac.com>
> Subject: LAT70 Tire Recommendations
>
> I have a set of LAT 70 wheels with no tires.
> I am getting them repaired and I have never had tires on them.
> I know that they are 13 x 5.5.
> I am not looking for Z rated tires but something better than all
> weather.
>
> I am looking into getting 205 50-13 in the rear and something smaller in
> front. It looks like there are a number of members that suggest getting
> the camber adjusted on the front tires in the set-up.
>
> Thanks in advance for your help.
> Malcolm
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