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Tire selection help for Bugeye

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ichthos

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Hello,
I have watched with envy all the great bugeyes over the past couple of years on the forum. It has been a long haul for me to restore my Bugeye, and it looks like my time has finally arrived. My Bugeye was gutted, stripped to bare metal, repaired, and should finally be home with the new paint job in the next couple of weeks or so. I have already media blasted the wheels, powdercoasted them rally silver, and now I need to get a new set of tires. From what I have read on the forum, 145SR13 were the original tire size. I have a few questions. First of all, what does the SR refer to? Coker lists 145R13 (R=radial?)tires ranging from $63 - $78, not including shipping. After I include mounting and balancing, it seems to be a very expensive deal. I read that having wider tires can cause rubbing on the inner fender wall - it this true? If I can buy locally and save a few bucks by dealing with someone like Les Schwab, I would be willing to settle for less than original. I don't want to save money, however, and buy tires that will give me grief later. Any help would greatly be appreciated.
Kevin
 
Gosh ichthos. I toiled with this decision a lot. Ultimately, I decided I wanted a tire that would fit the BE wheel well fully bc I wanted to (if possible) try to make the car look a little less diminutive. These Toyo tires went perfectly with what I was envisioning. Although the tires don't give the car the stance of a Cobra or anything, I think they help. The good news is that they also don't rub (at least on mine--full disclaimer--can't guarantee they will/won't on another car).

Let me know if you are interested, and I'll get the exact size for you tonight:

https://s158.photobucket.com/albums/t109/msoylemez/?action=view&current=DSC02874.jpg

https://s158.photobucket.com/albums/t109/msoylemez/?action=view&current=DSC02927.jpg

https://s158.photobucket.com/albums/t109/msoylemez/?action=view&current=DSC02892.jpg
 
I'm interested in the size - looks great!
 
Very very nice. Now please share with us what you did to the end of the exhaust to make it so preaty.
 
Hi. Here are the details about the tires:

Toyo 800 ULTRA 175/80 R13 86T.

It's kind of a one-off size...I had to research it and order through the internet. I ended buying from www.tires-easy.com for $50 per tire plus $20 shipping. In all, I thought, not too cheap, not too expensive--kinda middle of the road.

But more than the price though, again, I am really quite happy with how they "fit" the car. It's exactly what I had in mind, although I am sure there are folks out there that will probably disagree with me!

As for the car, thanks Jayrz. It looks a little different now (wasn't quite done when those pics were taken last year). All the "little" things you see missing/wrong in the pics are pretty much completed (like the bonnet fitting terribly--my lord that looks awful in those pics!)

Jlaird, I had the exhaust ceramic coated by an outfit called Performance Coatings. Nice look, I think, but not original, of course.
 
thanks
 
Thanks for all the information everyone. I looks like I have a little more homework to do. Is it the extra width that causes the rub on the inner fender? What would be the maximum width and hieght I could use before I would get fender rub?
Kevin
 
155R/80/13 Goodyear fit just fine and are about 40 bucks each.
 
Thanks Jack. I looked into the Centred tires for the 145R13's and the cheapest tire runs $75 delivered-ouch. I'm still not sure what the numbers mean. Can anyone give me tire reading 101 to let me know how to read a tire? I know the 13 refers to the width. Does the 155 refer to the height? If so, how much higher does a 155 raise the car, and are there any ill effects to using a larger tire? What does the 80 refer to?
Kevin
 
Kevin, the 13 refers to the wheel diameter, 145 refers to the width and if it has a /80 that would refer to the sidewall profile, i.e. a 155/70 would be a lower profile tire than a 155/80R13! The letter designates the speed rating for the tire.
 
Agree the R is for Race. Woops I ment Radial.
 
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