Who Drives on 13" Wheels in 2015?

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There's nothing better than throwing a set of 4 155/80R13 on a nice little compact car from 1980-2002 and leave walmart for about $200 including tax. And frankly they rode better than my 2013 with 195/60R16
 
There's nothing wrong with 13's.

New cars have big dubs on no-profile tires for no reason. Not to mention how expensive these tires are and the fact that they don;t last very long. Every new car is a donk. 19/20-inch on normal family cars that only need 15-16 inches.

13, and even 12-inch wheels are just fine on the smallest cars like the smart and Mirage.
 
175/65/13 on the Scirocco, 5th ones in from the right on this pic

http://www.volksforum.com/forum/printthread.php?t=80104

Nice semi-rare 80s kitsch
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Can't run such little-bitty wheels on modern cars with big disc brakes. Even my '95 Merc requires 15s to clear the brake calipers. Newer models of the same car went to 17-inch wheels to accomodate larger brakes.
I stuck with the classic '92 "Italian Lace" alloys for my '95 Merc Resto. Brakes stay cool, with no fade.
 
I don't know, it depends on the platform and driver. My aspires had both 155/80r13 and 175/70r13.... the 175s handled better

My current soul has 195/60r15s and the tires seem to roll almost as hard as the aspire on 155s when thrown around a clover leaf.

I'm looking to go up to a 16, but 17s may end up cheaper...
 
The '15 Si we have came with the 18" runs which don't look bad. I've got 17" on the '10 fusion and '93 civic. Low profile on the Si but it's a sportier version that doesn't look or function badly. Factory 20's though... Why?
 
Weird also, cars need bigger brakes to slow down the extra mass of the bigger/larger wheels. There are plenty of newer cars, that have lousy brakes even though they are bigger. I would rather have better smaller/lighter brakes, than big/heavy [censored] brakes. 16 inch wheels always seemed optimal for most midsize and larger vehicles.
 
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Or go big or go home with 22's, 24's or 30's. And cheap no name rubber band tires with extremely poor treadwear and excessive NVH . Don't forget spinners bro, spinners. If your wheel game ain't tight youse can't play wit da big boyz.

I blame a certain car culture (Pimp My Ride, DUBS, etc) that influenced OEM's to equip cars with large wheels to make their cars to be in the "in" crowd.
 
Most commentator's have missed the obvious which is that tire suppliers in F1 are there to develop their product and increase their sales. They want 18" wheels so that is what will eventually happen.

The market for performance 13" tires is null. So much so that trying to find replacement tires for my father's 1975 Cosworth Twin Cam Vega has been near impossible in the stock size.

Change is hard, especially for the old retro grouch crowd, but it still happens.
 
Originally Posted By: BikeWhisperer

The market for performance 13" tires is null. So much so that trying to find replacement tires for my father's 1975 Cosworth Twin Cam Vega has been near impossible in the stock size.


The market for them is small because most Vegas have rusted out of existence
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Anyone one know of model year 2014 or 2015 cars, sold in the US market, that come with 13" wheels?
 
Originally Posted By: BikeWhisperer
……..trying to find replacement tires for my father's 1975 Cosworth Twin Cam Vega has been near impossible in the stock size…….


What size is stock?
 
Formula 1 uses 13" wheels as a performance limiter. You can only fit so much brake into a 13" wheel and you can't outrace your brakes. If effectively limits the performance on the car without issuing an outright decree on performance.

Listening to radio chatter during Monaco this morning, Lewis Hamilton was talking brake strategy even before his first tire swap. The team was suggesting more rear bias to take some strain away from the front brakes, which were nearly exceeding temperature.

The second part is suspension design and setup. The car is designed around a soft ballon-like sidewall. That extra sidewall compliance is treated as a suspension component. Take away the sidewall and the entire suspension and chassis setup needs to be rethought.

Considering chassis design happens one to two years in advance, don't expect to see new wheels in Formula 1 for at least three years.
 
13s on '94 hatch. 155/80/13 Firestone wintrforces for the snow and 175/70/13 Michelin Defenders. They Discountinued the winterforces in that size. Still might be able to find some laying around in a warehouse.
 
I had 13s on a 99 Accent. Door sticker indicated 155 or 175, car had 175. Think my sister's 03 Accent had them too.

Funny thing, aircooled VW beetles split the difference and ran 165s and they still make them, pretty much for that market.
 
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