There are several tire questions I'm responding to here, so forgive me
for forgetting people's names.
First off, as to 185/60-13 tires, Ulix is absolutely right; I do have a
round-arch car; I don't know of they'll fit on a square-arch or not.
Furthermore, I also have a Panhard rod and a large front swaybar; these
may conrtibute to the total lack of tire/body interference on my car (no
spacers).
Secondly, the line I have heard on why 155/80-13 tires are bad on a
Spridget is as follows: the improvement in traction is more than negated
by the "squishy" feel of the taller sidewalls. I'm not speaking from
experience, just quoting conventional wisdom.
Finding the diameter of a wheel/tire combo: Just take the section width
(first number), multiply by the aspect ratio, double that, convert to
inches, and add that to the wheel diameter. For instance:
185/60-13 tires: (185 mm)(0.6)(2)(1 in / 25.4 mm) + 13 in. = 21.74 in.
Another, simpler approach is to reduce the aspct ratio by ten while
increasing the section width by twenty, i.e. 145/80-13, 165/70-13, and
185/60-13 are all close enough to te same diameter.
And as for the gentleman looking for tires for a Saab, I heartily
recommend Yokohama A-509 tires. They are very reasonably priced and
long-lasting with excellent traction characteristics in wet or dry. Don't
try to use them in snow. I would call the Tire Rack about sizes; they
stock quite a few. Oh, diameter of 185/65-15 tires: 24.47 in. Diameter of
195/60-15 tires: 24.21 in. I would call that close enough to
interchange.
Hope this helps,
Michael Chaffee
mchaffee@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu
CCSO's secretary has officially disavowed any knowledge of my actions.
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