what?
If i had 13"s id be looking at these new Nangkang ns2r's. Available in 180 and 140 treadwear.
http://www.demon-tweeks.c...ng-sportnex-ns-2r-tyre

I called Nankang Australia a week ago regarding these. Sadly, they don't bring them into Australia in 13".
I have the Hankook Ventus V2 185/60/13 and they're a very good road tyre. Look great as well (nice side walls & tread pattern)

Hi Everyone. As some of you will know I have quite a background in tyres, particularly in motor sport. Yes the range available in 13" is getting slimmer. I have sold the Falken in the past and have had great reports. This is probably still the best available if you can get them. There are more options in a 175/70-13 but these are a bit narrow.
 
When I purchased my Sundowner it came with two new GT Radial 205/60-13 Champiro's. As I fitted to my first van in 1979 Goodyear GT Radials I decided to get another two 'GT Radials' for the set on the Sundowner. My expectations were very low so I have got to say that I am very impressed with their performance. In the dry you do get the obvious tread block movement, so they wouldn't be a tyre I'd recommend for track days but grip is more than adequate for road use. But in the wet is where I've been more than surprised. Last week I drove the car from Torquay to Canberra via Cann River. From Cann River to Canberra it absolutely bucketed down and the grip was great. After attending Muscle Car Master, and getting a lap of the track, I drove home in the afternoon. From Seymour to Torquay it again poured. Even on the smooth pavement the tyres were great.
 
For motorsport the best available in my opinion is the 175/60-13 Yokohama AO50. This comes in a number of compounds but the medium will give you excellent performance and some durability as they perform all the way to canvas. If you must have a 205/60-13 the Yokohama AO48 now has a new soft compound which is much better.
 
Anyway that's my two bob's worth. Hope it helps. Cheers, David Vervaart.

I don't think the Champiro 60s are available anymore either; at least judging by their website.

Great input David, perhaps my two GTs are a bad batch
 
I hadn't thought of going 175 as I'm after good performance at hillclimbs etc however, if a certain 175 was to grip better than available 185s or 205s then why not. Its a matter of grip over how the tyre looks for me

The other consideration is that numbers aren't always what they seem. Two different 175/60-13 tyres side by side can be very different. The 175/60-13 AO50 looks fine on a 7" rim. Also most manufacturers measure the width as a SECTION width. That is the width of the tyre at it's widest point including the side wall, so the tread width may be much less or similar. Where as almost all competition tyres the 175 is the tread width. Also some manufacturers just either get it wrong or state a size to suit other requirements. Below is a 175/60-13 Michelin TB15 on a 7" rim. Technically you can't use this in competition but obviously it's fine in the picture.
[image]C:\Users\David Vervaart\Pictures\Escorts[/image]
 

I bit the bullet and ordered a set of these
 

 
Yokohama A539 in 185/60 13
 
Fitted them to the car today and I am very happy with them. They took about 20-30km of hills driving to scrub in properly but now they are fantastic. I am really impressed with the amount of grip I have both during cornering and take off. They feel like a soft tyre however are printed Treadwear: 300
 
If you can justify just over 900 bucks for a set of 4 tyres I would certainly recommend these if you dont want to run semis.
 
Cheers,
Ryan

Hey Ryan,

Any photos of the tyres on the car? Need some rubber and the yoko's are an option. You running 7" wide rims by any chance?

//Lee

lee_doidge
Hey Ryan,

Any photos of the tyres on the car? Need some rubber and the yoko's are an option. You running 7" wide rims by any chance?

//Lee

Sure, I took a few photos after fitting them and when I went for a drive. These are the best I have for now. They are on a 6 inch wide rim. There is an obvious sidewall flex upon turn in which would be far less noticable on a 7.
 

 

Mastercraft Avenger GT 205/60R13 on 6" front, 7" rear; 5 years, 20,000klm road & track:
Positives - hold the car up off the ground, has RWL, period(ish) tread style
Negatives - Hard compound, (very) slippery when wet, poor hookup out of corners at speed, approx $200 ea 4 years ago, no longer available
extra info - replaced with approx 7mm tread depth remaining - outer edges of tyres crumbling, poor grip in any form of wet weather, limited grip in the dry
 
Federal SuperSteel 595 205/60R13 on 6" front, 7" rear; 4 months, 1,500klm road only:
Positives - very grippy wet and dry, 460 wear rating, DOT approved, $110 ea fitted
Negatives - block squirm in dry due to soft compound and deep tread depth - improving with heat cycles, non period tread style, not RWL
extra info - used in USA as control tyre for Ledgends racing category (American version of Aussie Racing) - similar grip levels wet & dry (incl tropical downpour 2" in 1 hr)

James a 460 wear rating is not very soft 80-120 is.
Cheers PJ