A harsh ride will make a car handle worse because the tires loose contact when you hit a bump. You don't see Bob running small wheels and streched tires on his toys which smoke on the track! Show me a real full size race car with 13 or 14 inch wheels.
I believe my 205s are a little wider than 185s are, plus why would you want a shorter tire that throws off your speedometer. The streched tires ride worse and handle worse than properly sized tires on correctly sized rims. You don't see 13 inch wheels with streched tires on race cars!
Don't feel bad, That's why I haven't posted any in a long time. I still can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. If you run across any more Malloy licience frames, I would love to have one, that's where I bought my 76 new.
I would say it was error in tuning, small engines are a lot more sensitive to jetting, so it is a lot easier to fry a piston. They have been making quality pistons for years, we use them in our bikes back in the 60s.