jbcottrell Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 I know they may stick out a little, but does anybody have experience with 7 inch Libres with no flares? Quote Link to comment
shacks510 Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 My dad had 13x7 Libres on his four door back in the 1990s. Fronts were 205/60 I believe, rears were 225/50. The car was low enough to drive fine in normal conditions. Hit a big bump and the rear would rub. You could make them fit under a non-flared car with some camber, fender rolling, and a 185/70r13. Falken and Kumho make that size with a 50k mile and up tread life. This red car is/was a forum member I believe. Quote Link to comment
jbcottrell Posted October 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 That red car is gorgeous!! That's exactly what I'm going for. Maybe a 185/60-13 would be even better? Lots of juicy tires in that size too. The Federal SS-595 looks pretty good. Quote Link to comment
shacks510 Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 I haven't seen a 185/60 on a 13x7. I've seen Falken 185/70 on a 13x7 and it had about the same side wall as above. The sidewall was flared out a bit and had a streched look, but not excessive. Going with a 60 series will make the tire's diameter smaller, your tires will wind up quick, and you'll run out of gears before you know it. Good for rapid acceleration; bad for freeway speeds and gas mileage, not to mention high engine RPMs. If that's the route you want to go, you could pick up a 3:70 Subaru rearend to balance it out a little. A note on the Federals. I was looking at a few different models they had in the size I wanted. All were either discontinued years ago, meaning any stock someone had meant the tires were old and dried out, even though never mounted; or were on back order with no estimate of when they'd become available again. Nankang also had a 205/60r13, which their site said that model of tire was new for 2014, but all the tire shops around me told me the same thing; they were on backorder with no idea of when they'd be available, and that was direct word from Nankang. It seems to be a US thing with very limited availability of 13" tires. You can get 13" tires in any size all day in Japan. Europe and Australia also seem to have a larger market. I had 13x7 Libres, and I got rid of them because the only readily available tire in the size I wanted, 205/60r13 Falken track tires, were $600+ a set, and had a very low tread life rating. I haven't looked for 13" tires for about three months now because I don't have a need to, but more tires in that size could pop up because of demand. I picked up a set of 16" wheels that I got for a good price, and I know availability of 16" tires is plentiful, and will be for years to come. If it wasn't for me finding the wheels I have now, my car would still be sitting. Tires was the last big dollar item that needed to be done. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 I know they may stick out a little, but does anybody have experience with 7 inch Libres with no flares? Without knowing the off set this is meaningless unless the Libres only come in one design. The off set determines how far out or in the rim and tire is in the wheelwell. Positive off set moves the rim in towards the car. Negative off set moves the rim outward into the fender. You do not need to ruin a car by cutting or rolling a fender or runing flairs if you do your homework and select a proper 7" rim that fits. I say this all the time... don't buy rims and make the car fit them, always always make the rims fit the car.. 1 Quote Link to comment
bananahamuck Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 From the many posts i have read in the subject,,, Europeans can't get wide low profile 13's any better than we can,, 12s maybe i have 215/60/13s in back of my 71 510 and they are definitely a gnats ass from rubbing. If you want low AND fat you're going to have to go to a company like Hoosier racing tires,, yeah they aren't cheep and they wear fast,,, but like it has been said many times before,, you have to PAY to PLAY . Quote Link to comment
shacks510 Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Without knowing the off set this is meaningless unless the Libres only come in one design. The off set determines how far out or in the rim and tire is in the wheelwell. Positive off set moves the rim in towards the car. Negative off set moves the rim outward into the fender. You do not need to ruin a car by cutting or rolling a fender or runing flairs if you do your homework and select a proper 7" rim that fits. I say this all the time... don't buy rims and make the car fit them, always always make the rims fit the car..13" Libres only came in two designs; 5.5" and 7" wide with zero offset. The photo I posted above of the white car is how much 7" pokes with the tire specs I talked about. Using let's say a 15x7, you'd want about +21 offset, with some fender rolling to clear. Quote Link to comment
jbcottrell Posted October 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 This whole project is about nostalgia and those Libres on a 510 have pulled at the heart strings for many years. I do understand what you're saying about the 60 series tires being too short. I suppose I could run the 70's on the Libres for the street. Tire Rack has some pedestrian looking Kuhmos in the 185-70-13 size. Maybe get some 15s with 195/50-15 Toyo R1Rs for autocross. I saw the Toyo RA-1/R888s in a 185/60-13 and have really had great results with those tires on the track and the street. All great information guys! I really appreciate it. I'm new again to the 510 game after about 30 years without one! Quote Link to comment
bananahamuck Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 I run 70+ easy down the freeway with 60 series 13s with a mostly stock 1600 4speed , i have recently moved to a 5speed and it hums right along side anything out there no problems at all. I say go for it ,, my 14" 70 series winter tires actually bog at 60mph in 5th now. Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 I haven't seen a 185/60 on a 13x7. I've seen Falken 185/70 on a 13x7 Quote Link to comment
graveltrapp Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 70 series are for Plymouth Kcars go with 60's. 185=7.28 inches 60% of 7.28 should be around a 4.37" sidewall 70series will give you an additional .73 inches or a tire that us 1.46 inches taller A little better for highway driving but also a bit aesthetically challenged. Quote Link to comment
thatdirtykid Posted November 1, 2014 Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 If you haven't heard about them, Tires-Easy is a great place to get decent tires at a great price. Shipping is usually fast and I have heard good things about their road hazard insurance. They always seem to have a good selection of odd sized tires as well. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted November 1, 2014 Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 This whole project is about nostalgia and those Libres on a 510 have pulled at the heart strings for many years. I do understand what you're saying about the 60 series tires being too short. I suppose I could run the 70's on the Libres for the street. Tire Rack has some pedestrian looking Kuhmos in the 185-70-13 size. Maybe get some 15s with 195/50-15 Toyo R1Rs for autocross. I saw the Toyo RA-1/R888s in a 185/60-13 and have really had great results with those tires on the track and the street. All great information guys! I really appreciate it. I'm new again to the 510 game after about 30 years without one! I run 70+ easy down the freeway with 60 series 13s with a mostly stock 1600 4speed , i have recently moved to a 5speed and it hums right along side anything out there no problems at all. I say go for it ,, my 14" 70 series winter tires actually bog at 60mph in 5th now. 70 series are for Plymouth Kcars go with 60's. 185=7.28 inches 60% of 7.28 should be around a 4.37" sidewall 70series will give you an additional .73 inches or a tire that us 1.46 inches taller A little better for highway driving but also a bit aesthetically challenged. Stock tire on a 510 is 5:60 X 13. This is equivalent to.... P165/80R13 ......... 23.39" tall and 6.5" wide.... a perfect fit for a 510. P185/70R13.......... 23.28" tall and 7.28" wide... also a good fit just wider. Who says 70s are for K cars??? The only 60 series tires in 13" that are withing 1/4" of the stock are... 215/60R13............ 8.46" wide 235/55R13............ 9.25" 260/50R13........... 10.24" The following tires and rim size are the same diameter (within 0.25") as the stock tire and rim so the speedometer and acceleration is unaffected and the tires still fit the wheel opening for looks. Only the rim diameter and width of tire may be different. P195/60R14............ 23.2" tall and 7.68" wide P175/60R15............ 23.27" tall and 6.89" wide P165/55R16............ 23.15" tall and 6.50" wide P185/50R16............ 23.28" tall and 7.28" wide 1 Quote Link to comment
505plus5 Posted November 23, 2014 Report Share Posted November 23, 2014 Great discussion, y'all!!! Quote Link to comment
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