<VV> The End of 13 Inch Tires

[Jeffrey Williams]

We've sourced sets of the Hankook 13" whitewall tires three times this past month with no problems. However, the brand selection for 13"s has declined so much over the past few years it's pretty obvious they would soon disappear from the market. Seems like cheap blackwall 13" tires are still plentiful though.




________________________________
From: Marc Marcoulides <hharpo at earthlink.net>
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
Sent: Fri, April 16, 2010 9:28:08 AM
Subject: Re: <VV> The End of 13 Inch Tires

I have 15" Z28 rims on my 65 and love what they do for the appearance and ride of the car. I respect the enthusiast who wants 13's because that is how Chevy made the car. I am glad I have the room under the fender to modernize my vair and don't believe it takes away from the car. Just my 2 cents


-----Original Message-----
>From: Ken Maxwell <kobramax at insightbb.com>
>Sent: Apr 16, 2010 9:02 AM
>To: Virtual Vairs <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
>Subject: <VV> The End of 13 Inch Tires
>
>Hi Guys,
>
> 
>
>Well, it's finally happened. I can no longer get the P185/80R13 tires for my
>Corvairs. I work for a large tire company with a huge warehouse and we are
>direct with all major manufacturers. Firestone informed us yesterday that
>their FR380 tire is on national backorder and "there are no plans for future
>production". Hankook has discontinued its H714 tire and Kumho had
>discontinued its 795 tire. Cooper has discontinued its Alpha 365 tire. Tire
>Rack and Tire Discounters don't list any 13 inch tires except for trailer
>tires (don't use those). I searched all over the internet and was able to
>find a leftover set of five FR380's in Oregon which I ordered. If you think
>that you will have a need for 13 inch tires for your Corvair any time soon,
>I would recommend you check with your local tire supplier as soon as
>possible to see if they have some stashed away. The only alternative that we
>will soon have are classic reproductions like the BFG "Silverstone" tire
>with a very wide whitewall that runs $173 each! I just paid $47each, plus
>shipping, for the Firestones.
>
> 
>
>The future isn't much better for those of us that have 14 inch tires either.
>Tire makers are dropping those sizes as fast as they can. There simply isn't
>enough of a market to make it worth their while to manufacture them. The 13
>inch tire used to be the entry level size but now the 16 inch tire has that
>position. 
>
> 
>
>If anyone can find a reliable source of reasonably priced 13 inch tires,
>please let the list know.
>
> 
>
>Ken Maxwell
>
>Louisville, KY
>
>65 Spyder
>
>67 Monza
>
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