tire pressure

[piddler]

I know this has been asked a thousand times but here we go again. My owners manual (65 Corsa) gives the recommended tire pressure as 15 psi for the front and 28 psi for the rear. I am running 185/70R13 tires. Is this a good? What are you guys running? 15 psi seems a bit low but I AM new to Corvairs.

All help and advice appreciated, Pete

[gbullman]

The 15 / 28 was for bias ply tires which have a rather stiff sidewall. You are running radials (R13) so need a little more pressure. The general recommendation which I have found to be a good starting point with radials is 22 front, 32 rear. From there you adjust to how you drive. I drive fairly aggressively and found I’m happy with 23 front, 35 rear, car just feels balanced in turns at those pressures to me.

You probably already know this but the tires you mention are a little on the small side. 185/80 R13 is the available tire closest to the original size for our cars. My car had 185/70 R13s on it when I bought it. Speedometer read around 10% high and unfortunately I put 10% more miles on the odometer while I was running those. Many people go to 14, 15 or even larger wheels because the tire selection is greater. I went to 14” wheels and my tires are within 3% of the correct size now. My speedometer is pretty accurate at least up to 70 or so.

Attached a photo of my 14” wheels and 215/60 R14 tires.

Enjoy your car!

[66vairguy]

The 15 / 28 was for bias ply tires which have a rather stiff sidewall. You are running radials (R13) so need a little more pressure. The general recommendation which I have found to be a good starting point with radials is 22 front, 32 rear. From there you adjust to how you drive. I drive fairly aggressively and found I’m happy with 23 front, 35 rear, car just feels balanced in turns at those pressures to me.

You probably already know this but the tires you mention are a little on the small side. 185/80 R13 is the available tire closest to the original size for our cars. My car had 185/70 R13s on it when I bought it. Speedometer read around 10% high and unfortunately I put 10% more miles on the odometer while I was running those. Many people go to 14, 15 or even larger wheels because the tire selection is greater. I went to 14” wheels and my tires are within 3% of the correct size now. My speedometer is pretty accurate at least up to 70 or so.

Attached a photo of my 14” wheels and 215/60 R14 tires.

Enjoy your car!

After some experimentation with radials --- I ended using the nearly the same front/rear pressures that gbullman used, 22 front/ 32 rear COLD. Tire pressure will increase a bit when hot. Some tires are rated at 35 PSI maximum!

If the front end steering feels too light (smaller 13" tires) then back off to 20 PSI front. 15 PSI up front will RUIN a radial tire.

[piddler]

Thanks for the replies. I will adjust accordingly. BTW I have set of rally wheels just like the ones in the picture. I took them off and replaced them with original wheels and wheel covers.

Pete

[gbullman]

Thanks for the replies. I will adjust accordingly. BTW I have set of rally wheels just like the ones in the picture. I took them off and replaced them with original wheels and wheel covers.

Pete

I put the rally wheels on but kept the original wheels and hub caps. Wasn’t a fan of the wire wheels for looks and they are difficult to clean, at least for me.

Here is my car with the 185/70 R13s and original wheels. This photo is also original springs and quite possibly shocks so the car sits a little different.

[bbodie52]

I routinely run about 27 psi front and 36 psi rear on my 1966 Monza 4-Door Sedan, fitted with Goodyear EAGLE EXHILARATE - SIZE: 215/45ZR17 Ultra High Performance All-Season tires on all four corners.

On my 1966 Corvair Monza four-door sedan I fitted Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate Ultra High Performance All-Season tires in size 215/45ZR17 on all four corners with no body modifications!

Foose Knuckle Series Gunmetal
Knuckle Size: 17x7, Wheel Lug Pattern: 5x4.75, 4" Backspacing

Scott Howey Advice:
Front= 17x7, 4" backspace, 215/45ZR17 tires.
Rear = 17x8, 4.5" backspace, 225/50ZR17 tires.

On my 1966 Corvair Corsa convertible, I run:

Front: BF Goodrich Radial T/A P205/70 R14 (7” Rim)
Overall Diameter: 25.4" Revs per Mile: 821 Sect. Width: 8.2” Tread Width: 6.2"
Rear: BF Goodrich Radial T/A P235/60 R14 (7” Rim)
Overall Diameter: 25.1" Revs per Mile: 829 Sect. Width 9.5" Tread Width 7.9"
The ideal tire diameter produces 825 revolutions per mile but can go to 850 revolutions per mile and the speedometer will only be 3% fast, or 2 MPH at 60.

NOTE: These pictures show the original Goodyear Eagle RWL tires the car was purchased with. The Goodyear Eagles are no longer available (unfortunately).

I also installed a very good Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) on the center-top padded dashboard, just under my windshield-mounted TomTom GPS system. It is very easy to mount and uses no adhesives to bond to the padded dash. No wires either, as it contains rechargeable batteries and is solar powered. It automatically turns on when the wheels turn and each sensor begins sending tire pressure data, and automatically turns off when you park the car. The illumination system also automatically comes on at dusk.

Tymate Tire Pressure Monitoring System-Solar Charge, 5 Alarm Modes, Auto Backlight & Sleep & Awake Mode, Tire Position Exchange, with 4 External TPMS Sensors (0-87 psi)

$79.99

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S7 ... UTF8&psc=1