Tire recommendations ?

[Vsantoro]

I have the 175 80r13's on the 62 monza conv.
Would love to go up a little but not sure what would fit on the same wheels, I dont want to have to buy all new wheels and tires.

Has anyone upgraded to larger tires on these stock wheels without any rubbing issues ?

Thanks,
Vic

[Dennis66]

13'' tire sizes are very limited. Only other option I know of is MAXIS 185/75/13. There do seem t obe other companies offering smaller 13'' tires but BE WARE OF TRAILER TIRES. Plenty of people selling 13'' trailer tires and they are not compatible for use on cars. Dennis

[bbodie52]

13" passenger car tires are obsolete. Many that are offered are for trailer use only. There are very few tires manufactured in the proper size for Corvair. Any larger, wider tire requires an upgrade to 14" or larger wheel in the proper 4-lug bolt pattern.

In today's tire market, the Maxxis MA-1 P185/80R13 90S is recommended for the Corvair. If you want more options in tire sizes and performance specifications that offer modern design features and engineering specs you will be forced to upgrade to a larger-diameter wheel.



14”, 15”, or even 16” diameter wheels will fit on all Corvairs, but the width on earlies can't exceed about 6” because of two points of interference. On the front, the end of the steering arm comes close to the sidewall, and on the rear, the upper shock mounting point is close to the sidewall.

You may find this web page helpful...

Sizing Corvair Wheels and Tires

http://autoxer.skiblack.com/tires.html

[66vairguy]

Yes in the U.S.A. 13" "approved" tires are not common, but hardly obsolete. Specialty tire companies sell tires to fit the Corvair, but they are expensive. The Maxxis MA-1 P185/80R13 tire is the only affordable tire approved for sale in the U.S.A. rated for use on cars and trucks. As Dennis said BEWARE OF TRAILER TIRES sold as car/truck tires. The "P" in P185 means it is a passenger car tire. Due to low demand other companies stopped selling this size here.

The Maxxis tire gets good reviews and can be considered a "modern" tire. No need to go to a lager wheel if you want to stay with the 13". The Maxxis 13" tire is used on other old cars so it is NOT just a Corvair tire.

Due to tire date requirements here (a good thing) Maxxis only imports a batch of tires when the supplies here runs low. Sometimes you can't find the tire, the a few weeks later a number of places have them (or can order them).

Today with all the different wheel sizes - there really is no "standard" tire size. Even 14" 15" and 16" tires are not common now. Thanks to the "Muscle car" hobby many companies still make 14" and 15" tires, but often they have to be ordered.

[Vsantoro]

thanks that page is really helpful

[Vsantoro]

I ended up getting the recommended Maxxis MA-1 Performance P185/80R13 90S , ordered from Walmart, they were shipped and arrived in 2 days.
Monroe put them on and got a fresh NYS inspection since the old tires were from 2001 and pretty dry rotted.

I was getting some squealing around bends and that is all gone. Those tires give a smooth ride. thanks for the info on these.

[flamingchariots]

Good choice of tires.
I hope you're following recommended air pressures. Always 8-10 lbs LESS in front than rears.
I usually go with 24 front and 32 rear. Helps with traction and stability.
Tire installers don't usually know this about Corvair tires.

Kevin
Medina, OH

[66vairguy]

I ended up getting the recommended Maxxis MA-1 Performance P185/80R13 90S , ordered from Walmart, they were shipped and arrived in 2 days.
Monroe put them on and got a fresh NYS inspection since the old tires were from 2001 and pretty dry rotted.

I was getting some squealing around bends and that is all gone. Those tires give a smooth ride. thanks for the info on these.

Thanks for the update. Yes eight years is about the limit for a tire, even stored inside. This I have read for decades, BUT I had 10 year old tire on my Vair that looked great. What could possibly go wrong ! I took a trip on the highway and on the return leg I heard WOMP, WOMP, WOMP. so I got off at the exit and there was a TWO INCH BULGE on the side of one tire. Lousy spare (of course) and called a tow truck.

Good advice from Kevin on tire pressure. The old factory pressure for the front was for bias tired, too low for radials. I would not go below 24 PSI front. Just me.