Best 185/60/13s currently available?

myronx19 said:
worth it!!! :) and thanks for the link!! $273 CAD, not bad. I paid about $200 ea for the A539 tires, but I think that was shipped. I bought 5, and I'll be due in 2024! (the production date is 2014 on mine)

Still cheaper than 348 tires!! 😃
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hah, true. But the real surprise was finding that the tires for my wife's Audi SQ5 were $360 EACH.
 
I got a set of Federal SS595s and as I reported before, if they were literally square, they could not have been worse than the set I got. The shop that tried to balance them was so baffled they thought their Hunter GSP 9000 road force balancer was broken and called out the Hunter tech to check it!

While it was being discussed, I think the consensus of the folks that bought them was that due to manufacturing, storage, celestial positioning, or whatever, there were good ones and bad ones and the only way to know what you got was to put 'em on the car and drive.

Maybe Federal cleaned up their act since then, or maybe the peeps like me with bad ones just got the bad apples, or what, I dunno. My advice is that IF you do go with the Federals, if you can't buy them locally from a dealer, do your BEST to buy from a seller that will take them back no questions asked and without having to pay return shipping, if you get bad ones.

Tires-easy is selling them thru Amazon for $59.13 a pop with free shipping. Here is the Federal warranty https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/718sxoq8+-S.pdf You have to claim ride quality/out of round within using 10% of the new tread life.
 
lookforjoe said:
I have a set of 4 185/60x13 Federal SS-595 in my garage - you can have them for 100bucks if you're interested..... you'll have to come get them though -shipping would be much more than that, I reckon.
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May take you up on that. Thanks
 
Dan Sarandrea (Phila) said:
The shop that tried to balance them
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So my Yokohamas had the same issue, funny enough. Two different sets. My rims run true, and someone told me about a shop that had a Hofmann laser balancer. Boom - all vibrations gone. I previously had them done on a RoadForce machine, and still had vibrations - but the Hofmann laser balancer dialed it in perfectly (even though the tires were less than ideal).

The X1/9 seems to be sensitive to wheels that are out of round - especially because these things are turning pretty fast due to the small diameter.

This is the machine I had mine done on (but he had a 4x98 adapter) - it's a true diagnostics machine, AND it can hide the weights behind the spokes!

geodyna® 9000P Diagnostic Wheel Balancer with Touch Screen | Hofmann Canada

A video wheel balancer for cars and light trucks, the geodyna 9000p features fully automatic non-contact acquisition of all data via 3D imaging technology.
www.hofmann-equipment.com www.hofmann-equipment.com
 
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Eastep said:
Com'mon guys! You know what I'm looking for! R888s and R888Rs, YES, are technically "street tires" blah blah blah, yes. Im not looking for slick with a couple groves cut in them for legality reasons. Im looking for actual tires that can be used safely in a wide temperature range without loss of performance including temps under 50°F and in seasonal rain.

Fed 595s suggested. Thanks. Any others?

Has anyone had experience with Toyo CF 2's ?
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I would agree with your comments. I have R888s fitted for competition purposes and normally only venture on the public roads in the dry. However, I once got caught out on a motorway in a heavy rain shower and it was a truly scary experience, I was struggling to keep up with the slowest vehicles without aquaplaning, the alternative was to go even slower and get rear ended by a lorry.
 
Paul Valente said:
Longstone does list Michelin in 185/60/13 for $144 w/o VAT. Funny thing is it sort of indicates free shipping to the US, which can't be right. Anyone want to give it a try and tell us how it goes.

www.longstonetyres.co.uk

185/60 HR 13 Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2

185/60HR13 tyres It is fair to say that 185/60HR13 is not the most popular tyre size produced. Only Citroen AX GTi, Visa GTi and Ford Escort XR2i and Fiesta Turbo fit 185/60 HR 13 tyres as OE. 185/60 HR 13 We are fortunate to have a proper 185/60HR13 youngtimer tyre available at all, but to...
www.longstonetyres.co.uk www.longstonetyres.co.uk
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Many of the Ferrari guys order from Longstone and swear by them. Luckily the TRX tires on my 400i are still good, but when I eventually need new TRXes, Longstone will receive my call.
 

185/60HR13 Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2

Aforementioned just ordered from Longtone Tyre in England. No affiliation other than being a first time customer. I can say they've been excellent on communications. And their webpage is stacked will all varieties of vintage tires, worthy of a visit. Michelin Pilots in the correct for X1/9...
xwebforums.com

@Agnelli we need an update 🙂
 
bjwhite said:
TRX tires on my 400i
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Also not cheap! I helped get a set for my friend's Renault R5 T2 many years ago (in 1999!) - they're still on the car :) - interestingly, Gandini styled the R5T2!

1615422705550.png
 
myronx19 said:
worth it!!! :) and thanks for the link!! $273 CAD, not bad. I paid about $200 ea for the A539 tires, but I think that was shipped. I bought 5, and I'll be due in 2024! (the production date is 2014 on mine)

Still cheaper than 348 tires!! 😃
Click to expand...

Hey, the X1/9 I bought from MarkF still has A509s on it! :) Needless to say I don't go fast nor throw it into a high speed bend. But I just love the way they look, I wish they still made them. Yokohama H.P.T Project Team Design! :)

3402EFEE-0049-4C72-9CAF-8CA73949FCCB.jpeg


09EAB29E-A591-42ED-A6FC-B5B3A600C161.jpeg
 
bjwhite said:
Hey, the X1/9 I bought from MarkF still has A509s on it! :) Needless to say I don't go fast nor throw it into a high speed bend. But I just love the way they look, I wish they still made them. Yokohama H.P.T Project Team Design! :)

View attachment 44427

View attachment 44428
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Easily my favorite tire I have ever bought.

I had a set on my ‘86 VW Golf, put them on for a track day and loved them. Gave a bunch of the Porsche club guys a run for their money on the twisty bits. I have bought other Yokosuka and have been disappointed.

I did get a set of SDrives last fall, I will report how they are.
 
bjwhite said:
A509s
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Agree! I loved my 509s - the tread pattern is super kewl.. I got a good long life out of them, and it was so awesome to just go to my local Yokohama dealer and get them (they were about $100CAD a piece installed back then if I recall correctly?! - can't recall when I bought them).

And yes, I'd buy another set! The A539 isn't as nice looking of a tire in my opinion as the 509!


Oh, and the wheels are gorgeous!
 
Maybe so. I tried to remember when and for what car I bought them and started to think maybe it was actually in 1999? Too many cars to keep track of such details!

bjwhite said:
Interesting that your tires say NC1289 and mine say MU4235 in the same location. So that doesn't seem to be a date code? Could be a batch serial number?
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Eastep said:
Com'mon guys! You know what I'm looking for! R888s and R888Rs, YES, are technically "street tires" blah blah blah, yes. Im not looking for slick with a couple groves cut in them for legality reasons. Im looking for actual tires that can be used safely in a wide temperature range without loss of performance including temps under 50°F and in seasonal rain.

Fed 595s suggested. Thanks. Any others?

Has anyone had experience with Toyo CF 2's ?
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Yep, got them for season 2020 and am very satisfied, they offer a quiet and soft ride, good grip on both dry and wet surface.
Some other X friends recommended them and they were a bargain, just above 50 USD for 185/60 13 here in Sweden.
I'd say a good 'allround' choice, can't compare with the 888 on a dry road of course. Funny I had this pic :)
The only negative I have heard is that they wear relatively quick, slightly notable on mine after ca 12-1400 miles.
1615453727113.png
 
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Greg (in Conn) said:

185/60HR13 Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2

Aforementioned just ordered from Longtone Tyre in England. No affiliation other than being a first time customer. I can say they've been excellent on communications. And their webpage is stacked will all varieties of vintage tires, worthy of a visit. Michelin Pilots in the correct for X1/9...
xwebforums.com

@Agnelli we need an update 🙂
Click to expand...
Ask and you shall receive. Order placed w/ Longstone in December. Vendor told me then it would be awhile to allow for production and Covid shipping delays, and offered a full refund or set expectation for a wait on my part, which I accepted. I have followed up and received immediate replies - good and appreciated. Manager did have to re-order from factory/distributor. New ETA this month. The good news is, tires will have very fresh date codes.
 
Agnelli said:
Ask and you shall receive. Order placed w/ Longstone in December. Vendor told me then it would be awhile to allow for production and Covid shipping delays, and offered a full refund or set expectation for a wait on my part, which I accepted. I have followed up and received immediate replies - good and appreciated. Manager did have to re-order from factory/distributor. New ETA this month. The good news is, tires will have very fresh date codes.
Click to expand...
Great news thanks!
Longstone must have the inside track! Michelin doesn't show offers with 13s on the direct website anymore.

www.michelin.co.uk

MICHELIN Car Tyres 185 60

Find MICHELIN 185 60 Car tyres for your vehicle in United Kingdom. MICHELIN Car tyres that match your search by size or by vehicle.
www.michelin.co.uk www.michelin.co.uk
 
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