new wheels and tires on my 850 Spyder

D

Dave Bassett

True Classic
So here is a picture of my self indulgence. The car drives nicely and seems to like its fancy new shoes.
 

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I run 205 x 60 x 13 on the rear and 185 x 60 x 13 on the front. I had to roll the rear guard slightly for them to fit but it depends on the offsets. The 205 gives a slight improvement in the final drive over the stock tyre. 185 tyre will give a slightly shorter final drive over the stock tyre size {145 x 80]
 
There has been a good bit of discussion of how much tire will fit in 850 wheel wells and my experience seems to be apretty good indicator. 205/60/13s will fit (depending on offset) with only minor modifications. I rolled the rear fender openings along the top and pulled tham slightly. I had to open up the front corners of the front wheel openings. No one I talked with wanted to do the work so I did it myself. It's not perfect but the whole car is a twenty footer. Every body panel needs something done for it.
 
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Actually, I did a typo. The tires are 205/60/13, which were the smallest 60 series 13's I could find. I'm superficial. What I hoped to gain was a certain look and, perhaps, a bit more cornering stability. I'm pretty sure I got both.

Here are a few more pictures. Although I did work with the sheet metal, the changes are subtle, if not minimal. The rear arch is pulled out slightly (like MAYBE 1/2 inch, probably closer to 1/4 inch) and the front arch was extended below the bumper line.
 

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The advantage of the 205's is the improvement in braking. The disadvantages are the increase in unsprung weight and a lower top speed from the rolling resistance increase. I'm using Nankang AR1's and the grip is brilliant but maybe too good at times and is putting a lot of strain on the rest of the car.
 
I was running r888's but this time I have the AR1's, as the 888's were not available in 175 /50-13... So far, they are also an awesome tire...(These are on a 128 though) I always prioritize dry grip over nearly anything else when it comes to tire selection. it doesn't get very cold here and no snow so it's just dry grip and the occasional rain. These have been fine in the rain, never a scary moment... And the dry grip is excellent. They don't last as long as the Toyo's, but they're not that spendy so It doesn't outweigh the grip advantage they bring to the driving experience...
P.S. I didn't realize that they still make T/A radials?
They don't look too big or 'stuffed' in there to me... Size looks good 👍🏽
 
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Looks great, I spent a bunch of time trying different wheels and tires. Went with the same wheels you have and some Pirelli CN36 in a 175/70 VR 13 for the Lucas Classic tires. Now I just need to go drive it more......
 
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