For about 5-6 years now I've been running a 165/55r14 on my RX7, before Covid these were consistently available from either Federal or Achilles amongst others, for about $45 a tire. Now I can't find them anywhere. I used to get them from online tires or tires-easy, no dice from either of them now, and my local tire shop doesn't have anything close.
Anyone here with small sports cars or vintage stuff finding something pretty close? I usually need 3-6 pairs of tires per season, so when I find some I might try and stockpile enough for a year or two instead of buying 2 at a time..
Simpletire.com used to be my go to for odd or cheap tires but they changed the site and the search is terrible now. If you can figure out how to navigate it they may have something.
84FSP
UberDork
7/9/22 1:28 p.m.
Check these guys out. Good folks with lots of smaller stuff from performance to race.
https://www.demon-tweeks.com/us/performance/tyres-accessories/tyres/
In reply to 84FSP :
Thanks, I left them a voicemail to see what they have and whether they'll ship to the states.
Evan, I did try simple and they didn't have the sizes I had hoped for, and you're right, it's a terrible site to navigate via phone.
84FSP
UberDork
7/9/22 3:04 p.m.
They do ship stateside very reasonably.bonus is the brit lb to dollar is way down so you'll end up with a better deal.
I will ad another upvote for Demon Tweeks. Quick shipper too.
Not much to add other than, yes, getting small tires has gotten more difficult.
Demon Tweeks will not ship to UK, got an email from them earlier this week. I am very tempted to order 175/50 Nankangs from Ebay and pay for shipping from the UK if I don't find something else soon..
Trent
PowerDork
7/13/22 3:39 p.m.
berkeley.... I have been basing my next build entirely around tires from Demon Tweeks.
Shipping larger items from the UK got terrible after Brexit. The company I was buying euro Miata seats from stopped shipping them to the US.
I still get smaller stuff from minispares in the UK faster than I can get it from California.
84FSP
UberDork
7/13/22 4:35 p.m.
Boo - wondering if this is a result of the meteoric rise in shipping cost?
Falken still makes good 14's in their Azenis line but unsure if they go skinny enough for you. Info below from vulcantire.com that I have used in the past. These are the cheapy versions that are typically a bit older but they still sell new as well.
Do you have an idea on the window of sizes that will work for you? Over the last years there hasn't been much in 14 that wasn't a 60 sidewall and a width from 185-205.
195/60R14 86H
- Stock #: 601
- Sidewall Style: Black
- Load Index: 86
- Speed Rating: H
- UTQG: 200 A A
Somehow I was under the impression that Demon Tweeks had a US based warehouse, and that was why they redirected US based IP traffic from demon-tweeks.co.uk to demon-tweeks.com, a different website with different stock.
I just checked on vulcantire.com my go to for tires when I can't find what I want. They have some off the wall stuff in some sizes. They only had one listed for 165/55/14 though it is an ultra-high performance summer tire and $57 per tire...
https://www.vulcantire.com/cgi-bin/tiresearch.cgi?p1=165&p2=%2F55&p3=R14
Simpletires.com is just a front end for a bunch of warehouses. They don't have any control over their actual stock. I bought a set of tires for the Vanagon from them because yay, they had the weird set I wanted. They had date codes that were 7 years old. Simpletire was very helpful and took them back because they do have a maximum acceptable age for tires, but the sales people had no visibility into whether any other tires would be newer.
When ordering from overseas, keep in mind that they may not have DOT ratings. This is unlikely to be a problem in normal use but your insurance company may view it as a reason to deny coverage in the case of an accident.
Toyo and Yokohama seem to be the winners in the weird tire size availabilty category, so I'd start by looking at their websites.
Any place to get A good price on 12 inch tires for an old 1959 Fiat .
it has the original tires but they are not safe ,
Can you still get the Achilles Economist? This site shows them in stock.
In reply to californiamilleghia :
Mini Mania have anything that narrow? Coker? Nankang CX668?
In reply to gunner (Forum Supporter) :
I saw those and got excited, but they're out of stock. 84FSP, I can run up to about a 185/55, I tried a 175/60 recently and it would've rubbed the quarter panel if I stuck with them, so sidewall size is a concern. When I built my wheels, I went a little wild with offsets because I wanted them to be nicely dished, which kinda shoots me in the foot for larger tires..
In reply to californiamilleghia :
MiniSpares has them..... TYRE32 - Mini nankang na-1 145/70/12 tyre (minispares.com)
@ £38 each ($45) each they're def affordable!
Trent said:
berkeley.... I have been basing my next build entirely around tires from Demon Tweeks.
This is also why I haven't gotten cool 14s for the Miata. I know what's available today, but what about in three our four years?
Losing the Sumitomo HTR-200 left a void in that space.
Trent
PowerDork
7/15/22 10:14 a.m.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
I am enjoying the 185/55R14 Federals I put on the Rabbit pickup last summer. They have since been discontinued 
I have been basing my suspension, chassis, gear ratios and wheel design for the Fiat around 185/60R13 rear and 175/50R13 front. Had planned on the Yokohama A539 from Demon Tweeks. Now that isn't an option. The Nankang NS2 is technically available in those sizes but every source seems to be out of the country currently which means it is questionable at best.
Do I soldier on and hope for an improvement in the situation and wind up running mismatched all seasons when the time comes or do I raise the arches/do major body mods to fit something much taller than I want and end up with a look that I don't believe I will like?
At this point a 195/60-14 (23.2" diameter) is considered a small tire. I want and need stuff in the sub 22.5" range.
Pardon me while I throw a tantrum for the next few weeks as I realize I can't build the kind of stuff that interests me anymore.
84FSP
UberDork
7/15/22 5:34 p.m.
dannyp84 said:
In reply to gunner (Forum Supporter) :
I saw those and got excited, but they're out of stock. 84FSP, I can run up to about a 185/55, I tried a 175/60 recently and it would've rubbed the quarter panel if I stuck with them, so sidewall size is a concern. When I built my wheels, I went a little wild with offsets because I wanted them to be nicely dished, which kinda shoots me in the foot for larger tires..
Darn I'm shooting blanks over here. In to hear how you resolve as the small tires are getting scarce. My race setup can only be bought from hoosier 255/40/13 and went to 15's for street availability.
In reply to Trent :
I hear ya about the small tires. I wish you could still get a street-able 205/55R15.
What's the solution? I have been lobbying for smaller tires for many years, but I also realize that it's a tough business case.
Trent said:
In reply to David S. Wallens :
I am enjoying the 185/55R14 Federals I put on the Rabbit pickup last summer. They have since been discontinued
I have been basing my suspension, chassis, gear ratios and wheel design for the Fiat around 185/60R13 rear and 175/50R13 front. Had planned on the Yokohama A539 from Demon Tweeks. Now that isn't an option. The Nankang NS2 is technically available in those sizes but every source seems to be out of the country currently which means it is questionable at best.
Do I soldier on and hope for an improvement in the situation and wind up running mismatched all seasons when the time comes or do I raise the arches/do major body mods to fit something much taller than I want and end up with a look that I don't believe I will like?
At this point a 195/60-14 (23.2" diameter) is considered a small tire. I want and need stuff in the sub 22.5" range.
Pardon me while I throw a tantrum for the next few weeks as I realize I can't build the kind of stuff that interests me anymore.
How do we set up a small tires group buy and have a stack of tires shipped over from the UK? I have enough storage space to buy what I need for the next 2-3 years.
Trent
PowerDork
7/18/22 10:46 a.m.
In reply to dannyp84 :
This isn't a bad idea.
says the guy who just bought a set of 13X7 panasports yesterday just because they were cool.
I'm gonna chat with the folks at Longstone tyres next order to see if they can help. They still ship internationally, I just did it last month.
In reply to dannyp84 :
Isn't that how Tire Rack got started?
