I recently helped a friend of mine buy a '98 Metro (hey, at least it has the cool sohc 16 valve motor in it and a 5 speed). It is definitely going to need summer and winter rubber.
She will have a 5-6 hour drive at least once a month from her university to home. In my experience, a wider tire greatly reduces how nervous these cars can be on the highway. I can get a 195/60R13 sumitomo HTR 200 for $75 a pop shipped. The only thing I'm worried about is ride quality.
I know I went from Kumho 712's to Toyo T1R's (both 195/45R15) and was amazed at the night and day difference. No more tracking, more grip, better ride, and quieter to boot. Will the sumitomos be ok? There are plenty of 175/70R13's out there, and if they are better on the ride/comfort front I'd get them instead. But I'd really like her to get these as it will make her highway driving sooo much better. Thanks for the help guys!
If you go to the TireRack website, you will find reviews for many different brands and "models" of tires. While I sometimes find that the reviews can be contradictory (that is, one reviewer will say "quiet ride, great handling" and another will say "very noisy, handles like the tires are greased") you can get an idea of what they MIGHT be like. I also use the prices posted to give me an idea of what I will be paying, as I prefer to support my "local economy", when I can.
I have HTR 200's on my Locost 7.
Very squishy sidewall - they will probably ride fine. They ride fine on the 7.
They suck as an autocross tire. Like S_U_C_K.
I can't tell you about road noise. The wind buffeting at the speed limit in the 7 measured 119dB.
I had a b13 sentra with those tires, they were not that good in the rain, but they were ok. I would say they good enough to be acceptable for people who aren't willing to sacrifice safety to save money on tires, but they aren't anything exciting.
The sidewalls on HTR 200s are soft, especially if you try and run 24# of pressure in them like your door sticker might recommend. If you run closer to the 44# max load tire pressure on the tires they firm up nicely.
For a cheap tire they do pretty well once you get the inflation pressure dialed in.
i run them on a 93 civic and think they are just fine.
noise isnt a problem, nor is tracking.
handling isnt all that bad either
run a 185 on 13 inch rim
