15 replies to this topic

[zero_wlv]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm currently running a car with 12" Minilite wheels,    it currently has 145/70 tyres all round  -  Sinceras on the front and Federal on the back.     All are in fairly good condition and have at least 4mm tread left.

 

The thing is,  the car does sometimes seem to understeer or lose grip earlier than I'd expect it to,   for example when going round roundabouts.    I'm well aware it doesn't have EBD and stability control and all the rest of it and needs to be driven with this in mind,  but sometimes it loses grip just a bit too early,  and I have a nagging doubt that I might be running it on cr*p tyres.

 

First of all,  are Sinceras and Federal any good?  (I gather Sincera is a budget brand of Falken).     Would it be worth upgrading to Yokohamas on the front at least?

 

Secondly,  do 165/60s definitely fit on these wheels,   and if so,  is it safe to fit 165s to the front and leave 145s on the rear?    I don't think I can afford to replace all four.

 

(I have liners fitted in the front wheel arches which come quite close to the current tyres on full lock,  so I guess if I fitted 165s I'd have to go back and fit the liners more carefully,  but that's a fairly minor problem.)

 

One other thought  -  as far as I know,  none of the cones have been replaced for a very long time.   They haven't collapsed but they certainly look old.    Could these affect stability when cornering at speed?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice   (and I realise these are probably stupid questions but I couldn't find any other threads that answered them).

 

[Edited to correct 165/70 to 165/60 as pointed out by nicklouse below]

Edited by zero_wlv, 18 September 2019 - 08:31 PM.

[nicklouse]

165/70 are 10” sizes for a 12 it would be a 165/60 max.

I would start by swapping your wheels round to see what if anything changes.

[cal844]

I use 145 80 10 Falken Sincera tyres on my clubman Estate, yes they don't have the same grip as the Yokohama tyres but they do the job for the money.

Yes you will feel a big difference with new cones

Edited by cal844, 18 September 2019 - 08:30 PM.

[mini13]

I'm sure I've read somewhere that it's not legal to have wider front tyres, goes to dig around on tinterweb...

[cooperd70]

I have 165/60×12's all round on my 1990 car, fitted to 4.5×12 Minilites. I have brand new suspension on all 4 corners and have no clearance issues. I don't have liners fitted though. Unsure of the 165 front/145 rear part of your Q.

[Rorf]

To lose grip on a roundabout you surely must be going at quite a rate of knots or the alignment is way out. If money is a problem then stick to the 145 profile and replace all four. For the size and mass of the little car 145s give excellent handling properties.

 

I also do not believe a 165 profile on a 4.5 inch rim is a good thing.

Edited by Rorf, 19 September 2019 - 05:28 AM.

[Bobbins]

DO NOT FIT 165's on the front with 145's on the rear ... at some point you'll eventually go through a hedge backwards.

Many tyre fitting places no longer allow renewing of the fronts only due to the dangerous handling imbalance it can cause (unless of course the car was supplied with wider profile rear tyres), fitting wider tyres on the front would exasperate this problem.

[DeadSquare]

DO NOT FIT 165's on the front with 145's on the rear ... at some point you'll eventually go through a hedge backwards.

Many tyre fitting places no longer allow renewing of the fronts only due to the dangerous handling imbalance it can cause (unless of course the car was supplied with wider profile rear tyres), fitting wider tyres on the front would exasperate this problem.

 

If you are going to go through a hedge, always try and go through it backwards.

 

The preponderance of Mini drivers hit things with the front of their car, so logically there will be more good back ends about to cut-and-shut to your still good front.

Edited by DeadSquare, 19 September 2019 - 06:43 AM.

[luismx123]

I have falken 165s on my 10 inch wheels and the grip is ridiculously bad. As soon as the road gets damp im spinning wheels and losing grip round any corners. Been told so by many a folk too that the falkens are bad. (as you said the sinceras are copies of the falkens)

[smurfomatic]

Used to have Falkens on the Mini Marcos, they were lousy in the wet. Recently had Yokohama A008 ones fitted and it's a revelation!

[DeadSquare]

They sound like the old "Murderous Michelin X" that sacrificed grip for wear.

 

You could write off 3 or 4 cars on a set of those.

Edited by DeadSquare, 19 September 2019 - 08:59 AM.

[carbon]

I'm running 145x10 85 profile Falken Sinceras on 4.5 inch rims. Gives very predictable handling in both dry and wet conditions, particularly on roundabouts where you can often find there are very slippery patches because of diesel and rubber on the road.

 

If you're getting too much understeer I would suggest checking the camber angles of the front wheels. Should be between vertical to a couple of degrees negative.

[Cooperman]

To lose grip on a roundabout you surely must be going at quite a rate of knots or the alignment is way out. If money is a problem then stick to the 145 profile and replace all four. For the size and mass of the little car 145s give excellent handling properties.

 

I also do not believe a 165 profile on a 4.5 inch rim is a good thing.

 

A 165 width is fine for a 4.5" wheel. In fact we used to run 175 width tyres on 4.5" Cortina wheels years ago with no problems.

If you think about it, a 3.5" wheel had 145 width as standard and a 4.5" wheel is 1" wider whilst a 165 width is 20 mm wider than a 145 which is less than 1"

[Dusky]

On an fwd car always fit the tyres with the most grip on the rear.

[Cooperman]

On an fwd car always fit the tyres with the most grip on the rear.

 

In order to promote terminal understeer  .

 

The ideal is to fit the same tyres on all corners. Then just drive within the capability of the tyres. You don't go off the road because you have poor quality tyres, you go off because you are driving beyond the limits of the tyres.