Thin Whitewall Radial Tires for the Amphi

[John Lambert]

I am about to purchase a set of radial tires for my 64 Amphicar.
I'm not sure what the exact size would be as I have seen both
(650X13) referenced in a tech sheet, as well as (640X13) listed in
the owners manual.

Which one is correct? I beleive the 640X13 is the correct size.

Secondly, what is the Amphicar community using, and can anyone
provide me with a manufacturer of the thin whitewall in a radial
tire? I'm looking for a recommendation based on someone's actual
experience with these tires, if possible. A best buy situation.

I know Coker has the wide whitewalls, but I want the thin whitewall
for this car, and would like to purchase locally if possible.

I went to the Discount Tire website, but you have to specify the car
make, and Amphicar was not a choice

I know tire clearance is a big concern, and don't want to purchase a
tire that is too large for the wheel well, to avoid potential
rubbing concerns.

I want the tire size that is best for the Amphicar.

therfore, I need the specific tire size, manufacturer, and model if
possible, so I can check my local tire stores for these tires.
Also, online stores if they would have these tires as well.

Thanks guys,

John Cruiserdog-Cruiserduck" Lambert

 

[WB6WSN]

----- Original Message -----
From: John Lambert
To: amphicar-lovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2004 10:56 AM
Subject: [amphicar-lovers] Thin Whitewall Radial Tires for the Amphi



I am about to purchase a set of radial tires for my 64 Amphicar.
I'm not sure what the exact size would be as I have seen both
(650X13) referenced in a tech sheet, as well as (640X13) listed in
the owners manual.

Which one is correct? I beleive the 640X13 is the correct size.

Secondly, what is the Amphicar community using, and can anyone
provide me with a manufacturer of the thin whitewall in a radial
tire? I'm looking for a recommendation based on someone's actual
experience with these tires, if possible. A best buy situation.

I know Coker has the wide whitewalls, but I want the thin whitewall
for this car, and would like to purchase locally if possible.

I went to the Discount Tire website, but you have to specify the car
make, and Amphicar was not a choice

I know tire clearance is a big concern, and don't want to purchase a
tire that is too large for the wheel well, to avoid potential
rubbing concerns.

I want the tire size that is best for the Amphicar.

therfore, I need the specific tire size, manufacturer, and model if
possible, so I can check my local tire stores for these tires.
Also, online stores if they would have these tires as well.

Thanks guys,

John Cruiserdog-Cruiserduck" Lambert





In the old system, 6.40x13 was the correct size. Here's a site to visualize tire
sizes:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/general/size.htm

Here's another site, from Craig:

http://www.whitewallsplus.com/

Actually, Discount Tire does have the Amphicar cross-referenced; it's in their
Classic catalog, on paper, not in the computer. The counter-droid will have to
abandon his keyboard and reach under the counter. Anyway, since you can almost
never find Amphis in auto parts computer databases, you have to shop by
specification and size.

I bought four Dominator All-Season P175/70R-13 82S at Discount; $241 after all
the fees and junk. True, these are blackwalls, but you can look for a WW using
that size. Sure, the purists demand WW tires, but I'm from the generation that
used to turn the WW's inside to look cool.

I liked the Yokohama Avid tires too, but they feature two center circumferential
ribs that cause lateral instability on the grooved local freeways but are
excellent on local streets (but these are overkill for an Amphi). I suggest you
avoid Discount's Arizonian brand.

Ed
El Cajon, CA USA
67 Rust Guppy


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

 

[Larry & Nancy Solheim]

Les Schwab Tires (a "generic" dealer here in the PacNW) has 185-80R13 tires for
about $32. ea. I went for the "original" wide-white look & got the same size in
the Diamondback Classics, but the certainly not at the $30 pricing.

--LarryS

WB6WSN <wb6wsn@cox.net> wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: John Lambert
To: amphicar-lovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, October 18, 2004 10:56 AM
Subject: [amphicar-lovers] Thin Whitewall Radial Tires for the Amphi



I am about to purchase a set of radial tires for my 64 Amphicar.
I'm not sure what the exact size would be as I have seen both
(650X13) referenced in a tech sheet, as well as (640X13) listed in
the owners manual.

Which one is correct? I beleive the 640X13 is the correct size.

Secondly, what is the Amphicar community using, and can anyone
provide me with a manufacturer of the thin whitewall in a radial
tire? I'm looking for a recommendation based on someone's actual
experience with these tires, if possible. A best buy situation.

I know Coker has the wide whitewalls, but I want the thin whitewall
for this car, and would like to purchase locally if possible.

I went to the Discount Tire website, but you have to specify the car
make, and Amphicar was not a choice

I know tire clearance is a big concern, and don't want to purchase a
tire that is too large for the wheel well, to avoid potential
rubbing concerns.

I want the tire size that is best for the Amphicar.

therfore, I need the specific tire size, manufacturer, and model if
possible, so I can check my local tire stores for these tires.
Also, online stores if they would have these tires as well.

Thanks guys,

John Cruiserdog-Cruiserduck" Lambert






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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

 

[jlambertspc@aol.com]

In a message dated 10/20/2004 4:11:29 AM Eastern Standard Time,
wb6wsn@cox.net writes:
ttp://www.whitewallsplus.com
Ed,

I went to Discount, and they recommended the Dominator 185X80X13. Is this
size going to be too big for the Amphi wheel wells? I will have to take the
wheels in to have the tires mounted, so I will not be able to see the fit in the
wheel well when purchasing these tires.

Cruiserduck


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

 

[John Friese]

I run 185X80X13 Dayton tires on one of my Amphi's and they fit the
wheel wells okay but if you want a spare for the trunk you'll
probably find that it won't fit under the trunk floor. The vertical
risers will be the wrong height and the shaft will be too short to
attach the trunk floor retaining nut. There are ways to work around
these problems but I thought I'd let you know in advance of this
issue. Different brands of tires vary a bit but in general
the "belly" of radial tires are wider than bias ply tires and I
haven't found any radials that don't have this problem with the
spare.

For what it's worth, I run bias ply Coker Classics on my other Amphi
and it drives just as well if not slightly better at highway speeds.

It's also a good idea to use tubes in these tires because there is no
safety bead on Amphicar wheels. Most of the time you can get away
without tubes but you run the risk of sudden deflation if you push
the tires sideways hard enough. If you were able to run 30 psi on
the front tires this wouldn't be such an issue but to get most
Amphi's to run without directional instability, you'll have to lower
the front tire pressure to a point that makes this deflation a
possibility. The Amphicar trunk sticker states 14 psi for the
fronts. That works for bias ply tires but most tire people say not
to run radials with less than 20 psi. I've gotten away with 18 psi
but I also run with tubes.

John Friese

67 White (bias ply)
67 Red (radial ply)





--- In amphicar-lovers@yahoogroups.com, jlambertspc@a... wrote:
> In a message dated 10/20/2004 4:11:29 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> wb6wsn@c... writes:
> ttp://www.whitewallsplus.com
> Ed,
>
> I went to Discount, and they recommended the Dominator 185X80X13.
Is this
> size going to be too big for the Amphi wheel wells? I will have to
take the
> wheels in to have the tires mounted, so I will not be able to see
the fit in the
> wheel well when purchasing these tires.
>
> Cruiserduck
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]