General 175 width tyres on 13 inch rims

[MJMJet]

Hi All.

My tyres will need replacing soon. The rims are the standard 13 x 5 with 155/80/13 tyres on. I have read on a few sites that 155 width tyres are the minimum width for a 5 inch rim. They say 165/175 width are the ideal width.

165/75/13 tyres do not seem to be widely available, but 175/70/13 are. Obviously they are only 10mm wider than the 165/65/14 tyres on the 14 inch optional alloys Fiat did.

Is it worth fitting 175 tyres on the steel 13 inch rims of a Multijet Panda?. Would they offer more comfort? Would the car be less prone to understeer?. Would fuel economy take a serious hit?.

As a matter of interest, did the 165/65/14 alloy option make the Panda perform any better over the standard 155/80/13 wheel/tyres?. After all they were both 5 inch rims (so my handbook says)!.

Feel free to post your experiences/opinions!

 

[jrkitching]

Hi All.

My tyres will need replacing soon. The rims are the standard 13 x 5 with 155/80/13 tyres on. I have read on a few sites that 155 width tyres are the minimum width for a 5 inch rim. They say 165/175 width are the ideal width.

165/75/13 tyres do not seem to be widely available, but 175/70/13 are. Obviously they are only 10mm wider than the 165/65/14 tyres on the 14 inch optional alloys Fiat did.

Is it worth fitting 175 tyres on the steel 13 inch rims of a Multijet Panda?. Would they offer more comfort? Would the car be less prone to understeer?. Would fuel economy take a serious hit?.

As a matter of interest, did the 165/65/14 alloy option make the Panda perform any better over the standard 155/80/13 wheel/tyres?. After all they were both 5 inch rims (so my handbook says)!.

Feel free to post your experiences/opinions!

Personally I'd stick with the standard fit 155/80x13 tyres. Anything wider will worsen your fuel consumption & make the car more prone to aquaplaning in wet weather.

Another consideration is that the lower profile tyres will be slightly more prone to damage should you be unfortunate enough to encounter an unexpected pothole (and there's plenty of those about).

 

[MJMJet]

This is the sort of things I am thinking about.

Does this mean that Fiat offered an option (with the 14 inch alloys) that is detrimental to the car?. Could a car with that option or even the Eleganza.be a lot more thirsty and prone to aquaplaning than a car with the standard steelies?!. LOL!!

Seriously though, there must be a point where it becomes detrimental. I'm just wondering where it is!.

 

[jrkitching]

Does this mean that Fiat offered an option (with the 14 inch alloys) that is detrimental to the car?. Could a car with that option or even the Eleganza.be a lot more thirsty and prone to aquaplaning than a car with the standard steelies?!. LOL!!

Not a lot - just a little. On anything other than a 100hp, 14" alloys are really just about cosmetics and marketing. Fine if you like that sort of thing, but sticking with the standard tyres & steelies will save you a few pennies on fuel - plus the tyres will probably be cheaper.

Last time I enquired at Costco, they were offering a set of 4 Michelin Energy 155/80x13's for about £200, fitted & balanced .

 

[pgainf]

Greetings!

If you can go for the 175 tire size.
You will notice a much better grip and safety on the Highway.

Why do you think most cars nowadays use big fat tires?
Just for looks?

The 1.3 Multijet engine on other cars go a far as 195 on r15 rims sizes (Ford Ka as example).

I have 185/60R14 on my Multijet and the car still usually shows 74mpg (3.8lt/100km) on the trip computer.
I bought some Fiat Punto 2000 (60HP!!!) rims with tires when I bought my Panda. Very cheap! £100!

I choose this size because of availability and only a diameter difference of +0.09%.

The 175 tires you are thinking have a Diameter Difference of +0.53%. (Must keep it under 2%)

No bicycle tires for me. 155 was for the Uno generation.

My regards

 

[Iorek]

Been using 175/70/R13s since 2008, no complaints whatsoever and it also increases the choices of rubbers available.

Wasn't too keen on the 155/80/R13 Continentals that came with the car as it was a pure crap tyre especially in the wet.

Fuel consumption, it increased a bit from the switch, used to get 6.3l/100km then it went to 6.9l/100km, now with the Michelin XM2 can get 6.7l/100km if I behave.

Aquaplaning, I routinely do 110km/h on wet motorways have yet to experience any.

Ride comfort, I didn't notice anything significantly different as when I first switched to the Michelin XM1 it was of a softer sidewall and compound than the original Continentals. Don't find anything noticeably different with the XM2.

Grip, slightly less understeer but it's not going to make a night and day difference.

 

[varesecrazy]

Been using 175/70/R13s since 2008, no complaints whatsoever and it also increases the choices of rubbers available.

Wasn't too keen on the 155/80/R13 Continentals that came with the car as it was a pure crap tyre especially in the wet.

Fuel consumption, it increased a bit from the switch, used to get 6.3l/100km then it went to 6.9l/100km, now with the Michelin XM2 can get 6.7l/100km if I behave.

Aquaplaning, I routinely do 110km/h on wet motorways have yet to experience any.

Ride comfort, I didn't notice anything significantly different as when I first switched to the Michelin XM1 it was of a softer sidewall and compound than the original Continentals. Don't find anything noticeably different with the XM2.

Grip, slightly less understeer but it's not going to make a night and day difference.

hi, those were pretty much my finding on fitting a set of "500" wheels - same as punto..on our 1.1 active panda,
went from 155/80 13's to 175/65/14's,
MUCH smoother ride , feels more "planted" too,
slightly more road noise..as there IS more rubber in contact..,

back on 135 x 13's for the winter + you really notice how skittish it feels,
Charlie

 

[joe1962]

I personally thought the tyres on standard steel wheels were too prone to under steer so i specified 14" alloys & overall I reckon its about right nearly always stuck with conti ecocontact3 oe seem a good balance between longgevity & grip. I have tried AVONS 3/10 & goodyear duragrip which seem about the same as the contis. Currently on steel wheels with M&S Dunlops which were hard to source in 155 80 13 much wider choice in 165 65 14 but I had no spare alloys, I might try Uniroyal rain expert as I have them on another car & find it rides very well on them.
I assume steels off the 500 & KA fit but am not certain & so would give a wider choice of fat rubber I would like to know how anyone got along with wheels off the other two models if possible.

 

[The Pretender]

Mine have the 155/80R13 Conti's as a summer tire.
Now running 165/65R14" Goodyear Ultragrip 7+ winter tires.
The summer's have still enough profile on them to do another summer or 2.
But i'm not certain i will run them again, have 195/45R16" in mind. (0.64% bigger)

 

[KRANP]

I'm myself looking into wider wheels, currently seeing lots of 175 65 R14 steel wheels on ebay.
Will they fit straight on with no messing about at all? Should I be looking at other FIAT wheels, i.e. Punto?
Thanks.

 

[dave]

check FF classified before ebay

 

[KRANP]

check FF classified before ebay

Thanks for the tip!

 

[bluejohn125]

175/70 x 13 are the classic replacement for your 155/80 x 13 originals, they should be absolutely fine though ideally your rims would be say 1/2" wider so avoid the "squeezed" effect. Remember that classic Pandas and Unos started with 135/80 x 13 tyres... the upgrade was 155/70 x 13!

If you have a diesel then in theory the engine is heavier so it may understeer more naturally, so wider rubber could help you there....

No real point changing rims and going to 14", unless you want to save your original rims for narrower (155) winter tyres or as spares.

155/80 x 13 should be fine for your car if you decide to stay standard, just buy some decent handling rubber with the money you save over upgrading.

 

[KRANP]

Do any Punto's come with 175/70/R13 wheels?

 

[Caravadossi]

Do any Punto's come with 175/70/R13 wheels?

A Punto option was 155/80R13 on 5.00Bx13 ET35 rims.
The rims are also `approved’ for 175/70R13 tyres.

See: Bridgestone Pattern Digest, pp15/16
http://www.bridgestone.co.uk/English...neDatabook.pdf

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