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Joel Member
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I bought JH 18397 a couple of days ago. It's a lot of fun - and will be even more so when I get a few things sorted out. This board has already been very helpful. I'm certain to have a bunch more questions soon. What is the correct tire size? I think I read somewhere that 185/70/13's were stock. My car has 195/60/13's on it and the spare is a 215/60/13. The 185/70/13's are readily available and reasonably priced. I have not searched hard yet - but the latter 2 don't seem to be available - via internet search. Joel |
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frank12873 Member
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205/60-13's are a very popular upgrade to the stock 185/70's. I've never heard of 195/60-13's being fitted to a JH; they would be much smaller in diameter than the stock tires or the 215/60's, and would really throw off the speedometer and raise RPM's for a given true road speed. I have 205/60-13 BF Goodrich Radial T/A's on my car, and I like them. I've also seen good things written here about Sumimoto tires of that size. Both brands size 205/60-13 are readily available at tire stores in my area, and probably in yours too. Have fun with your new old car! (Sorry, I've corrected the tire size above from 215 to 205.) Last edited on 09-18-2006 03:18 pm by frank12873 |
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Mark Rosenbaum Member 
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The stock tire size is 185-70HR13. This is entirely adequate for the street, but a 205 or 215 tire gives you a significantly larger tire contact patch, which adds considerably to the car's cornering potential. The tradeoff is usually a slightly smaller tire diameter. Whatever tires you select, I suggest that that they have 'A' or 'AA' DOT ratings for traction, heat, and wear. Such tires shouldn't cost any more than the rest, and are usually far better made, so you'll have fewer balance problems and a smoother and quieter ride at all speeds. This can be very significant in a car as light as the JH. I prefer H-rated tires myself as their sidewalls are generally more firm than those of tires with a lower speed rating. This gives a slightly stiffer suspension, and a JH with stock springs will benefit from this. Also, if a tire should suddenly lose its air, the stiffer sidewall may allow the car to remain under control for a few extra seconds -- a potential lifesaver. I recently installed a set of Sumitomo 205-60HR13's on my car, and am delighted with them. The price was quite reasonable, traction and cornering are very good, steering is precise at all speeds, and they don't respond badly to roadway imperfections. One does have to pay attention on wet pavement, however. While this is rarely a problem where I live, one might want a different tire in the soggy parts of the country. |
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Joel Member
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i ordered the sumitomo's this afternoon. thanks for the comments. don't worry i'll have more questions for ya soon. |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator 
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I am considering ordering some Kumho185/80/13's for the 10 hour freeway cruise to the West Coast Nationals. I figure they are about 7% larger in the diameter than the 205/60's that I run now. That reduces my 70 mph cruising rpm from 4000 to about 3720. I have six extra wheels so converting back for better handling is not a problem. At $155 plus mounting it's the cheapest way to get overdrive! The 60 series tires leave a huge gap between the tire and the wing and look wrong on the car if you ask me. When I win the lotto some large wheels and suitable tires would be nice. See you on the road, Kurt Housh JH 13148 |
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Joel Member
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i put the sumitomos on yesterday. i've only driven a few miles but damn what a difference. a lot less noise and vibration and much smoother over rough road. highly recommended. |
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Panini Member 
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Joel, I can't agree more. I did not get the sumitomo's, but the size has changed the drive incredibly. I'm shocked to hear that larger 13" tires are readily available. I could not find them in Dallas Tx. anywhere. I couldn't even find the 205-60's on tire rack. I found the yokes for 40. each but they are a year old and have been discontinued. Can I ask you where you got them and the $. J&N |
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Joel Member
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Tire Rack: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Sumitomo&tireModel=HTR+200&vehicleSearch=false&partnum=06HR3HTR200&fromCompare1=yes&place=0 if the link doesn't work, search by size. they also have some racing tires but they were around 150 bucks a pop. the sumitomos were 42 bucks each plus 37 total for shipping. and the local tire shop mounted and balanced them for 10 bucks each. so - total 240 all the way around. not bad. ok - next - adjust the parking brake, check the front brakes to see why it pulls to the left on braking, think about changing the timing belt, think longer about adjusting the carbs.. . ..&ct. . .&ct.. . get bushings and swaybars for the suspension. . .find a block and rebuild a motor. . .&ct. . . just a short list |
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Panini Member
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I think that's a great price. I did look at all those tires. I emailed them to make sure they weren't shaved. Nevered replyed. I was thrown off by the 'competition'. This JH is going to be for my son for his starter. We will also be try to fix parking brake, replace timing belt, swaybars, all bushings in front. We are now in the middle of trying to recover from trying to install pertronix. Keep in touch on those projects. Not even fooling with the carbs!! BTW after the yokes I punched it around a corner and heard a little rub. |
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Rory Clark Member
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Joel, Just wanted to thank you for the Link to TireRack. Bought 4-HTR 60 x13 Sumitomos from them for U$S 210.00 Delivered to Okla. City. You saved me about U$S 150.00 from the quote I received from local shop. Delivery was 4 days. Just waiting for my wheels to get back from Powder Coating ($ 35.00ea) Thanks Rory 73-JH 13218 |
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Joel Member
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Awesome. It's good to give something back after all the info I've gotten from this board in the last few weeks. |
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Dave Member
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Powerder coated for $35 each? Did that include the clean up too? Please post some photos of how they come out. Mine are pretty ugly right now. Dave |
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Joel Member
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Just an aside: I just got back from Japan. Apparently 13" wheels are readily available there - in many sport variations. They have a bunch of small cars that we don't have here and people like to trick them out. I may have a buddy get me a list of tires. It's not too expensive to have things shipped. |
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Steve Jarvis Member
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Joel, I noticed you put the HTR 200s 205/60R13 on your Jensen. I've been looking at them to replace the current 185s but was worried about fender clearance in the rear. The 185s seem to have about 1/2" which is fairly close with 205s. Any issues with the tires and clearance? Thanks. |
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Joel Member
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Never a bit of trouble. I've heard these tires are a little squirrely in the wet - but I live in San Diego and don't drive in the wet....:-) |
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Steve Jarvis Member
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Thanks for the update. I'm not sure my rims are standard but they came with the car. I'll try and check the offset etc. Is there any gap between the fender lip and the rear tire on your car? On mine it is close enough that you can see that there may be an issue with wider tires rubbing if the car hit a major bump. This leads me to believe that the rim offset may not match the standard Jensen rim. BTW, front seems to have lots of room. It is very close though - tough to call without buying the tires and trying them on for size. On the other hand the 205s probably look better and I just need to watch the bumps. Update: The HTR 200 tires are on and look pretty good. Last edited on 05-25-2008 04:54 pm by Steve Jarvis |
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marvinm Member
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New J-H owner and new forum member. When I opened this topic the first time, I believed I understood how to read a tire size. Now I'm convinced that I don't have a clue. 30-something years of ignorant bliss. Have the "standard" size tires and currently happy with them...now if I only had a 5th gear... MarvinM - Mk1 10927 |
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Circmand Member
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I found these authentic British sports car tires. I havent tried them yet but thought I would post http://www.britishcarpartsco.com/Vredestine%20Tires.htm |
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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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If you go thru this Web link you can bump into john Cronins JH going thru it's restoration in that section. Check it out John ........... Brett |
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Randallclary@icloud.com Member
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Have you tried to purchase the 205/60/13 Sumitomos recently. I'm having trouble finding them at a reasonable price. |
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gmgiltd Member
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The original tyre size in the correct speed rating has been like trying to buy unobtanium in the UK, you can get the size but they are usually only suitable for trailers. Even 205/60's are getting scarce from any of the major manufacturers and they have a slightly smaller radius than standard. Here having an inferior speed rated tyre is enough to invalidate your insurance so it's something that should be taken into account. I eventually got 15x6" wheels from the club store ( which allowed the fitting of bigger brakes) and use 195/55x15" R ratedPirelli P7 - very close to the original rolling radius and slightly wider and firmer than the originals. No clearance issues apart from a minor rubbing on full lock in reverse. |
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Randallclary@icloud.com Member
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I need to get new wheels anyway so I might look seriously at the 15" solution. Thanks for the info. |
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subwoofer Member
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I run 205/50R15s on 7x15" wheels. ET5 is just on the limit, I think I would buy ET10 wheels if I were to buy again. As for tyres, I chose Vredestein Sportrac 5. Speed rating V (240km/h) and does not look wildly out of place since they have a traditional looking tread pattern. -- Joachim |
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gmgiltd Member
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Sorry my typo - markings on the P7 tyres are 195/55 R15 (radial) and they are V rated for 149 mph or 240 kph |
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answerman Member
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Not necessarily performance tires, but I have a set of Kumho 185/70R13s on Ms. Jenavieve. Been very happy with them for the 2000 or so miles I've put on them, and they fit the stock wheels. |
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Tom Bradley Member
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I finally replaced my ancient 205/60R13's with 15 inch wheels and Michelin 205/60R15's. I was considering putting the Kumho's on the stock wheels, but could not bring myself to trust tires that only cost $50. Not with the way I like to take corners. The new tires only only a few % bigger than the old ones, but there is definitely a noticeable difference in performance. Acceleration is slower, but RPM's on the freeway are lower, which is what I was really after. Cornering traction is also better: the old tires were so dried out they tended to slip without any squealing warning. I have not been able to get these new ones to squeal except when accelerating from stop around a tight corner. I would not recommend these for a show car, though. The front of the front tires looked awfully close to the fender wall at some steering angles, so I ended up doing some sheet metal work to increase the clearance for my peace of mind. In retrospect, I think something closer to the stock diameter might have been a better choice. On the positive side, my speedometer reads something close to the actual speed for the first time since I have owned the car (about 30 years), which makes my geeky engineer nature happy. I should also mention that the larger tires also gives a bit more road clearance, which makes getting over speed bumps much easier. There were some places where I used to scrape something no matter how carefully I went over that are no problem at all now. Last edited on 10-28-2014 06:07 am by Tom Bradley |
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