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14" v 13" wheels


nutty7

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I'm running 14" wheels on my supersport r and am thinking of buying some 13" i know about unsprung weight more choice less money, but if shod with the same tyres around a track would i notice much difference in the handling 🤔
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Are they being discontinued then? I'm running 32's on 14" rims and am quite happy with them although they will need replacing soon.

Guess I might have to consider alternatives? (Any recommendations - blatting and occassional track days?)

Dont really want the expense of replacing the wheels?

Took a fellow blatter out at last weeks meet he seemed surprised by the level of grip given by my tyres and in cold, damp conditions.

A comment as such, coming from that miserable sod, Gareth 'Jack Dee' Harrold, just cant be ignored?!

 

Its not the days in your life ..........But the LIFE in your days!! ;0))

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While you knowledgeable chaps are talking wheels & tyres, is it completely daft to have 185 60 14 on the front and 205 60 13 on the rear? Reasoning stems from many hours searcing through Tech Talk where it seems that most agree that wider at the rear is advantageous but doing it this way keeps the gearing much the same and Yoko AO48 (or 32 for the moment) are available in this size. Car is live axle with AO32R and a fairly sprightly Wilcox built Twincam (180bhp the dyno) and used mainly for trackdays.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

*smile*

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13" wheels are noticeably better on the track if you can notice such things, The reason is partly due to less weight but also to do with gyroscopic effect.

As for tyres, if it's for track work then the 32 while still around or the 48 will see you right. *smile*

 

stop the war

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185/60R14 and 205/60R13 are near as dammit the same diameter, so it wouldn't upset the ride height rake if you previously had the same size tyre all round.

 

If the 7 was limited on brake disc size you could take the opporunity to fit a bigger disc under the 14" front rim. Ultimately you can fit adequate brakes under 13" rims, and rotational mass is something you don't voluntarily add anywhere, especially the front where gyroscopic effect is in da house.

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Thanks tf, Luke & Graham, it sounds as though it is worth a try. This way I only have to fork out for two wheels & tyres so I think I will buy the 205 13 AO32s (while they are still around), get it corner weighted and see how it feels at Cadwell.
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Just ordered "the last two" 205/60R13AO32S from Polley. All I need now are two 13 inch Minators (presumably 7 inch from what I have read on this forum) and I will give it a go. If it works, great. If not there could be some bargain wheels and tyres coming up in the spring!
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I've gone for Yoko A048 185/60/14 on the fronts and 195/60/14 on the rear. This has worked pretty well, although I did have to change the front ARB to tweak the handling (at a cost of £30). The choice of tyre is limited on the 14'' wheel, but unless you want to put some ACB10s on, this shouldn't really affect you. Certainly the popular Yokos come in these sizes (i.e. A021 & A048).

 

You might reduce unsprung weight with 13'' wheels, but if you are serious about this, you will want to run the big brake kit as this is lighter than the std kit (less use of cast iron for the callipers)

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

1400 Supersport with 6 gears and clamshell wings *smile*

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I got the impression it was to get a rear tyre that was a) sticky and b) wider than 185. You can get some decent rubber for 14" rims but there's hardly anything, of any description, wider than 195. So instead of changing from 185/60R14 all round to 185/60R13 and 205/60R13, which are different sizes, you just change the rears to 205/60R13 which is about the same diameter as the 14" fronts, doesn't affect the rake and only needs two rims buying.
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Good summary Luke. It also means that the gearing doesn't change & speedo (recently calibrated) is still almost accurate and, as you point out, is a more economical way of getting fatter rubber at the rear. Anyway, I have taken the plunge now and, if anyone is interested, will report experiences after first trackday.
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