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  #16  
Old 11-09-2003, 08:41 PM
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Joshhol,
It's the 80 series 13" tires that are getting tough to find. The 70 series 13" tires are still widely availible but not all the time or in every brand. Those would make Miss Daisy look like a Low-Rider and she would be screaming at freeway speeds!

Gregg,
What brand / model of tires did you get and what was the warantee?



I'm still planning to check my nearest NTB store to see if they have any decent 80 series 13" tires availible to special order, or if the ones they listed last year have since dissappeared from their computer.

Thanks, Mark

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  #17  
Old 11-12-2003, 06:31 PM
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Hello All,

I visited my local NTB store today -

The good news - There are about a dozen tire manufacturers, making more than thirty 185/80R13 tires listed in NTB's computer.

The bad news - Just because a tire is in NTB's computer doesn't mean it's still availible. Apparently NTB's computer hasn't been updated in 4 years and they have to call each manufacturer to verify if a particular tire is still availible - a tedious process!

I had them call Pirelli and Michelin to find out that their respective 185/80R13 tires were no longer availible.

I looked at NTB's $20 - 35,000 mile Superguard 185/80R13, a skinny, cheap looking tire that would be perfect on a Chevette.
The NTB guy was "sure that the Goodyear $35 - 65,000 mile Weatherguard was still availble and they could order them, or I could check with the Goodyear dealer".

After the rain stops, I'm going to see how many spare W114 rims I have and see if they have the three little 'nubs' to hold my W111 hubcaps.

I'll keep you all updated.

Happy Motoring, Mark
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  #18  
Old 11-14-2003, 12:35 PM
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Italian Shoes For Miss Daisy

I have Pirelli P400's 195/70 x 14 on my 280E. With about 10,000 miles and three seasons under my belt, I heartily recommend them. I keep the fronts at 32 psi same as the rears and all is wonderfully responsive with no crying in the turns.

Enjoy the curves ahead!
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  #19  
Old 11-15-2003, 10:26 AM
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Well, I stopped at a nearby Goodyear dealer to find out that the 13" Goodyear WeatherGards, that the NTB guy said were still availible, aren't availible from Goodyear! Goodyear said the WeatherGuard is a Goodyear tire exclusive to Sears.
They said they could order me some 13" Firestones for $70 each!
I'm going to check my spare W114 14" rims to see if they will fit Miss Daisy so I can stay with Pirellis.

Happy Motoring, Mark
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  #20  
Old 11-15-2003, 11:02 AM
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Reply to Mark

Mark,
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  #21  
Old 11-15-2003, 11:06 AM
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Mark, In answer to your question, the 13" whitewall tires that I purchased from the "Big O" tire store were an in-house brand labeld Big O. Big O is a large franchise discount tire outfit here in the southwest. Warrantee was 50,000 miles.
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  #22  
Old 11-15-2003, 11:20 AM
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Thanks, Gregg,

Yes, we don't have 'Big O' over here on the East Coast. I'm geting to the point where I don't want to be forced to choose from whats left at 'the bottom of the barrel'!
Switching to 14" rims and a 70 series tire of MY choice, might give me a bit better cornering too.

Happy Motoring, Mark
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  #23  
Old 11-15-2003, 01:50 PM
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Mark,
I would be interested in the outcome of your wheel conversion as I would probably in the future consider switching to a 14" wheel. Presently I have a speedometer error problem of about 5 miles faster than actual which I think a larger rim would correct. Two questions that I would have are: 1. Would the bolt pattern be the same as on my 63? 2. I realize that the wheel trim ring wouldn't fit but would I still be able to use my MBZ hubcap?
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  #24  
Old 11-15-2003, 09:21 PM
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Gregg,
A bit of Mercedes wheel trivia - While Mercedes Pontons and Fintails came with 13" rims, Mercedes did offer 15" rims, to special order, for police, ambulance or competition use. Also, starting with the Pagoda-SLs in '63 and the square body W108 S class in '65, 14" rims with the small center hubcaps, became standard equipment. I think, starting in '68, Mercedes switched to the large one-piece hubcap design. The early 14" rims that accept the small center hubcaps would be ideal but may be hard to find.

I looked at several of the 14" rims on my '72 W114 250 sedan. I think they will bolt up to my Fintail but I will check that out asap. None of my 250 rims have the little nubs to secure the small center hubcaps.

I've been in touch with someone who is parting out some older Mercedes. He says he has four 14" rims off a W115 220. He says these rims DO have the nubs to fit the small center caps. He's Emailing me some pictures tomorrow, so lets hope they're a set of early 14" Mercedes wheels and not some other 14" rims somebody stuck on that 220, that just happened to fit.

Happy Motoring, Mark
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Last edited by Mark DiSilvestro; 11-22-2003 at 01:19 PM.
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  #25  
Old 11-15-2003, 09:58 PM
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Well, if all else fails,

I've got 10 "Bundt Cake" 14" aluminum wheels I'd be happy to sell really cheap, now that I'm converting my '85 300TD to 15" X 7" AMG rims. 6 of them are 6", of which two have nearly brand new Bridgestone B420 195/70 X 14 ($80. for the pair, with tires still all mounted and balanced?) and two have half worn Michelins of the same size ($70. for the pair, because I prefer the Michelins if I'm going to keep two for spare spares?); the other two 6" and all four 6 1/2" have new or almost new Michelin XGT 225/60 X 14" (I'd want $140. for the absolutely unused pair of those, $100. for the second best pair, since these tires will fit my youngest daughter's '83 Toyota -- original equipment size, in fact, but I might sell the 6 1/2" wheels without the tires for $30. each.). If you have any interest, try jamesrbaron@cs.com, but I will be away from Williamsburg from Nov. 23 through Dec. 1, and my daughter who lives in Arlington won't be coming home again, and therefore available to deliver them to you, until Christmas time. I don't have any idea about what clearance problems these might have on an older model, though.

Last edited by Fimum Fit; 11-15-2003 at 10:09 PM.
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  #26  
Old 11-26-2003, 08:43 PM
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I just found out that 3 of my tyres are 11 years old. One was the spare, that could mean it's from the previous set and twice as old.

I called a couple of places and found some 185/85 R13's fairly easily.
One was Less Shwab, they had Marshall tires in that size. Said they might be from Korea, I don't know much about them but he said they were good tires. Another place has Kelly Springfield's in that size. While they're not Pirelli's or Michelin's maybe they'll have to do for me. I don't want to change the rim size.

Tires on the car now are 175's. Is 185 the correct one? The book says 7.25-13 nylon sport.
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  #27  
Old 11-26-2003, 11:18 PM
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I'd go with the Kelly-Springfields.
The first number in the metric tire size is the tread width in mm. 7.25 inches is equivalent to 185 mm. With the hectic holidays upon me, I'm putting off doing anything more about my tires for now, other than limiting my freeway driving. While I can still get correct 13 inch radials from NTB switching to 14 inch rims would give me many more tire choices and a 70 series 14 inch tire might further improve the handling
I had a few Emails back and forth with the guy that said he had some 14 inch rims for me but now, I haven't heard from him for awhile. Maybe I asked too many questions. I might take the easy way out if 185-80R13 Kelly-Springfields are availible here. Thanks for the info.

Happy Motoring, Mark
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Last edited by Mark DiSilvestro; 11-26-2003 at 11:27 PM.
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  #28  
Old 11-27-2003, 01:50 AM
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Re: Well, if all else fails,

Quote:
Originally posted by Fimum Fit
I've got 10 "Bundt Cake" 14" aluminum wheels I'd be happy to sell really cheap, now that I'm converting my '85 300TD to 15" X 7" AMG rims.
Mark, the Bunts would look really nice on your 220S. IMHO.
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  #29  
Old 11-27-2003, 12:50 PM
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There were also some Kumho's in that size. But just as I clicked on them, AOL crashed (POS!!!! ) as it often does, right at 6:36PM, a number which was on the plate of the Fintail when it was in Washington.
So I got kind of spooked, and I guess I'll be getting the Kelly-Springfields.
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63 220S W111
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2010 VW Jetta TDI M6

Last edited by joshhol; 11-27-2003 at 02:41 PM.
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  #30  
Old 12-01-2003, 08:52 PM
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Passing this along

Thank you for visiting our Web site and sending us your e-mail.

We are sorry, but we do not make a tire size 185/85-13.

Coker Tire in Chattanooga, Tennessee, specializes in supplying tires for your
vintage sizes and type of applications. You can contact them by calling
1-800-251-6336. They may be able to provide the tire size you're looking for.

If you have additional questions, please respond to this email
or you may call us at 1-800-847-3435 (toll-free) between
8:30AM and 6:00PM Eastern Time Monday through Friday to allow
one of our Consumer Relations Representatives to assist you.

Michelin North America
Consumer Relations Department

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86 300E 5 speed
2010 VW Jetta TDI M6
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