Where have all the tires gone?

My dad went online to see his choices to buy new tires for his 1987 Biturbo, 205x60x14..........nuthin'. So he calls me and I don't believe him, I tell him, 'cmon there has to be something. I am figuring to myself I'll go home tonight and look on all of the usual places and find a lot of options. I am figuring I can look at 215's even 225's, 60 series, 55 series maybe even find a 225x50...........nutin'! well nothing that I would like on any of my cars! Oh, yeah there are some auto cross and race tires and the other option is at the other end of the spectrum. Has the market for a decent sporty tire in the 14" totally dried up?

That would be the sounds of crickets.

In reply to maseratiguy:

Yes it has. And don't expect much from the next size up. I've been looking for good sport tires for my Porsche 924s, which came with 15" tires (currently 205/60/15). Not much there either. You need to go to 16" these days to have a good selection of high performance street tires. Fortunately I can find 16" phone dial wheels to take the larger size and still be a correct original option, but it will be a pain to change wheels just to get decent tires. Pretty soon they will have us all driving donks :)

I had a look at Coker Tires, and if not exactly what you want, they should have some rubber that will keep you from driving on the rims. Place ain cheap cause they seem to know they got ya!

You seriously have a Biturbo that runs?

Sporty tires in 13 and 14 Inch have gone the way of the dodos.

I only know this because I have been trying to find tires for the Corvair on the cheap and I can't find what I need in either size.

I'm probably going to settle for 15", but that's starting to become difficult in that size as well for performance.

Tires are all getting big and fat like the rest of us. in response to nohome...Yeah, looked at Coker and well I guess they have to charge what they need or want too but..........'um No. ...and in response to jstein77 actually against all about everything we hear about their reputation, YES, and runs well in fact. It is a '87 which is the FI ones, My theory is that, A). A lot of the issues may have been eliminated getting rid of the carb/turbo set up. B). By '87 some of the "rushed into production bugs had been worked out. and mostly C). The PO maintained the car very well and when my dad bought it 14 years ago, he continued to maintain it while putting on about 2,000 - 2,500 miles a year. He's been on long trips, (several times over 1,000 miles)and short. His maintenance costs are actually quite low. In 14 years oil changes, cam belts, a fuse box, diff seals, and cat. Kinda' breaks the stereotype.

In reply to maseratiguy:

I'm having a heck of a time trying to find 205/60 x 13. If anybody knows where, please let me know.

This discussion made me curious so I did some searching. The Tire Rack still shows some DOT Competition tires in 205/60-13, and some of them come with tread. In 215/60-14, they have the venerable BFG Radial T/A, a favorite of classic muscle car owners for decades. Personally, I have never seen them on a Maserati, but I suppose you could mount the white letters to the inside. In a nod to those with 15 inch wheels, Bridgestone offers its new RE-71R in 205/50-15, which would be a little wider and a lot shorter than what came on the 924S.

These guys:

http://www.townfairtire.com/?gclid=CPjg0aGn_MUCFYuQHwod7nQAsw

Usually have a decent selection of 13/14/15 inch tires, but maybe not high performance.

Worth a look though . . .

205/60/13 is the spec tire size for the Legends race car series. Only available thru Legends dealers at around $100 a tire. They use a version of the federal 595. These tires are commonly used on TR8s with stock rims, and are real popular with the BMW 2002 and 320i guys. A buddy of mine just shod his TR8 with 225/45/15 and 205/50/15 Toyo R1R. The grip is phenomenal.

So we are all going to act like he didn't claim to have a running Biturbo?

Yup, 14's are dead. 15's are mostly dead. The only reason 13's are alive is because of some racing series. Since I don't drive my cars that much, I am considering (harder) track tires as street tires when I need them (!).

The sad thing about having to use 16's is that 16 wheels on a brake drum car can look pretty silly.

In reply to fanfoy: I don't doubt his word. Do you?

Rupert wrote: In reply to fanfoy: I don't doubt his word. Do you?

He was pointing out a possible avenue of conversation, not calling the guy a liar.

JamesMcD wrote:

Rupert wrote: In reply to fanfoy: I don't doubt his word. Do you?

He was pointing out a possible avenue of conversation, not calling the guy a liar.

^^^That. I know there is someone here with a running Biturbo, but I honestly thought it was the last one. Curious to read the story of how that happened. Are all the other Biturbo's in North America in his backyard waiting to give up whatever parts are needed to keep that one running?

Heck, when I was looking for an Italian sedan in the early 2000's, all the Biturbo's where complete basket cases only worth crushing. That was 15 years ago. I ended up with an Alfa Milano.

Back on topic to help the OP. While there are no 205/60R14's out there, there are 195/60R14's out there. That may look like a step down but that is what TireRack lists for an 87 BiTurbo. There is a BFG G-FORCE SUPER SPORT A/S with the section width is listed as 7.9" (200mm) and the tread width listed as 6.1" (155mm) that looks a pretty good compromise.

Damn, I remember when 14" tires were edging out 13" tires. Now it's 22's edging out 20's!! GET OFF MY LAWN

Finally figured out picture posting! ...anyway about two or three years ago, my dad with his Bi-turbo and when Meatball , (my dog) was still a puppy. He's just over 4 years old now and a bit over 200lbs....Meatball not my dad.

+1 on the 195/60-14 tires, there are lots of selections available.

  Tom