Tire recommendations

It's time for new tires again!! This time I was thinking of replacing them with somthing of better quality other than the basic tires I have been using to get longer life and also to maybe help with a better ride - I find the ride quite hard and I thought this may help. However I have found that most places only sell one kind of tire in this size (P155/80R13). Same thing with online stores selling tires. Do better quality tires exist for this size and if so any suggestions on where I can find them. Also does "plus sizing" help with ride and handling. I guess it will worsen gas mileage and given current gas prices may not be a good idea.

I have a 1995 Metro and I replaced the standard P155/80R13s with the taller P165/80R13s. The traction rating in the wet is better than standard tires which is why I bought them, in addition to them. being taller and reducing rpm at cruising speed (my 3 speed auto needs this). There are no clearance problems. You might even be able to use P175/80R13s. If I remember correctly, they made the ride a little softer. I got them from Firestone for $17.50 each. The exact name is LEMANS CHAMPION SE P165/80R13 TLWS PS. Firestone article number 102903.
Good luck.

1995 1.3L auto hatchback, 92000 miles
1972 240 cu in Ford F100 pickup, 398000 miles
1972 Kawasaki H2 750, 22000 miles

Thanks for the suggestion - I will check it out. I guess taller tires will mean that the speedometer will no longer be accurate. Have you noticed this.

Yes, when the speedometer indicates 65, the actual speed is 67. The mileage at high speed should be a little better, but I didn't check before I put on the taller tires. I now get 38 mpg@ 65.

I agree it helps those of us with an auto trans since it is only a 3 speed. I really wish they could have put in OD. I will do a calculation to see what the speedo error would be for P165 and P175.

Forgive me for being so long winded and I don't know how much of this you already know, but I realize the information I gave you was a little incomplete. The 165 in the tire size means the tread width is 165 mm. So they are wider, too, by 6.5%. They are also taller by 6.5% because the ratio of tread width to side wall height is 80% for both tires (the 80 in the tire size). At 60 mph the speedometer would read 64 if it was perfectly accurate. One other thing, I'm not sure if it is legal for them to install the 175 tires even if they fit. I forget why I didn't get them. Either they were unavailable in that tire, illegal, or would rub sometimes.

Yes, thanks for posting back and clarifying. Yes, you are correct. Until now I really did not look and understand tire ratings as I generally went for the recommended ratings. I presume that since the wide and hight increase for a given aspect ratio at some point the existing rims will not be usable. Did you have any problems fitting the P165 with 80% aspect ratio on the same rim.

I take it that you have not had any experince with "plus sizing" tires. I understand this simply changes the width of the tires in increments of 1" for better handling so you get wider tires. This is an expensive option since you also need new rims and I guess it will impact gas milage.

The P165/80R13 tires fit fine on the standard rims. I haven't had any experience with plus sizing. My next tires are going to be P175/80R13's as long as I am convinced they will fit and won't make the handling dangerous. If the tire company won't mount them, I'll get someone else to mount them or mount them myself. I'm sure that would be a big hassle considering how hard motorcycle tires are to mount.