I've got a weird size tire on my sidecar, it's marked 145R13 74S, I hit the net for tire size calculators and none of Them will convert this tire size, I tired the MFG name (CENTRED) and found ONE place that has them in Alberta Canada, I need to get a normal size tire on this sidecar (145/50/13 or what ever) so if something happens I can replace it with out having to go to the place in Canada and their OMG prices for a tire, it has a 5 1/2 wide rim so there should be a tire out there that will fit.
SOooo, anybody have a conversion chart or site I can get what I need and want??
TIA
There are probably many tires that will fit onm you rrim. Go to a local tire store and see what you can get that is close to your size dimensionally or smaller. Talking physical dimensions here. I have done that on a few rigs and if the rim sizes are even close to 'nbormal' you will be okay. If the tire is smaller or larger and fits into the fender area with enough clearnce you may need to tweak your setup a little bnbut big deal. At least you wil have found a tire you can get when out on the road if need be.
What sidecar do you have? That may bring other respones that will help you out more.
145R13 should be your tire size. The next 2 numbers indicate the heigth to width ratio of the of the tire casing itself. The S is probably speed rating.
Lonnie
I called around and don't cha know good O'll Les Schwab has a brand that comes in that size and there all over the place so I'll go with them when I get one, but first I'm going to reverse it and see what happens handling wise, if it's OK might as well use it up.
Thanks for the responses Guys,
Originally written by Hack'n on 12/23/2007 1:19 PM
145R13 should be your tire size. The next 2 numbers indicate the heigth to width ratio of the of the tire casing itself. The S is probably speed rating.
Lonnie
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Go to google and type in 'tire size conversions' or soemthing like that and you will find a lot of info there. 'Tire speed ratings' is another thing to search for.
I have a Champion Escort that was originally equipped with a 145 R13 tire. Due to the horrendous availability of a 145 R13 tire, I replaced it with a 155/80 R13 tire. Going this route, decreases the wheel well clearance by 3/10th of an inch. Additionally, I had to obtain a thicker wheel spacer in order to clear the sidecar swingarm as well as new Cragar style lug nuts with a longer shank.
Ken
Thanks for a tire size, it's a good place to start looking for a 'normal" tire, actually I beleive that size would work, I have lots of clearance and the long lug nuts already if I needed a spacer which I doubt very much.
I have the Escort the same as Ken. I went to Schwab and could only get the 155R13 and thought everything would be fine until about 500 miles into a 2400 mile trip I discovered a groove being cut on the inside by the shock bolt. I ended up with the same size tire with a 1/4 inch spacer to clear the bolt but had to level the sidecar because of the higher tire. One problem could be the wheel nuts are only contacting about half their threads. Since all this happened, I have talked to Jay at Dauntless and he says the 145-13 tire was used on the old Yugo car. Hope this helps.
Ralph
I googled 145r13 and found places I could order it from, just what I need if something happens on the road, I'll find a real tire that will work and just a piece of info that you can't live with out,, Le Car used that size also,,,,,how sweet is that:-)
I had the same problem on my Escort. The stock tire was not available anywhere in CO so I ended up with a 155/80 and spacers. A real PITA after having the first tire cut 1/2 way through the sidewall. It wasn't obvious right away and took a loaded trip to discover the problem.
Also note that the 4 lug wheel Champion used was re-drilled to their bolt patern and simply isn't available anywhere at all. If you should happen to damage the wheel and or tire on a trip it will be an adventure to say the least in getting either or both replaced.
Due to the lack of options with the Escort Tires and Wheels I am looking into the possability of switching to a 12" wheel like the Hannigan uses or better yet buying a Hannigan Sidecar to replace the Champion Yugo, er' Escort 😉
It looks like at the least I will have to build another Hub for use with a Standard Wheel/Tire combination and perhaps raise or re-position the body. That Hannigan option is looking better all the time. :0)
Jerry
Jerry, there are a lot of 4 bolt off set rims out there you might look at, go to a tire store that sell rims also and tell them what you need, some even have adj. hole spacers that will work on a number of different hubs/hole patterns, the off set will cure the tire cutting, it's worth a try IMHO.
Ted
I found the grooved tire on a Saturday night at 6:30 (Labor Day weekend). Got to eye-balling my Roll-a-Home camper spare, 4.50 x 12 and the bolt pattern was the same. It was about 3 inches shorter in height but with the electric lean was able to level her up good enough for about 400 miles to Salt Lake City where I found a spacer and mounted a new tire. The trailer tire was a little rougher riding but handled quite good.
Ralph
Good idea Ted but so far no luck in finding one to replace the Champion modified rim that has kissed a few too many curbs. The rim is so wide that it hits long before the tire can. ;-(
Anywho the Rims that Champion used were all 100mm c-c which is the standard for auto use. Champion then re-drilled them to 4" c-c which is the normal for Trailer's. None of the Trailer rims I have found even look good. It seems that Champion used some basic Trailer Hubs then welded a plate on the inside for the Disc Brake which is another whole bucket of ill-fitting worms.
Can I say OFF Center holes that are way to big for the rotor bolts and caliper position too far to the rear for complete pad contact coupled with an excentric rotor causing massive squeal due to the ridge on the pads and the excentric rotor.
Mine isn't the only one and I have looked at several that were made in the following years that all have the same problems. It seems that Champion has changed to a 5 bolt hub but still hasn't addressed the problems with Caliper Position and off center disk rotor bolt holes that are mis-matched in size for the bolts used.
On mine I made some threaded shims for the bolts to correct the size then found that the holes drilled in the hub are not centred even close thus the need for the overly large holes in the rotors and smaller bolts to allow the disk to be bolted up at all. One day this winter I will take on the project of building a hub correctly and fitting it with an easily found Standard wheel/Tire combination. That is if I don't chuck the whole thing first and simply replace the whole sidecar. After all it is showing it's age of 5 years with cracks that have been accumilating from day one due to air bubbles and voids in the glass along with thin sections that are cracking away on the lips in the cockpit.
Poorly done glass work and mis-matched paint(ie Trunk Lid is missing the Pearl that is on the rest of the body and was put of as "It Looks OK") on a $8,000 sidecar.
Over all I have been un-impressed with Champion's efforts or should I say lack of effort with this unit.
While this unit has a number of problems the Champion Trikes I have watched being assembled at the local Dealers have shown nothing even close to these problems, they are much more complex and in the same price range. It just appears that Champion has shifted all of their efforts to Trikes and let the sidecars fall as they may off the back.
Thus my interest in seaking an alternative brand that may still have some active QC with concern toward long term use, that is more than one or two years, ease of replacement of common parts like the tires and for that matter the light lenses etc.
