165/70 SR 13
01/02/2025
It was a long time ago. I bought my first car over 40 years ago, second-hand of course. But despite the fact that the Alfasud 1.5 ti was already around three years old, it was still up to date. It even had wide tires! 165/70 SR 13 could be read on the tire sidewall, 165 stood for the width in mm, 70 (to 100) was the height-to-width ratio, SR limited the top speed to 180 km/h and 13 inches was the diameter of the steel wheels on which the tires were mounted.
Seventies tires were still sold as sporty wide tires back then, after all, the standard format, as fitted to a Golf 1 (155 SR 13), for example, was 80:100.
Steel wheels didn't cost 50 francs back then. To save money, only three were bought for the winter; after all, you could also fit a winter tire on the rim of the (equally dimensioned) spare wheel.
The wheels were relatively light despite the use of sheet steel, especially when compared to today's 21-inch rims with 30 or more centimeters of rubber. And despite the dainty 13-inch wheels, the disc brakes underneath (the front ones were mounted inside the gearbox) were sufficient to stop the Alfasud safely.
After all, an Alfa three-door only weighed 880 kg, so 85 hp was enough for almost 10 kg per hp, which was a desirable power-to-weight ratio at the time.
Yes, those were the days ...
