anyone wanna comment on some wheels/tires for my mini?

Looking to stuff as much rubber under my 2005 R53 as is possible, without breaking anything due to rub, stock suspension/brakes now, but I might upgrade to slightly bigger fronts later, maybe JCW.

Only looking at 15/16" rims in 8" wide kosie kr4 or kr2 or some enkei sr6 with hopefully some 225/45 width on there

anyone running similar? If so what offset/spacers & tires do you run?

 

Autocross in what class? SCCA STX, DSP, SMF?

Any plans for adjustable front camber plates? If they are legal for your class then you should get them installed before spending a lot on tires.

Reason is, using OEM front camber you cannot make good use of the full front tire treads so tire wear will be higher and your ability to grip the road will be less than if you ran more front negative camber. It is a night and day difference for auto crossing and track use for any tires whether DOT street or Race rubber.

It is Ok to consider tire sizes that have smaller than OEM tire diameter. Do you have manual or automatic transmission?

For an 8" wide wheel, 225/45-15 is a good tire size, 225/50-15 will fit as well but it's taller.

 

I could care less what class I end up in or if I Place dead last in that class, I will be going with coilovers next year, I have a manual

I'm leaning towards K2R if they come in 15x8 in an offset that works

 

+36 works. May need a 3MM spacer in rear to clear trailing arm tho.

And yea, Raw time FTW. Could run 225/50 Toyos or 225/45 Nitto NT01s

 

K2R is only available in 15x7 so I'm looking for another alternative with similar style and light weight

 

How about Enkei Racing PF01 in 15x8, +35, 4x100 13.5#
MAT Flow Forming tech makes them stronger than similar cast wheels.

http://enkei.com/shop/racing/pf01

 

if I go with that style I will be getting 949 6UL's, it's last resort I'm not really fond of that look

the K1's are light but lots of pictures of them cracked

 

Plans for front Camber plates?

SO would your goal for autocrossing be (not mutually exclusive):

Just have fun.
Learn as much as possible about driving and car control.
Invest in wheels that you like the look of and are wide but still fit your brakes and suspension including any future mods, and be within budget.

So what is your budget for tires?

Do you want to have race tires that you can drive to events and not have to change wheels?

If so then DOT street tires in Extreme Summer tire class or Streetable R compound tires like Toyo R888 or similar.

Typically if you are new to autocross you want to try to learn on tire that are not as expensive and wear longer yet give you good feel and good grip. While not as fast as true race tires they offer better tire wear and sometimes will work pretty well if it rains (Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Spec).

However this year there have been introductions and upgrades to several of the Extreme Summer tires offered with treadwear 200.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/types/perfCat.jsp?perf=EP
BFG g-Force Rival S
Bridgestone RE-71R
Kumho V720
Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Spec
Hankook Ventus R-S3 version 2

Not all of these have sizes that would be good for both 15x8 and 16x8 wheels so be aware that you will need a match of wheels to tires if you want to make the most of your investment.

 

D2 coilovers I think, they come with camber plates

I've ran star specs before and I really liked them, the car is only for hooning it is not my daily driver

 

Problem is with some of these Extreme Summer tires the sizes are not always available to match your wheel options.

If 15x8"
Dunlop Direzza II star spec- only has 205/50-15
BFG Rival S- 225/45-15, $144 each, 20 lbs
BS RE-71R- only has 205/50-15, $120 each, 21 lbs
Hankook Ventus R-S3 v2- 225/45-15 $121 each, 21 lbs

If 16x8"
Dunlop Direzza II star spec- 225/45-16, $138 each, 23 lbs
BFG Rival S- 215/45-16, $147 each, 20 lbs
BS RE-71R- 225/50-16 $133 each, 24 lbs or
205/45-16 $159 each, 19 lbs, fits up to 7.5" wide rims
Hankook Ventus R-S3 v2- 225/50-16 $125 each, 24 lbs, special order, or
205/45-16 $127 each, 20 lbs.

 

still looking, autocross soon and track right after

I really like star spec so I'm leaning 16x8 now, anyone wanna comment on offset numbers to shoot for? Going to run r56 brakes up front

 

Large front brake calipers won't fit 15" wheels easily.

So 16x7" et 42 (pokes out 12.4mm) at least to 16x8" et 32 (pokes out 35mm) should be OK as long as tire diam. is not too tall if suspension is lowered.

For tires since early July (my last post/comment), the Extreme Summer tire of choice in both dry and wet for autocross is Bridgestone RE-71R by a "landslide".
A definite buy if you can.

Tire choices-
205/45-16 $159.49 fits 6.5-7.5" rims, perfect for 7" rim, 19 lbs, 23.2" tire diameter.
205/50-16 $123.72, fits 5.5-7.5" rims, perfect for 6.5" rim, 21 lbs, 24.1" tire diameter
225/50-16 $133, fits rims 6-8" rims, perfect for 7" rim, 24 lbs, 24.9" tire diam. is tall, not well suited for lowered suspension.

Less weight for tire and wheel is weighed against wider tire with large contact patch. Cost is roughly comparable.

I think that with the limited power of an R53 a light 16x7" wheel with 205mm wide tire will work fine and fit perfectly. You also have more choices in that width vs 16x8".

 

I decided to stay d-street for now, car came with 17x7 and we can go +-1" diam now, so I'm running 16x7 Enkei RPF1 with 205/45/16 RE-71R I like it so far, just need to find some 2mm spacers to get it back out where I had them