Nor in mine...
I have had too many discussions about how that sort of thing with people who argue that it can't be done in this country, too expensive, the country is too big, no one would ride it, cheaper to fly, etc. And, yet, some of these same people come back from Europe and say how great the trains are there and why can't we have that... I don't get it. But with a general "can't do" attitude, it will never happen.

 

I, for one, would love to see a high speed train run all over the US. Heck, the TGV is all over Europe and is awesome - hit 186mph (300kph) out of Avignon to Leon. When I traveled there, nearly every seat on every train was full. The local "commuter line" between Nice and Monty Carlo (for the Gran Prix) was as packed as a train could get. But as long as Big Oil continued to lobby Congress, we are never going to have a TGV here in the states. That was overly simplified of course - there are many other issues to overcome as well.

We had a nasty "higher speed" train accident here in the PNW a few years ago, screwed up rail and auto traffic for long than it should have. That accident was two fold if I remember correctly. One being human error, train running too fast for the corner it was in and two, the automated breaking/warning system was not installed but to budget constraints. To make things worse, it was the lines first use for public transport.

 

I remember that one. What a mess!
There is also the money side of it. The rail owners make more money with freight than people. I have often thought about how much fun it would be to have my own car loaded on a train, go somewhere in a few hours, and then have my own car to drive...‘Tis to dream.

 

Hey, I just checked with Tire Rack... The Bridgestone tire rebate starts on Thursday, but will be honored on any orders this week...

 

Unfortunately I won't be back in time to figure if I want BS. The ones that I really want is Toyo R888s.

 

I had ridden just the high speed train between Shanghai and Suzhou in which the route wasn't Mag Lev. Still it was pretty fast at 175 MPH or so. The Mag Lev only runs between Pudong Airport and Shanghai. It is more of a international showpiece for the country.

 

The TVG in Europe is still the fastest I have traveled using ground transport.

When my wife and I were traveling to New Zealand and Australia we initially had a 20 hour layover in Shanghai where you can get a very short term VISA of sorts where they allow you to leave the international airport and take a tour of the city using the Mag Lev. unfortunately, the flights were changed and we were not able to do this. I was super stoked but alas, it is an adventure for another day. Seoul, Korea does this as well, but you are no a bus not a Mag Lev.

 

You want the R888s or the R888Rs? I think the R888s are being phased out and being replaced with the R888Rs. I don’t see any 15” R888s listed on TR.

I tried a set of R888s and didn’t find that I could get to use their full potential. I had 225/45s on 7” wide wheels. I think the wheels were too narrow and the tire rolled too easily onto the sidewall. I also didn’t have enough camber to accommodate the grip they had. The net was that I was no faster on those than the 200 wear tires. If I were to do it again, I would make sure the wheel width was more towards the max for the tire (eg: run a narrower tire).

As for the BSs, I think the rebate will go on for a while. Do you have access to TR from where you are?

 

Thanks for the clarification. It is amazing how being on the other side of the globe can scramble the brain matter. I had a hard time even remember what new wheels I bought and what size, let alone what tire aspect ratio that I once figured out. It is the R888R in 225/45 15 that I want to try. I thought R888 is a different compound to the R888R. The Rs are for the Konig Dial-in 15x8's so I think the rim width is adequate for them. 8" is in the middle of the width range Toyo recommends. This size was all sold out late last fall.

 

I wrote a post a while back about a Panasonic appliance designed by Porsche's design studio. On my way back tonight after dinner I deliberately got off the bus one stop early to take the opportunity to see the shops along that section of the main road that I noticed have an electrical and electronics store. I had no idea if it is just one that sells cheap craps like most in the country based on the shop front on the street. This is in Guangzhou now. When I strolled in I was greeted with many sections of China's domestic smartphone brands including Huawai and Oppo, both companies' phones I have never seen in person. There is also a Samsung as well as an Apple section too. Strangely the store's name in Chinese is American Appliances. I leant traveling in this part of the world you often cannot judge the book by the cover, and in this case the size and appeal of the store front.

Finished browsing the smartphones, which mostly of the sameness of the Apple-like industrial design I moved onto the home appliances. I do this in every countries and cities that I visit and I find endless entertainment. Of all countries I like Japanese appliances a lot especially their high end refrigerators. I moved onto the clothes washer section. First there were the usual pedestrian cost effective no-thrill compact top load washers. Then there were the midrange ones that resemble the Japanese, but cheaper in quality and much cheaper than those in Japan. Then I came upon these two sleek machine that is unmistakably the Panasonic Alpha designed by Porsche. They look very sleek and more elegant seeing them in person.

When the sales lady approach me I made it very clear that I am a tourist and has no intention of shopping for one. Nonetheless she was very nice and we stuck up a good conversation.

there are two models that looks almost identical until you examine them closer, and one is 9000 RMBs more and yet they look identical when the digital displays are off


they both sport the Porsche mag wheel inspired washing drum styling



it turns out the main difference is the one on the left has the additional dry wash function as well as the wheel like circular graphic display while the one on the right has the normal wet wash and drying function, in addition to the more traditional display


this more expensive one has the fancy circles for displaying different modes - frankly I think it is just too gimmicky


this one has a more traditional display


this other Panasonic machine is just like the top range models that I saw in Tokyo; this is made in Japan so buying one in China means you are paying a lot for the import duty

 

At first I didn’t realize that those were washers...
I couldn’t tell in the first picture how big they were and thought they might be some sort of high end stereo speaker...
Amazing stuff...

I ordered my RE71Rs today. I run the 205/50x15s on 7” wide wheels. Seems to be a good combination for the short tracks I run. Years ago I tried to fit 8” wide wheels with 225s on them and they hung out of the wheel well. I had stock springs and figured they would bang the wheel well arch. I haven’t thought of trying anything else since then.

As for 225/45s on 8” wide 15” wheels, that is what my MINI friends did with their Gen I MINIs. That width seemed to be the sweet spot for that size tire. I think they ran Nittos NT01s.

 

I just called in funny enough today to enquire about these tyres. I have them on my other ride but unfortunately they don't make in the size I need for the R52... Their smallest is 225 width but I need 205 which apparently Toyo don't make ?unless they were just out of stock

 

They list all the sizes they make on Toyo site. I assume you need 17"?

 

Okay so on the Toyo web site they make the R888R in 195/50-15... According to Tire Rack the tier weigh in at 19 pounds. I have a set of Hollies that weigh in at 12 pounds... so 31 pounds at each corner and my current set up with the Panasports and Sport V105's are about 37 pounds at each corner. The loss of 24 pounds of un-sprung weight (all in) is not insignificant especially when you only have 110hp to play with... even more interesting since the wife seems to be turning a corner and thinking that I can use her Cooper S at the track... the only drawback is the Hollies are 5.5 inches wide... not really a wide tire.

In my imagination and my imagined driving abilities I keep hearing this voice in my head saying - "just think of all the 4 wheel drifting in the corners!" (I don't have that kind of driving skill.)

 

I have 15”, 7” wide Kosei wheels and they are about 10lbs each. The 205/50 tires are great on them. I get a bit of a gearing improvement with the smaller diameter, too.

 

MAMA MIA!!!!

10 pounds is featherweight!!!!!

Can you link to the make/model as I'm just curious.

I run 16x7 Konig Feathers which are supposedly 13.9lbs each, but those were the choice of the previous owner, I plan on soon installing Rota RB's of the same diameter just because I like the way they look, although I will be taking a weight penalty --- hopefully as it's only a daily driver I won't notice much of a difference in my "lap times" LOL!

I am envious of you guys who take these rip-roaring little beasts out on to a real track and really get to know them as they should be known,

And,
could you expand on the gearing improvement as well if you wouldn't mind?

I am mathematically challenged and often have difficulty grasping such stuff.

Also,
while I'm here...

...might as well post up a viddie I recently watched...

...I really like how the driver of this R53 changed location of his revcounter and also clocked it ala aircooled 911 style:


Note,
my use of ... is an illegal ellipsis,
I only mean it as a *pause*,
a breath, or spacing.
Please forgive.

Language,
it is anguish.


dot dash
dot dash
don't crash!

 

My apologies ....

I can’t find the Kosie wheels I have. I bought them from a friend a few years back, who bought them from TR. They are an 8 spoke version, not the K1 5 spoke ones that TR have now, which are listed as 13.5#. I just weighed mine, with 205/50 RE71Rs tires...30 lbs. The tires were quite worn. But you get the idea.

As for rotational weight, it different from static weight. 2 wheels of the same weight but different diameters, the smaller diameter wheel will have a lower rotational weight. So a 15” wheel at 13.5# will have a lower rotational weight than a 16” at 13.5# and the 15” wheel will result in better car performance (that is; better acceleration).

As for your question about “gearing”, the basic MINI tire is about 24” in diameter. It is about the same for the 15”, 16” and 17” MINI wheel tire sizes. My 205/50-15” tires are about 22” in diameter (I am approximating with all of this). Most people run 215/45-17 tire, which is about 24.5” in diameter. The difference is about 10%. So this is like changing the final drive ratio by 10% and this means that there will be 10% torque at the wheels in each gear. The down side is that the max speed in each gear will be 10% lower. The smaller diameter setup is great on short tracks where the higher torque (and lighter rotational weight) in each gear helps with accelerating out of corners. With the 17” tires, I don’t change shift locations on those shorter tracks, so there is no advantage to having the taller tires. On a long track with few turns, like Watkins Glen, there are places where I run out speed in a gear before the next corner when I am running the 15” wheels. But with the taller tires on the 17” wheels, I can eliminate a shift for each of those corners. Every shift takes time. So on the longer track the taller tire is faster around the track.

Hope this helps...

 

Indeed it do help,
and I thank you for taking the time.

Much appreciation.

Stay Smokey & Happy Motoring!

btw
8 spokes are the most of awesome
Minilite has many different forms,
somehow,
8 spokes is like a magic talisman.

Banana!

 

@Eddie07S way more detailed than I could have done. The big takeaway here is that you will trade a lower top speed for better acceleration which can be very beneficial for Autocross events. I would also just guess that you could get a little better fuel economy as well. Though in my case the lighter mass means that it feels a lot faster when I accelerate which means that I typically accelerate faster which negates any fuel savings that might occur due to lower overall weight of the car.

The 949 Racing 6UL's are nice looking and somewhat cost effective, you will need valve stems and centering rings though.
https://949racing.com/15-wheels.aspx
They do make 17's as well but they are 14.8 pounds, super heavy by comparison to the 15's.

For what it's worth; on my R50, you can absolutely feel a difference between the Hollies and MINI 8-spokes and the difference there is just 3 pounds per wheel. On the R53 with the either of the 15" wheels I can get the traction control to kick in going into 3rd with the winter tires or the all seasons on. This is something that I cannot do with the summer tires on the 16's.

 

The 949 wheels are a great option and they do have the centering rings on their web page. A number of my R53 friends used their 8” wide 15” wheels for the track. The 949 wheels also come in a lot of 15” options, which is nice. At 14.8# for the 17”, they are a world lighter than the MINI wheels (~25#/wheel) and they are about the lightest 17” wheel out there. The 17” wheels are important to me for brake cooling as well as the “taller” gearing.

 

Here are some photos from Guangzhou. As a whole most cars I saw are big yawns, including most luxury imports. There are a lot of electric bicycles and tricycles. Some are just brute force conversions.

the police motorcycle is a low power 2 cylinder domestic brand


most imports received a good dose of embellishment and the manufacturers also style these models for China differently from those for markets in the West











I saw quite a few late model Mini's here


and this huge Lincoln SUV

 

a Cadillac


this is one of those ship hauler that floats the ship from sea and brings it back





I noticed that this bus would run off batteries for a leg of the trip, and then the driver would stop and connect it to the overhead power as a trolley which charges the batteries for this leg of the trip


and a Jeep


these electric bicycles cost only about 1600 Yuan - which is about $230 USD


this is a typical semi tractor trailer in China; all domestic built








a domestic SUV

 

they sure like the decals on these imported SUVs


a city electric bus has USB power ports - this is a newer bus among a lot of very well used ones


a very boring Alfa


this is one of those cargo tricycle that has been electrically retrofitted


I watched this mechanic wire up the electric module - very cheesy workmanship







this one is retrofitted with lead acid batteries


this is a newer domestic built all electric bus


even the kid's toy scooter is electric



I saw a lot of Land Rover Discovery's in Guangzhou

 

That looks like a “new” city. Very white in its decor. That domestic SUV looked like a take-off of a Camaro, with the high belt line to make it look chopped. It is fun to see the MINIs over there.

 

Macau is very small, but there are no shortage of interesting rides. Some high performance cars are from Hong Kong or China mainland or owners with dual plates.

one thing that I immediately noticed was there are a lot of pint size cars sporting big wings


what about a Suzuki called Hustler?


this is very unusual scooter


pint size bike that is a Ducati mini me





it is very convincing miniature Ducati replica and I have to look really hard to see it does not sport a V-twin like the real thing





most young people get around the tiny city in scooters


a pint size garage servicing pint size cars


this is another mini bike