Currently looking into grabbing a second set of wheels for my R53 for the track with a set of R-Comps, but I am curious what other people here are running sizing wise.

Is it worth stepping down to a 16 or 15" for weight, price, and smaller diameter or should I stick with 17"?

I noticed its really hard to find sizing in 16" and 15" will be quite a bit smaller in diameter than the OEM sizing.

 

205/50/15 or 225/45/15

15s are lighter, the car is about a half inch lower, and the gearing is slightly lower.

205/50/15 & 225/45/15 are plentiful. 205/50/15 is the spec miata tire size.

 

I run Nitto NT-01 215/45 17 on my r56.

 

I'd either go 15 or 17; 16 is kind of in no man's land.

I run 225/45/15 NT-01's, and absolutely love them, for the price. Not as good as Hoosier's, but it doesn't make much sense to run Hoosier's unless you're competing, or have lots of money to burn.

I have run 15 and 17, and I prefer the gearing advantage of the 15's. Some prefer the 17's lower sidewall, and prefer the turn in on 17's. For what it's worth, IMHO the 15's the advantages of a 15 are probably more noticeable on an R53 than an R57.

 

205/50/15 or 225/45/15 jmo

Alex

 

Thanks for the replies guys,

Guess I'm going 15"!

Anyone have any experience with Nitto NT01's?

 

That's what I have on the car now 225/45/15. As stated above, a great tire for the price.

 

+1 on 15x7
There is a thread around on which 15s fit over JCW calipers.
Cheaper new tires and facility of getting scrubs, plus better gearing, lower heighth, lighter weight.

 

195/50/16 or 205/45/16 it's a very good choice .

 

I wish that wasn't the case, but it very much is, as 16's are such a nice blend for smaller cars!

Alex

 

For those of us who are not experts, what is the issue with 16's?

 

For track tires (R-comps), availability.

The Miata's , among others, run 15's on the track, so they're safe and always will be. They have a ton of support.

Countless others run 17's, so they're safe.

There just aren't that many track cars (comparably at least) running 16's, so even though it's a great compromise size, for R-comps, the selection is limited. And whenever an R-comp size gets discontinued, it always seems to be a 16. In other words, availability isn't so hot to begin with, and it's not getting any better. Street tires in 16 are a little easier to find (In fact my street tires are sixteens).

 

If the OP doesn't mind, can we make this a general "Track Tire" thread, rather than start a bunch of them?

If so, I'd like recommendations for "Street-friendly" 16-inch track tires. What size and brand/model?

I was looking at 205/50/16 in the Dunlap Star Specs, IIRC.

 

I would say that is more a street tire that is trackable...

Good tire, I have gone through 3 sets of Dunlops Z1 star Specs in less than 2 years. I still run them on the street and they are my wet weather tires for the track.

Track tires such as Hoosiers R6 or A6, BFG R1, Nitto NT-01 and some others are more track (dry) r-comps and some are even DOT approved and can be used for the street. I do not think they will last even 5,000 miles on the street.

I think that Yoko A048 are the most streetable of the track tires.

 

Hoosiers are clearly marked for "competition use only" on the sidewall.

This is Hoosiers' statement regarding DOT tires:

"WARNING: D.O.T. labeled Hoosier Racing Tires meet Department of Transportation requirements for marking and performance only and are NOT INTENDED FOR HIGHWAY USE. It is unsafe to operate any Hoosier Racing Tire including DOT tires on public roads. The prohibited use of Hoosier Racing Tires on public roadways may result in loss of traction, unexpected loss of vehicle control, or sudden loss of tire pressure, resulting in a vehicle crash and possible injury or death."

I've had a piece of glass work its way through the tread on the way from the grid to my trailer in the paddock. They pick up everything when they are hot.

 

Yeah, Hoosier's are definitely in another class compared to the Nitto's and Toyo's. You could drive to and from the track on Nitto's/Toyo's; a number of people do. Even if you could with the Hoosier's, they wear out so much quicker I don't know why you'd want to.

Hoosier's are IMHO really a competition tire. They are substantially better than the Toyo's and Nitto's, but wear substantially quicker. For HPDE's, the Nitto's and Toyo's of the world are a nice compromise between performance and longevity.

 

I like 225/45/15s for the shorter gearing. I've run Toyo R888's and the sister tire, Nitto NT-01s. I like the R888s a bit more since the tread pattern is the same throughout and I can flip them to prolong the usage of them. Plus I get a great Toyo discount on them!

I will say though, find a 15x7.5 wheel if you can, 225 section width is a bit wider than I like on a 7" wide wheel.

 

I mentioned that some track tires are DOT approved. Hoosiers are for the track only.

 

Hoosiers last 2-3 track days and Nittos last 7-8 track days.

Lots of people do run HPDE with Hoosiers. Perhaps a little too much need for low track times?

 

Yeah, I see people occasionally running Hoosiers at HPDE's too; many times its someone working on setting the car up for their next race, which I totally understand. But there are a few that don't race that run the Hoosiers at the HPDE's--one guy in particular comes to mind, who bought a race prepped E30, started with the Hoosier's as a beginner (even though technically you aren't supposed to run R-comps in the novice class in our chapter), now, 2 years later, he's in intermediate, still on Hoosier's, and still slow as molasses. On the bright side, he's probably getting more days out of them then most...

My whole thought on people running Hoosiers strictly for HPDE's is that they're trying to compensate for something....

 

"I mentioned that some track tires are DOT approved. Hoosiers are for the track only."

The A6 and R6 you specifically mentioned are DOT approved. The rub is that Hoosier does not approve them for public roadways. This was not always the case with their "R-compound" tires and is not the case with all of their radial tires today. They appear to be the only company that is not looking the other way with regard to illegal street racing.

 

That is funny.

We know someone that runs Hoosiers and he is fast.

 

Yeah, that's probably a better description.

Basically, the track days I've done so far were on crappy All-seasons, but I'm still a relative noob, so I think I want to go to something like the Star Specs and not go all the way to R-comps. Is that a reasonable idea?

It seems there's not much to choose from in 16" "extreme summer performance" tires either, though.

For the money/size/category, it seems the Star Specs are hard to beat... any other comments/suggestions?

 

Star Specs are the best value in trackable street tires, especially when there is a cash rebate. I think Bridgestones RE11 and Yokos AD08 are also very good, but they are a little expensive.

 

Sounds good... I'll probably wait until there's a rebate then, too. I just need them by October for Barber. That'll give me some time to get my track wheels painted orange, too. Oxygen Blue and Orange... poor man's Gulf Livery