I'm just starting out and have a spare set of 16 V spoke. Whats the best STS/Street tire to run on. and what size would you go with. Has anyone put a 205/45/16 on the stock rim and will it work out ok for street use too... ?

 

215/45-16 is pretty much the perfect 16" size for MINI's. They'll lower your gearing (improved acceleration), and are about as wide as you can reliably go without any rubbing or modifications to deal with. The 205/45 will give even better accleration, but is getting pretty far from stock diameter for frequent street use, and is more likely to put you between 2nd and 3rd gear on courses than the 215/45.

Azenis work well as duel street/autocross tires, assuming you have proper winter tires available for the white stuff. They're fine in rain if you aren't trying to be a rally driver fording puddles. I've put about 60,000 miles on them (215 model) in my MCS, and another 50,000 miles on my previous autocross car ('93 Probe GT in full STS trim). We get plenty of rain in Indiana, and most of those miles were at or close to highway speeds. It just isn't a problem if you are driving remotely reasonably for the conditions.

I haven't tried the Hankooks in the same size, but they should be pretty good to.

Scott
90SM

 

is there any problem with the 215 fitting on a 6.5" rim. Falkens web site says the Azenis will fit a 7-8" rim. not 6.5.

 

Nope, it's done all the time. We've had at least 5 that I can think of off the top of my head in local regions. They also work very well on 16x7.5 wheels, which is what I used myself, but I wouldn't hesitate to put them on the stock wheels.

Scott
90SM

 

I have 225's on my 15x6.5 wheels... shouldn't be a problem!

 

I have a pair of 17x7 im thinking of getting rid of unless someone knows of a decent tire that will fit?? 215 40 17 not the greatest for the track :/

 

You can get Azenis in that size, right?

 

yupp, thats what I was going with but I decided to try to get rid of them and get 15 slipstreams instead. still havnt been able to do either -frustrated-

 

Just to add as a potential future choice, I hear Kumho is coming out with a replacement of the MX at SEMA so hopefully that will provide a really good 15" option.

 

I'll be at SEMA and will keep my eyes peeled for ALL the new street tires for next season...

 

SEMA update:

Kumho did NOT make it with their new extreme performance tire... And, they don't know when it will hit the US market. Great, thanks guys!

Dunlop DID make it with their new Direzza Sport Z1 - GREAT looking tire. They had a 225/45R16 mounted and it was F-A-T! That's the exact size I want for next AX season... Let's hope it's somewhere between the Azenis and AD07 in price and that they get it here on time... 200 treadwear rating.

http://www.dunloptire.com/news/press...zaSportZ1.html







Maxxis, believe it or not, had a new extreme performance tire at the show that also looked nice, called the Victra i-Pro... 180 treadwear rating...





I told the Yokohama reps that they need to bring the ADVAN AD07 over here in some MINI/Honda/Miata friendly sizes, since they are available in Japan. I told him they were screwing us... And yes, the AD07's are faster than the Azenis by a good margin.

Bridgestone couldn't even be found. I wanted to get a look at the RE01-R in person, but they were absent... Again, Bridgestone is screwing us by not bringing all the sizes over to serve us!

Michelin, BFG, Goodyear and all the others showed up with their typical stuff... No new news from them... Federal had their extreme performance tire there, but it's impossible to find, comes in crappy sizes, and is hella expensive.

I wish the market weren't supporting 18"+ wheels/tires... ugh...

 

That Dunlop looks nice. And I totally agree about the giant wheel thing, but I guess that's where the "money" is.

 

Tires tires tires I have finally decided on a set of wheels and tires. I have went with a 15" wheel due to weight and selection I picked Konig's Feather 15" x 6.5" weighing in at 11.9 lbs ea. As for tires I went with Falken Azenis RT-615 205/50 R15 at 21.2 lbs ea. They should arrive on the 9th of Aug (just in time for the final event for the summer series).

Clinton

 

Can anyone recommend the widest practical tire to fit a 17x7 wheel on a R56 MCS with a little extra offset (5mm)? I'm looking for a dual use street tire for street and autox that I could still use for G-Stock if I wanted to. I have narrowed the search to the Falken 615 or Potenza RE-01s. But What size? 225/45-17, or 235/40-17???

 

Well, personally I would go with the Falken's. Widest you can get on the 17" is the 215/40/17. Next size up from that and you would have to get the 235, but I don't think the extra width would help. The 215 are 7.4" and wight 21.2lb were the 235's are 8.7" wide and wight in at 24.3lb. So thats 3 lb per tire for only an inch or so of tread. then you have to worry about rubbing. I have a set of 215s on S lites that I use as my daily drivers so no problem there.


Here is some good info http://www.falkentire.com/rt615_sizes.html

 

Well I totally respect the Falken's! and I think the extra width of the 235/40-17s might offset the added weight... But will they fit, and how about the 225/45-17?

 

I think a 225 would be the bigest you would want to put on there. I wouldn't even think of putting the 235 on if it were mine. Remember, the rim is only 7" wide. the minimum width for the 235 is between 8 - 9.5" not saying it wont fit, just might look funny and not drive right.

 

I thought I would revive this thead for the 2009 season. All of the chosen options were based on tire performance (real or imagined), overall diameter, tread width, and weight. I stayed away from sizes that were close to stock diameter (approx. 24.0") because the Mini needs help with gearing.

Bridgestone RE-O1R
195/50/15 (22.7") (7.2") (21lbs)
205/45/16 (23.2") (7.5") (21lbs)

Toyo R1R
195/50/15 (22.7") (7.5") (20lbs)
195/55/15 (23.5")
205/50/15 (23.2")
225/45/15 (23.2")
205/45/16 (23.2")

Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1
195/55/15 (23.5") (NA) (20lbs)
215/40/17 (23.8") (NA) (22lbs)

Falken RT-615 (maybe past its prime)
205/50/15 (23.2") (7.6") (20.8lbs)
205/40/16 (22.5") (7.2") (18.2lbs)
215/45/16 (23.5") (8.0") (21.7lbs)
205/40/17 (23.4") (7.2") (19.4lbs)
215/40/17 (23.9") (7.4") (21.2lbs)

Kumho Ecsta XS
205/50/15 (22.8") (NA) (19lbs)
215/45/16 (23.6") (NA) (20lbs)

 

If I'm not mistaken a 195 is as wide as you can go and still stay stock. 225 is as wide as your allowed in STS or STX. Personaly I like my setup (see previous post) I'm doing very well (at least thats what the STX and SM MINI guys are saying) as I'm beating them in both raw and pax times. The 15" IMO is a must for the Justa's...the weight savings and improved gearing help tremendously. I am thinking of searching for a 225 setup just haven't had the time to.

 

You are mistaken. 225 is the max width in STS (this is the STS forum) there is no limitation on tire width in Stock, only a limit on wheel width.

 

adding tread width - where I have it

Bridgestone RE-O1R
195/50/15 (22.7") --> 7.2"
205/45/16 (23.2")

Toyo R1R
195/50/15 (22.7") --> 7.5"
205/50/15 (23.2")
225/45/15 (23.2") --> baited breath...
205/45/16 (23.2")

Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1
195/55/15 (23.5") --> not published?
215/40/17 (23.8")

Falken RT-615 (maybe past its prime)
205/50/15 (23.2") --> 7.6"
205/40/16 (22.5")
215/45/16 (23.5")
205/40/17 (23.4")
215/40/17 (23.9)

 

"adding tread width - where I have it"

Excellent! I added your figures along with some additional ones I dug up to my original post.

Cheers.

 

If you are limited to stock wheel diameter then that will limit your tread width by default. Unless you want to try and stretch a 225 tire on a 6" rim go ahead..but it might destroy the sidewall if you can get it to hold air. Your talking mounting an almost 9" wide tire to a 6" or 6.5" rim good luck with that. I personaly wouldn't do it.

 

He's merely clarifying STS vs Stock rules.

As for a 225 width tire on a narrow rim, I have seen many people stuff a 225/50/13 Hoosier onto a 5" rim (myself included). You may be able to get away with it using R compound race tires with stiff sidewalls, but forget about doing it to a "true" street tire. In this case you are correct in wanting a rim wide enough to compensate the tire.

As for maximum tire on a stock 5.5" rim, I would be very comfortable putting a 205/50/15 on it.

Hope that helps

 

What do you think about mounting a Hankook 225/45 15 to a 6.5" rim?
I haven't heard too much about these tires for autox but the size is right.