I am eyeing 16' r-compounds next season, but so far my research has not turned up.. much

im defenitely running 16' rota slipstream on the r-comps unless someone can convince me to go 17' (i really prefer no because of price, also looking to reduce weight)

what size is the common size for r-comps in 16s... i was looking at 205/45-16, but the tire size is much smaller (i run 215/45-17 on the street)

i need something nice.. yet not overpriced, so defenitely pirelli corsas, michelin pilot sport cup, hoosiers, and the yokis are out... all that's left doesnt leave me much in kumho or toyos

my mini is lowered with eibach springs (1.0 front, 1.2 back drop), the slipstream i am ordering will either be 40mm or 45mm offset (most likely 40 to clear the wilwoods 12.16 kit), i do know te slipstream or the grid by rota will clear the wilwood without spacers

would 205/45 be good enough without rubbing?

 

...I'm in the same boat...

 

How wide are your Rota? I'm planning to go for 225/45 16 Dunlop 02G next year on my 16 x 7.5 SSR. Not sure about the rubbing though.

 

the rota slipstream are 7'... and one other wheel im looking at is only 6.5 in wide... so it kinda limits my option

 

[caveat: my track experience with tires is on Porsches, your mileage my vary] So what are you trying to accomplish? AX, DE, TT, CR? Do you want to win, give no passes, be competitive or don't care? If we assume we're talking AX, Rs don't bump you into an improved class or you're already there and you want to win, then $$$ or not, its Hoosiers or Kuhmo 710s, possibly Avons although I have no personal experience on them, everything else you mention is better left to DE. I've AXed on Toyos and the recently defunct Dunlop Sport Rs (largely as I was too lazy to change over to Hoosiers) both of which left a tremendous amount on the table.

The Toyos in particular are great if you enjoy controlled slides (I think they are the most fun for the $$$), but the Hoosiers kill them at AX. Many of my racer friends vastly prefer Hoosiers on track too, although in terms of lap times theres little hard data to suggest that they are faster (maybe a couple of tenths a lap). At AX, however, the differences are significant. In the one back to back comparision I did at an AX, the Hoosiers generated at least a .1G more grip (have an AIM MXL in the 911). OTOH, on track my logs show the performance is a little closer, presumably as the Gs are built a bit more gradually than in an AX. I enjoyed the RA-1s and they last forever and will perform quite a bit better out of the box if you have them shaved (at which point while they'll grip better sooner, they cost roughly what a hoosier does). Personally, I run Toyos at the track (as they simply last 5x longer) and Hoosiers at AX. I plan on AXing my MINI occasionally this year, doubt I'll DE it, but as Rs would put me in a modified class and this is my street car. I'll plan to stick with the Azenis, which seems to be the best bang for the buck in all of tiredom and should work reasonably well at DE as well. Hope this helps a little, best of luck to you!