Tires for SK2

[Leonard Cachola]

This is kind of random, but I did do a comparison of my 14x6" wheels with stock size tires on it (Michelin Pilot, 185/60/14) to the current 15x6" wheels with 205/50/15 Bridgestone RE-11s on it. They were nearly exactly the same height, off by a couple mm at best. Stock size is 195/55/15 no? On 205/50/15s, the 50 profile drop should be enough to negate the difference.

Stock tire size for the 15s was 195/50/15. Just for kicks, stock tire size on my 2004 was 205/45/16.

[Jeff Stuart]

5 spd. I top out at about 55 mph in 2nd currently

[Ryan Buetzer]

Correct. We won on 225s. We only tired the 275 once last year. We were looking for extra lateral grip because the Solstice has a big advantage on sweepers. They felt a little sluggish in transitions, but didn't have any problems building heat.

-Ryan

I can't see a street tire wider than 205 getting much heat on a car like the Miata.

That photo is of Tim A. National Championship winning CS Miata ... on 285's. Not sure if he had 285's or 275's on the car when it won Nationals?

He won on 225's... this last weekend was the first time on 275's.

[Rick Brown]

Mainly for motorcycles, but works on most cars, too.

http://www.speedohealer.com/eng/order.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Mako Koiwai]

... and further

Last year at San Diego we ran 275 35 15's and Ryan lost to Cawthorne in a MS-R by 70 thousanths with our untested and unproven setup (NB Miata, which had won Nationals on 225's). Our problem was not tires.

[Dan Shaw]

The reason I said heat building was because he's competing in SK2 not CS. True Ryan does run 225s or maybe even wider, but CS guys at nats run slicks, not street tires. As I understood it, the hoosiers he runs are intended to heat up quicker given they're focused for Autocross and not circuits.



I do suppose it would also depend on the compound/etc., but I would expect a street tire would have a higher tolerance for heat since it's intended to be used on the road and thus more rubber = more tire to warm. Beyond that, ST guys in Civics don't see much of a bonus to using 225s/anything much over a 205 due to the forces of the rim exerted on the sidewall. There's actually a thread discussing it on the forum (viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3108" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). Again, they're running street tires in the same size/widths as a Miata typically does, and run a similar weight.


Given various prior performances in SK, in the car in question, I don't know if you'd truly see a benefit to using 225s over 205s. Especially if you're just messing around and don't expect to take this too seriously, the 205 is already established. No need to reinvent, but I suppose if you're looking for that last 'nth...

[Dan Shaw]

This is kind of random, but I did do a comparison of my 14x6" wheels with stock size tires on it (Michelin Pilot, 185/60/14) to the current 15x6" wheels with 205/50/15 Bridgestone RE-11s on it. They were nearly exactly the same height, off by a couple mm at best. Stock size is 195/55/15 no? On 205/50/15s, the 50 profile drop should be enough to negate the difference.

Stock tire size for the 15s was 195/50/15. Just for kicks, stock tire size on my 2004 was 205/45/16.

me = Fail.