I'm currently trying to decide what size tires to put on my track wheels for the aRR. I'm going with Toyo RA-1's, but need to know if i can fit the newly released 225/45/15 size or if i should play it safe and stick with 205/50's. My track wheels are Enkei ES Tarmacs 7.5" front and 7" rear with 40 offset. I'll be running Spoon N1 dampers, so it'll be sitting fairly low. Last year i ran 205/50 Azenis at about the same ride height as i will have this year (Tein Flexes) with really no issues, but will the extra tire width of the 225's cause me grief?

 

run 225 on the 7.5 up front
run 205 on the 7.0 in the rear

 

I thought about that, but i don't wanna get into that whole jdm thing. Anyone i've seen post that has done it says it's alot more expensive because you can't rotate the tires front to back, so your fronts wear out way before the rears. I want to run 4 tires the same size, even though my wheels aren't, so halfway throught he season i can pull them off the wheels and switch between front and rear as well as switch sides (insides and outsides) for more even wear and longer tire life.

 

its not a jdm thing, its a FWD thing

but you are right about the rotating tires part

 

Why do you have two different width wheels?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BlueR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">run 225 on the 7.5 up front
run 205 on the 7.0 in the rear</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree but if the car is low you might have some minor rubbing on the fender liner in the front. Especially on the left side there is a place where the fenderliner is slit into fingers. Sometimes a 225 will kinda "grab" a finger and where it off. No big deal just push the finger further in.

Probably the difference between the 205 and the 225 is minimal for track days. Go with the 205s if you feel the tire rotation thing is worthwhile. But then you will be moving the 7.5s from front to back. Are they gonna fit in the back?

225s will probably rub the rear lower trailing arms so no 225s in the rear.

If I were you I would get 4 matched wheels and go with 205s all around.

regards,
alan

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by davidnyc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Why do you have two different width wheels?</TD></TR></TABLE>

because i was on a budget and couldn't find any 15x7 wheels that were cheap, strong, and not boat anchors when i was looking. So i found the Enkei's used and that's the sizes they were. It was really mopre out of budget than anything.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BlueR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">run 225 on the 7.5 up front
run 205 on the 7.0 in the rear</TD></TR></TABLE>

that's what I'd do.
or use 225 all a round but raise the car up some.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bbasso &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

that's what I'd do.
or use 225 all a round but raise the car up some.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't have the Spoon dampers yet, so it's just a guess, but i think i'd have a hard time getting the ride height much higher than i had it with the Teins without putting alot of preload on the springs, plus then i'm raising the CG to get a wider tire. I don't want to go with different tire sizes. It's either 225/45/15 or 205/50/15 all the way around. if the 225's are gonna be iffy to fit in the rear, then i'll just go with 205's all around.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 00R101 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I agree but if the car is low you might have some minor rubbing on the fender liner in the front. Especially on the left side there is a place where the fenderliner is slit into fingers. Sometimes a 225 will kinda "grab" a finger and where it off. No big deal just push the finger further in.

Probably the difference between the 205 and the 225 is minimal for track days. Go with the 205s if you feel the tire rotation thing is worthwhile. But then you will be moving the 7.5s from front to back. Are they gonna fit in the back?

225s will probably rub the rear lower trailing arms so no 225s in the rear.

If I were you I would get 4 matched wheels and go with 205s all around.

regards,
alan</TD></TR></TABLE>

By moving, i meant pulling the tires off the wheels and rotating them, while leaving the wheels in the same place. The tires will need to be pulled off part-way through the season anyway since the inside of the tires will be more worn than the outsides. I would be switching the left and right sides, so the outside would then become the inside edge, and switching the fronts to the rear and vice versa. Buying two or four more wheels to have them matched won't really make things much better for me, aside from being able to rotate at will without taking the tires of the wheels. But i'd still need to dismount them part-way through the season to reverse the inside/outside of the tires anyway.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CanadianR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

because i was on a budget and couldn't find any 15x7 wheels that were cheap, strong, and not boat anchors when i was looking. So i found the Enkei's used and that's the sizes they were. It was really mopre out of budget than anything.</TD></TR></TABLE>


You may want to rethink the wheels before going any further. You may incurring extra cost in tires with the cheap wheels. If I were you, I would look into matched set of 15X7 wheels (if it weighs a lot...who cares! you are not racing, only doing track days...there will really be no difference between a 15lb wheel and 17lb wheel for a track day. Sure, it is difference, but you are not being timed and just learning how to drive better.) Therefore, by "saving" money with the current wheels, you actually may be spending more money.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by davidnyc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


You may want to rethink the wheels before going any further. You may incurring extra cost in tires with the cheap wheels. If I were you, I would look into matched set of 15X7 wheels (if it weighs a lot...who cares! you are not racing, only doing track days...there will really be no difference between a 15lb wheel and 17lb wheel for a track day. Sure, it is difference, but you are not being timed and just learning how to drive better.) Therefore, by "saving" money with the current wheels, you actually may be spending more money. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I understand your point with the wheels, but in my last post i explained what my rotation procedure will be with them. I don't really think i'm going to lose alot of tire life doing this. It worked just fine with the Azenis i ran last year, in fact i seem to have gotten more life out of mine than pretty much anyone else i know. Why spend more on wheels when these will work just fine. The wheels weren't exactly cheap either, just not baller expensive, and i'd be hard-pressed to find another wheel as light and strong for anywhere near the price. While the weight really isn't an issue for HPDE's it is an issue where autocross is concerned, and i do alot more autocrossing than HPDE's due to time and money constraints. At the lower speeds attained in autocross the 5lbs+/wheel i shaved off over the stock wheels is definately noticeable. I have no desire to change wheels, just wanted to know if the 225's would fit without issues.

 

I'm using 205/50-15 RA-1 at all four corners on the track, and I'm very happy with them.

FWIW, I don't bother flipping the tires as you describe, although I do rotate them front to back from one event to the next, so that they all wear at about the same rate. I realize you can extend the treadlife slightly by flipping them, but I figure those savings are probably offset by the cost of mounting and balancing. YMMV...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm using 205/50-15 RA-1 at all four corners on the track, and I'm very happy with them.

FWIW, I don't bother flipping the tires as you describe, although I do rotate them front to back from one event to the next, so that they all wear at about the same rate. I realize you can extend the treadlife slightly by flipping them, but I figure those savings are probably offset by the cost of mounting and balancing. YMMV...
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'll flip mine since i have to take them off at ;east once to rotate front to back because of the wheel width difference. I actually had really even wear on my Azenis also, but i'm not assuming that it will be exactly the same with the new suspension. Hopefully it will be very similar, but if not i have to dismount them anyway so it's easy enough to switch them around. It's good to hear someone with experience give a favorable opinion on the RA-1's. I figured it was the best choice for a first r-compound that will be getting used alot, in alot of different venues; from smaller autocross courses, to large, wide-open ones, to HPDE's on small and larger size road courses.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CanadianR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It's good to hear someone with experience give a favorable opinion on the RA-1's.</TD></TR></TABLE>

In deciding to switch to the RA-1 (from the Yokohama A032R), I gave considerable weight to favorable opinions about the RA-1 posted by others in the following two topics:

RR/AX Forum
ITR Forum

Check them out...

 

thanks, some good info in there. I did a search on the Toyos months ago, but don't think i came across those threads. I'll primarily be using these for autocross and only a few HPDE's, but i still think they are the best choice for what i need. I'll be giving away time in autocross to the guys with V710's but those guys don't do HPDE's. I need something with good wear characteristics and consistent grip for those HPDE's, while still being moderately grippy for autocrosses.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BlueR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">run 225 on the 7.5 up front
run 205 on the 7.0 in the rear</TD></TR></TABLE>

and be prepared for one hell of a scary *** ride on the track when you try trail braking