Well i've been looking at wheels lately, nothing really bling or anything, just looking at function at this point. But i found some Forged 14x7 wheels and was considering using this as a street wheel on a mostly stock CRX. I run 15x7 Rota RB's currently.

Are there decent street tires for this wheel size? I am asking because i would most likely run these same wheels at autox events and street, so I dont want to do an outrageous tire size that is only track appropriate. Eventually as I gain seat time, I may make these exclusive to event wheels where i could do more aggresive tire setup and run the RB's for street/to/from events.

Thanks in advance.

 

The 14x7 is a good wheel as long as you plan on keep your brakes stock. If you plan to upgrade they will not fit. There are lots of people out there on 14x7's.

Falken makes the RT615 in 195/60/14 which could be a great tire from what you seem to want. Kuhmo has the Ecsta H4 but that doesn't have as much grip as Falken.

Toyo has the RA-1 in 205/55/14 or 225/50/14

You have plenty to choose from.

Your sig still cracks me up!

 

Hey Toad, glad to see you in here. Now will a 60 series look funny in terms of sidewall height? I was thinking 195/50/14.

Also how will ride be affected? I'm on Koni/GC right now at 450/400f/r rates.

As far as brakes, i was originally looking at fastbrakes upgrade, but since i plan on keeping the d and maybe sc'ing later, it may be overkill. I may just do small upgrades, similar to what i saw on the rally EF.

Edit, I'm familiar with the azenis in that size, i think a friend was running them on teg stock steelies

2nd Edit: Is there that much perf diff on 14's vs 15's? Sorry if this has been asked before, if so, please give me search term and i will look it up.

Thanks

Modified by RSZero1 at 1:41 PM 8/30/2007


Modified by RSZero1 at 2:22 PM 8/30/2007

 

I dont know of any 195/50 14s. Dunlop SP8000 in 195/55 14 is a great tire for the money on a daily driven car.

 

Yeah, I think i like the Azeni 195/60/14 idea or ES in the same size.

 

If you have any idea of bigger brakes you are going to need bigger rims which just rendered your 14's useless. I have a stock D series with the OEM big brakes. If you plan on taking it to the track you will thank yourself for bigger brakes. I have yet to warp or fade mine on track.

I guess the performance difference is going to come in sideway height, tire width, and handling. Obviously with less sidewall (15's) you have less flex in there while moving around a corner. Tire selection is a little better in the performance tires with a 15.

 

Team dynamics pro race 1 in 14x7 fit over 10.3 brakes and even the fastbrakes 11" kit. Their cheap and only 11lbs too!!

http://fastbrakes.com/shop/pro...d=291

 

I have basically the same kit but only about 280 tied into it....with brake lines all around....
I got gs-r calipers from ebay freshly rebuilt 30 shipped with pads, corrado rotors for 40 shipped, the adapter from fastbrakes 150 shipped, 60 for brake lines, ate blue was like 20 bucks....best setup I have EVER pressed on, gonna slap some xp8's in there by next year when I am only driving it to and from events...

 

The other performance difference comes from tire selection. As others have noted, the Azenis is available in 195/60-14, which is a bit bigger in diameter than your stock tire size. The Yokohama ES100 is available in 185/60-14, which is a better match in diameter. Obviously, these are two very different tires, with the Azenis excelling at grip on dry pavement, while the ES100 does better in rain and lasts 2-3 times as long (based on miles, not time).

You mention using the same wheels/tires for autocross (for which the Azenis is a better choice). Why not keep your old wheels too, and have longer-lasting tires on one set for daily driving, and stickier tires on the other set for autocross?

 

this person is selling 14x7 Team Dynamics Wheels with 225/50/14 RA1's for $600

http://nasaforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=17038

he is located in OC.

 

Thank you all guys for the info so far. I'm actually pretty set on the 14 wheels I have found, unless something changes. I'm debating as far as the brake upgrade, as Toad mentioned.

I actually found a very simple upgrade using the stock setup in an old issue of SCC being used on a rally EF hatch.

As far as using the wheels daily, I will prolly go with the ES's for now, since I actually want to run the wheels on my car until I start to do more events, then at that point I'll relegate these to Azenis with my current 15's serving daily duty.

The 14's also give me a chance to pull my RB's and possibly refinish them. They're all black, which is nice, they dont look dirty ever, lol. But i might strip them, and hit them with a coat of silver. But that's more an appearance thing.

 

I have some del sol 14" wheels using the older falken azenis 215's and have no complaints.

I also swapped over to the 4-100 integra brakes and they are more than adequate.

I'd love to get my hands on some 14" ce28's some day.

 

As far as wheels and weights, I was actually looking at Mugen RNR's in 15's but they're only 6.5, SSR Type X's avail in 15x7 and the final choice - Dunlop Formula CP-R's in the 14x7. The formula's are exactly like the Sprint Hart CP-r.

 

i've heard a lot of horror stories about racing with mugen rnr's

 

Yeah, they tend to crack easily for some reason. Weird thing is I believe the process for making them is the same as SSR type X's, and those are some pretty strong rims.

These were what I was trying to make work -

for the price though i can just get the rota copies for less than half the price. Something about that style has me stuck on it.

 

Go with the Enkei RPF1 15x7 . gonna be cheaper then the SSR. always heard bad feedback about running SSR on the street. only people i know with the SSRS are some friends with bmw's and they only use them for autocross.
I do know alot of people that run the RPF1s with no trouble.

Enkeis are 9.5 lbs and $185 from Goodwin-Racing. SSRs are nearly twice that, and I believe they are just over 9 lbs in 15x7.

 

Funny you say that, i was just looking at those yesterday. The RPF's. I had looked up the wheel weights for a few different brands - all 15x7

SSR Type X's - 10lbs
My Rota RB's - 14.5lbs
Rota Track R's - 16lbs
Sprinthart CPR/Dunlop Formula CPR's - 14lbs
Enkei RPF1 - 9lbs

I also learned that pretty most all the Mugen wheels, the light weight ones, are pretty soft or brittle (M7's, RNR's), the MR5's while forged, are heavy.

Then there were the SSR Competitions - 9.1lbs and the Volk TE37 at 9.2lbs.

Now the type X's are forged and can be had for about $600. everything else on that list, minus the rotas, are pricey. And the lightest rota in that size is the slip at 11.9lbs.

Now the lowest I had seen the Enkei's at was $1000 plus/minus, so they were still at the high end. But if the Goodwin price is good, that puts me right at what i was gonna spend for the 14" Formula's, but in a better size.

Either way I actually have to now finish for a home refi to wrap up before I get anything, but the good news is that since the Enkei's are readily available, I dont have to hunt around for a set.

EDIT: Does anyone know if these have any problem clearing the fastbrake upgrade? On the goodwin site they indicate they dont clear the miata big brake.


Modified by RSZero1 at 8:43 AM 9/11/2007

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RSZero1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
EDIT: Does anyone know if these have any problem clearing the fastbrake upgrade? On the goodwin site they indicate they dont clear the miata big brake.

Modified by RSZero1 at 8:43 AM 9/11/2007</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's the only downfall of those wheels, they won't clear any brakes bigger than the stock 10.3 teg stuff. But they're the best deal going for 7" wide wheels.



Don't get so caught up on the weight issue. Its more important that they are 7" wide than a couple #'s lighter.

 

Okay two additional questions then, first, does the offset matter for these, because the Goodwins are 41et only and the other sites have 35et avail, but at a much higher cost?

Secondly, all the wheels i listed above were for a 15x7, so taking that into consideration and looking at the weights, specifically the rota's (track r's and my rb's) is that an okay weight? remember, i have an essentially stock d16a6.

 

I thought ssr typex were only 6.5" like most of the other JDM stuff.

Anyway, get the +41 offset, there will be more clearance issues with the 35's.

Anything under 13# or so will work fine. Not enough of a performance difference to worry about at this point.

 

Yeah the type X's also cam in 7's but were harder to find. I found a complete set of 7's used $600. Which still isnt bad for forged 9lb wheels that have no clearance issues.

I havent seen them on a track, so that could mean the 4 point would not hold up well though.

But from what you say then, my RB's are fine if I had to run them, but the RPF's for the money is the sure bet for track.