[Eyelise]

I'm planning on a second set of wheels and tires. I'm leaning toward the SSR Comps and was wondering what people thought about tires. I'm looking for DOT R Compounds. NE1 have thoughts on the Kumho, Hoosiers, or Toyos they have used? Are there others? I was thinking of going 16" front and back to increase my options. What do you think?

 

[Randy Chase]

We don't know if the R tires will fit yet.

 

[Eyelise]

What do you mean? Can you elaborate?

 

[Enigma]

We don't know if the R tires will fit yet.

I would think its more of a matter of figuring out what sizes will work well. If you found the same size rim and tire in a diffrent R comp it should fine. Problem is there are not many choices in the stock size. I would expect that to change with time.

 

[Eyelise]

If I go with 16" rims front and back, it looks like there may be more options. I wonder if the handling would be affected significantly. The side wall would be taller but R compounds are stiffer by their very nature.

 

[Randy Chase]

The skinniest R tire for the front is a 205 series 16". I don't know, nor have I been given any assurances, if a 205 series Hoosier will fit in place of the LSS 195 series Yokohama tire.

There is not a lot of clearance and the car will compress under loading.

The plan, once we get a car, is to try it. Then we can wonder about Kumho vs Hoosier vs Toyo.

I would be very happy to run the Toyo RA1 as an all around track/street tire. I run them now on my Alltrac and did on my MR2. I think the Hoosier will win easily over the Kumho until Kumho gets it's act together regards the new compound which are now banned from SCCA due to safety concerns.

 

[nj1266]

If the wheels clear the calipers, you can downsize to 15x6.5 up front and 16x7.5 in the rear. This way you can use 205/50/15 R-compound tires in the front. This size is widely available. You can run 225/50/16 in the back, also a common size from Kumho and Toyo.

The car will tend to oversteer more than with the 195/50, but you will need more oversteer on the track anyway.

If you cannot downsize the wheel, then you are stuck with buying the $160+ OEM tires from Yokohama.

 

[Eyelise]

I did some calculations and 205/50/15 would work well with 235/50/16 in back. Not sure if these sizes are available, but they are very close to the OEM diameters and the balance btwn contact patches front/rear would be similar to OEM. The side walls would be taller but the stiffer R compounds might negate that. I think I'll check tire rack for sizes.

 

[Vantage]

Naj,
Tony has some experience running the 15"/16" combo and I believe we will have the same braking setup his S2. You might run a search for them, including his KMS superlight wheels.

Probably nothing you don't know, but just trying to help

 

[Eyelise]

Tony has a Euro S2. I'm pretty sure the Fed has a different brake set-up

 

[Vantage]

I know the rotors, pads, lines, etc were upgraded, but I wasn't aware that the calipers were changed. From eyeballing it, Fed cars and Euro demos seem to have the same brakes...anyone know for sure?

 

[Eyelise]

I thought it was a new set-up altogether ABS included. Ofcourse the 111R is the same.

 

[eliseowner2b]

Eyelise,

I'm not sure about sizes available but I am using a set of Kumho v700 R compound tires on my Audi TT for track days at road atlanta and they are great! size: 225/40/18. I ordered them shaved and did have to heat cycle them but the price vs performance is a bargain.

 

[Eyelise]

I've heard good things anout the V700s. That is highest on my list.

 

[Ara]

There is a wide range of track tires available in the US. From the super sticky, short lived pseudo slicks all the way down to sticky street tires like the Azenis. Do your homework carefully and be honest with yourself as to where you are in the street-to-racing continuum.

If you are doing your first track day, your street tires will be just as good as anything else out there as you are basically figuring out what the program is and getting familiar with the concepts. The more experienced track-day enthusiasts will generally move to the V700 / RA1/ A032 type track tire that combines decent life with very strong grip. If you are racing, you probably already know that you have to use the Hoosiers if they are allowed in your class.

Ara

 

[Brak]

I did some calculations and 205/50/15 would work well with 235/50/16 in back. Not sure if these sizes are available, but they are very close to the OEM diameters and the balance btwn contact patches front/rear would be similar to OEM.

You are only considering one dimension: diameter. You need to consider the width of the tire as well and if the added width will cause the tire to rub against the inner fender.

BTW, to run in stock class in the SCCA Solo II, you cannot change the wheel size (width or diameter).

 

[Ara]

Yup, and be carefule as a lot of R compound tires are "cheater" sizes and actually significantly larger than the numbers on their sidewalls. This is a byproduct of racing classes that limit tire size. For example, we can run 205s in Spec Miata, so Hoosier makes a 215, almost 225, and stamps 205 on the side...

 

[Eyelise]

The width is increasing only on size, but as mentioned manufacturers might cheat a bit in the R compounds

 

[del105]

BTW, to run in stock class in the SCCA Solo II, you cannot change the wheel size (width or diameter).

That is wishful thinking.

On a side note I talked to someone on SMAC this weekend and they said they have gotten 0 complaints regarding the elise in SM2 so far. So if you haven't sent them a letter yet please let them know that SM2 would be an excellent class for the elise.

 

[tonykomo]

When you put an S2 with 17/16 next to my car with 16/15, the other car looks odd. It looks like the wheels don't quite belong. Don't forget, the Lotus designers and engineers wanted to use 16/15 on the S2 but the marketing men wanted 17/16....