What tires should I get?

DickSossomon · **Joined:** Sun Aug 21, 2016 10:28 pm **Posts:** 7

I saw that Tire Rack has some TOYO tires that are a 140 AA soft compound. Has anyone tried these just for the track?

I just bought a 97 Miata MX-5 with 134K miles, yard dog roll bar, bilstein shocks, 1.8 engine to drive in the club instead of my Opel GT. I want to get new 15 inch wheels and some new tires for it.

Thanks for any advice,
Dick

Chad Culbertson · **Posted:** Mon Aug 22, 2016 5:34 pm

DickSossomon wrote:

I saw that Tire Rack has some TOYO tires that are a 140 AA soft compound. Has anyone tried these just for the track?

I just bought a 97 Miata MX-5 with 134K miles, yard dog roll bar, bilstein shocks, 1.8 engine to drive in the club instead of my Opel GT. I want to get new 15 inch wheels and some new tires for it.

Thanks for any advice,
Dick

Only if you plan to trailer the car, or swap tires at the track. They'll heat cycle out pretty quick if you intend to use them to get to and from the track and any regular off-track driving.

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Mon Aug 22, 2016 7:36 pm

yeah, I was going to say that a 140 TW tire will probably fall off pretty quick after a few sessions. Cheap isn't always best...

Chad Culbertson · **Posted:** Mon Aug 22, 2016 10:50 pm

RodneyWright wrote:

yeah, I was going to say that a 140 TW tire will probably fall off pretty quick after a few sessions. Cheap isn't always best...

Tread wear ratings are funny though, the Fiesta ST comes with 140TW tires, we've gotten almost 30k miles out of the original set, and of course they're technically not HS legal, but I didn't see anybody contest me at Cary earlier this year, lol. I think it's pretty obvious they won't even keep up with RE-71Rs or Star Specs, yet somehow, they're rated at 140TW.

FrancisChan · **Posted:** Tue Aug 23, 2016 8:47 am

Treadwear isn't always indicative of grip. The base impreza we have came with 200TW all season tires.

That being said 140TW will throw the miata into CSP classing, which has a terrible PAX.

Hankook Ventus R-S3 tires are on special for under $100 on tire rack right now. This is in a 195/50r15 which is a good size to get if you want to keep the stock wheel size of 15x6 for street class and keep the sharp turn in response. You can fit a 205/50r15, but it felt a little mushy for me.

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

Agree, Francis has it right.

michaelsmiller · **Posted:** Tue Aug 23, 2016 1:04 pm

DickSossomon wrote:

I saw that Tire Rack has some TOYO tires that are a 140 AA soft compound. Has anyone tried these just for the track?

I just bought a 97 Miata MX-5 with 134K miles, yard dog roll bar, bilstein shocks, 1.8 engine to drive in the club instead of my Opel GT. I want to get new 15 inch wheels and some new tires for it.

Thanks for any advice,
Dick

Dick, Congratulations. The Opel GT is a great car, but it is also a very old car. The 97 Miata whiles still an old, though not as old, can still run with the new dogs. You'll love autoXing the Miata. Once you get addicted to a Miata, it's hard to drive anything else. Welcome to the fold.

The RS3's are mushy tires anyway, but they are also sticky. You could go larger in a tire with a stiffer side wall. If you look at the tire rack sizes column for a specific tire, up pops a chart with a column that tells you how large a tire can be supported on a 15 by 6 inch rim. I used to run Hoosiers back when those were the tires to have for CS. They have very stiff side walls and incredible turn in. A soft side wall just means that you have to load the tire earlier, something that a lot of experienced drivers are very good at. I have run 225's and 235's on a 7 inch rim. The 235's were too large, but fit within the fenders. They would have been great on an 8 or 9" rim, but not stock legal.

DickSossomon · **Joined:** Sun Aug 21, 2016 10:28 pm **Posts:** 7

Thanks guys. I'll get some RS-3's and I need new rims so I can use the tires on both cars. I'll still race the GT at the Goodguys show for fun. I just don't want to tear up the paint on the Opel at the rallycross and hard autocross driving. I'll pull the cars with my truck and change the wheels/tires at the track.

BTW- the Opel GT has better suspension and engine that the miata and is lighter but it doesn't have a frame and I don't want to twist anything giving it hell on the track. Its too rare of a car for that and too much hard work getting it in the shape its in.
Thanks,
Dick

michaelsmiller · **Posted:** Wed Aug 24, 2016 8:02 pm

Dick,
The Miata has a far superior suspension to the Opel. The Miata has unequal A arms at all four quarters and rack and pinion steering. If I remember correctly, the Opel has a live axel with coil springs at the rear and unequal A arms in from with an old fashioned worm gear steering box. I'm not even sure that the Opel has sway bars front and/or rear. It may be lighter, but it does not have the structure that the Miata has support the suspension. The Miata also has 50/50 weight balance and a twin cam engine with roots to the old Lotus mills. The Opel is a great old sports car, but you can spend a fortune on suspension and engine tuning an still not be able to run with a stock Miata. You made the right decision to autox a Miata and take the Opel to car shows.

THSCC Forums

What tires should I get?

Who is online