16" tires for 6.5" wheel

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

I don't have the budget to get my wider wheels for the miata, but Rob is going to help me burn up the shitty stock tires this weekend. What should I buy next? I want a competitive tire, and the options as far as I can see are 205/50-16 Z2 Star Specs or 215/45-16 or 225/50-16 Rivals. 205/50-16 is the stock size. All of these will fit.

I have plenty of gearing, I'm a 5 speed NC, not a 6 speed, and being an NC2, I have the extra rev limit, so 225's are probably unneccessary, as well as being too wide for the wheel.

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

Nobody likes my thread

To add to my question, another option is Toyo R1R in 205/50-16.

These will be both street tires and autocross tires. I'm primarily interested in max dry performance, but hear the Toyo's heat cycle out if not shaved and used for the street. Anyone who can comment there?

MarcusMcRae · **Posted:** Fri Nov 14, 2014 5:02 pm

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... &tab=Sizes

The 205/45 16.

michaelsmiller · **Posted:** Sat Nov 29, 2014 10:14 pm

The more grip that your car has, the lower your time are going to be. I have 17”X7” rims and run 225X45X17 tires. I have run 235X40X17 as they fit the wheel wells, but are definitely too big for the rims. The ZII star spec’s have so far been better than the Rivals, but I have not used them in the summer heat. The Rivals get greasy with a two driver car and there is no place to pack a water sprayer in a Miata. I have not found out yet if the star specs get greasy in the heat. Their turn in is also quicker than the Rivals. That being said, grip is king on a Miata. I measured 1.24 G’s peak on my Miata with Z1’s and 225’s. I would go with the Rivals at 225 width. With 50 series tires, I would expect the tire profile to be similar to what I see with my 17” rims and 225X45 tires on a 7”rim. We look forward to you being fast next year in CS, Sean needs the competition.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Sun Nov 30, 2014 7:50 am

How soon do you need new tires? If "Spring" then you might want to wait until any new offerings are available and tested. Lots of credible rumors about what is coming before the SCCA new tire deadline but no comparison testing yet.

Dick

Rob Keehner · **Posted:** Sun Nov 30, 2014 10:07 pm

I was mildly disappointed with the heat capacity of the Dunlops this season. By the time we got to run 4,5,6 with two drivers they were off. Supposedly a new compound is coming. I think we're going to get another set.

Andrew Jonell · **Joined:** Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:43 pm **Posts:** 1350

The Z2s (or ZII) have been discontinued and it's being replaced by the Z2 Star Spec. (I hope they come out in 225/45R15)

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

Getting 205/50-16 ZII Star Specs on tomorrow. Will let you know. Debated going wider, but the car's turn in is so great now, I just would hate to ruin that.

Dick, the answer to when I needed them was "yesterday". I have been rolling around on the wear bars since our last autocross event.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Mon Dec 01, 2014 6:06 pm

BriceJohnson wrote:

Getting 205/50-16 ZII Star Specs on tomorrow. Will let you know. Debated going wider, but the car's turn in is so great now, I just would hate to ruin that.

Dick, the answer to when I needed them was "yesterday". I have been rolling around on the wear bars since our last autocross event.

Sounds like a good choice. FYI Jeb at Discount Tire sells ZII's from Tire Rack at Tire Rack prices. I.e. Tire Rack is the distributor in the US.

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

Very happy with my purchase. From looking at how wide even the 205's are, I can't imagine cramming the 225s onto these wheels. Steering response is downright telepathic now compared to before, and the grip is spectacular.

michaelsmiller · **Posted:** Thu Dec 04, 2014 1:38 pm

With 225's, the steering is still telepathic and the grip is very good. The ZII star specs have a fairly stiff side wall, so the turn in is still very good. Between your car and mine, this might be a good test of any advantage that may be attained due to tire width. Maybe we can trade off runs in each other's car next year.

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

michaelsmiller wrote:

With 225's, the steering is still telepathic and the grip is very good. The ZII star specs have a fairly stiff side wall, so the turn in is still very good. Between your car and mine, this might be a good test of any advantage that may be attained due to tire width. Maybe we can trade off runs in each other's car next year.

Not really a fair comparison is it? If you are on a 7" wheel, thats a big difference.

And have you been running the star specs or just regular Z2s? If so, PROTEST! They aren't street class legal until January 1.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Thu Dec 04, 2014 6:00 pm

BriceJohnson wrote:

michaelsmiller wrote:

With 225's, the steering is still telepathic and the grip is very good. The ZII star specs have a fairly stiff side wall, so the turn in is still very good. Between your car and mine, this might be a good test of any advantage that may be attained due to tire width. Maybe we can trade off runs in each other's car next year.

Not really a fair comparison is it? If you are on a 7" wheel, thats a big difference.

And have you been running the star specs or just regular Z2s? If so, PROTEST! They aren't street class legal until January 1.

Legal after Nationals:

Quote:

13.3 TIRES
Tires must be designed for highway use on passenger cars. Tires may
be excluded for, but not limited to, low volume production, extensive
availability limitations, and specialty design. Tires must meet the following
requirements to be eligible for use in Street category. No tire model
will be eligible for Solo® competition until it meets all requirements of
this Section. Tire models not meeting the requirements by April 30 are
not eligible for Solo® competition until after the Solo® National Championships
of the year.

FYI for reference on my Limo Mustang:

Dunlop ZII''s. 265x35x18. Ran the first set on 8 inch wheels and the second set on 8.5's. No "noticeable to me" difference. But considering my car and my 20 years of formula car on race tires frame of reference probably the most that be said for this info is that with 40 psi and -1.7 deg camber the tire shoulders survived just fine.

michaelsmiller · **Posted:** Thu Dec 04, 2014 7:20 pm

BriceJohnson wrote:

michaelsmiller wrote:

With 225's, the steering is still telepathic and the grip is very good. The ZII star specs have a fairly stiff side wall, so the turn in is still very good. Between your car and mine, this might be a good test of any advantage that may be attained due to tire width. Maybe we can trade off runs in each other's car next year.

Not really a fair comparison is it? If you are on a 7" wheel, thats a big difference.

And have you been running the star specs or just regular Z2s? If so, PROTEST! They aren't street class legal until January 1.

I was told by the tire tester at tirerack that it was ok to run star spec Z2's when I bought them. Dick, thanks for explaining why. There's also a difference in my wheel diameter and thus a much less height of sidewall. The sidewall will squirm more to allow the contact patch to be similar. For example, the 17x7 rim stock fit is 205x45x17, the 16x6.5 sock fit is 205x50x16.

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16" tires for 6.5" wheel

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