I have a tire sponosr for next year and dont know which size or make of tire to run. What are your opinions and expereinces on autocross race rubber? Also, what size can I run on the stock rim, with a VER5 suspension without rubbing?

Thanks...

I run the 225/50-16 Kumho V700 Victoracer on stock RS wheels. I have KYB struts and stock springs.

I barely rub (in the rear) on the strut body on concrete surfaces, and the lower spring perch. I rub the fender lip molding on bumpy surfaces.

Normal asphalt events, I don't get any rubbing.

I am not running spacers with the Kumhos.

I am going to try the new Kumho Ecsta 700 in the spring. I am told they feature a squarer shoulder, so am expecting problems with rubbing the spring perch. I have a couple different spacers to try.

Chris H.
www.subrew.com

where do you rub? Front or rear?

ver5 struts have larger bodies than the KYB AGX struts chris is using, so be a little careful.

I have Tein HA coilovers, 400/335 springs and also use 225/50-16 Kumho Victoracer V700s. I won't be replacing them in the spring because I have a set that's still in very good shape. I also have a new set of 225/50-16 BFG Comp TA R1 Rain but haven't ever mounted them and I'll probably sell 'em. They are narrower than the Kumhos by a bit but lighter (not Hoosier light though!).

should I stay with 205's then? Im looking at the BFG RA1's....any experience out there?

If your wanting to make your gears quicker.. We've all heard 205/50/16 works and no rubbing.. But consider 215/50/16 and 215/45/16. Both are ones that Richard W. has ran... Look for his I won STS Pro Solo... thanks DMS and he lists all the tires sizes he has... (money bags he is).

Did you ever try to find an R-compound in 215/50/16 or 215/45/16?

Fact is, there aren't many choices out there. I'll be running 205/45/16 hoosiers in SM next season. We'll see how they work. I'll be seeing alot of 3rd gear.

Corey

true but you'll never need 1st, even on a "miata course" and you could have a ridiculously low ride height. :p

I run 205/55/16 Toyo Proxes RA-1's on 16x7 Speedline Comp 2's.

Edit: Thanks bgsntth! :D

205/55/16 Toyo Proxes RA-1's There you go Shawn.. that's my recomendation... it's not like you need the smaller tire...Did you ever try to find an R-compound in 215/50/16 or 215/45/16? Nope.. must be hard then.

impossible actually. 205/45-16 (a miata size, ittle bitty tire), 205/55-16 and 225/50-16 are about it for 16" impreza fitments.

If you have a tire sponsor, then aren't you limited to what they offer? What class do you plan to run in? DSP? STR? How many sets can you get? Since you are considering R tires, you really limit the choices to Hoosiers, Kuhmos, Yokohamas, Toyos, Pirelli's, Goodyears and BFG's if you can find any. There are oddball tires with the less than 140 treadwear that are not quite up there with Hoosiers and Kuhmo. Nitto NT-555R with a treadwear of 100, Yokohama A022, a 215/45R16 with a treadwear of 120, also there are other misc OEM tires in the 215/45R16 and treadwear of 120 that were for the NSX. On the criteria for not rubbing, that would most likely limit you to a 205/45R16 in the Hoosier and Kuhmo or a 205/55R16 in the Yokohama and Toyo. If you are willing to settle for a little rubbing you can run the 225/50R16 Kuhmos, Toyos and Yokohamas.

Of course, all this is based on the fact that you are going to use stock rims.

I am using stock MY99 rims, and my sponsor is a local repair shop with multiple tire contracts. They have decided to branch out into local Import tuning market, and remembered my car from earlier welding work I had done there. They said we could work out a deal for a season, and to look into what tires I wanted to run. Im assuming only 1 set, 2 would be great, then I could run a test and tune as well....I will find out more in the weeks to come. Thanks for the input.