tyre and rims size opinion

[Petros]

Hi

I read about tyres here but still have a question to ask.

I will buy semi slick tyres for track day and for some light sprint and slalom races.
The tyre I looked at as these Nankang as I can buy them cheap: http://nankangtyres.com.au/tyre/ns-2r/

I whould perfer to buy another set off rallye steelies (luckly I found 5.5 or 6.0 to buy) but I can fit only 185/60 14 on them which will bring car up 12mm judging by tyre calculator.I dont know how car will react on them which way Im asking for opinion.

Other option are 13" with 185/60 13 which whould make car lower 14mm and a 15" 195/50 15 and 10mm higher again...

Car is fully stock

[Spanker]

Hi, I use the NS2r's on my S2 Rallye, the stock tyre for the Rallye is 175/60 14, so the 185/60 14 are fine to run, if you are worried about height, which i think you are, and I believe that the NS2r's come in 185/55or50 14, so a lower profile.

I also use the 120 treadwear, which is their track compound, therefore medium, recommend this for your usage.

Nankang advise a pressure of 29 PSi when measured hot, it makes a massive difference once you get them to the correct temperature, normally takes about two 20 minutes sessions to get the tyres up to that level.

I buy from the Tyreleader website, who are very cheap, but the delivery can be subject to delays.

Overall very pleased with the tyres, especially on the track, less so on the road, as you need to get them warm before they grip well.

[Petros]

Tnx for replay

Unfortunaly they do not make 55 or 50 profile for 185 14", if so I whould buy it instantly.
But I am bit worried now when you say it need so much time to heat them up.Is ok to use lower pressure to heat them faster?

If I will buy medium tyre compound I can use tham daily and it will save me buying another set of wheels

Edit:
I use my car daily and often go off road so another set of wheels is must as I dong want to destroy my track tyres like that.

So I still need to decide which tyre and rims dimension to buy to make my car most desirable to drive

[Spanker]

I start at 28 PSi all round, warm up time does depend on a lot of factors though, driving surface, driving style, and the track of course!

They normally end up at about 23-24 once they have fully cooled down.

[Petros]

The track where I will be doing track days have very hard surface and tire suffer a lot in only few laps, very old and ruined asphalt.Hope to change it asap...

For my street tire I use 32 all around, on track they got to 36 after 3 laps so I left air to 32, they where 29 cold when I left and visit pump station.

So for pure performance, should I go for 13,14 or 15 inch tire?

13" 185/60
14" 185/60
15" 195/50

[Spanker]

15", as you will have a lower profile tyre (50) that will flex less under hard cornering, plus it will be 10 mm wider at 195..

[Petros]

Hm true, weight only worried me with that dimension

Also saw this:
"15 inch wheels with 195/50/15s:
These will fit but will rub quite a lot on full lock. Not recommended. The speedo will read a few % lower then before."

Guess only 13 and 14 are now back in game

[Harv]

I had 195/50/15s on my car and they were perfectly manageable.

[Petros]

I had 195/50/15s on my car and they were perfectly manageable.

On a stock suspension?Does that mean they do scrub a bit?

[Petros]

Hi again

Still have some tyre questions...

Does anyone know how will car perform on semi slick tyres?I mean will it roll too much and are these tyres too much for stock suspension?

Ill use them on track only.

[Harv]

On a stock suspension?Does that mean they do scrub a bit?

A little bit of scrub at full lock, wind off a little bit and they were fine. No issues with clearance on compression etc though.

[Petros]

Just to update this.
Car was fine to run in normal drive and crusing but when pushed rear tires scrubed inside and outside on chassis.

I should have gone for 14" tires.One 195/50 15 Nankang NS-2R weights 9,3kg and with 4,8kg C5 steelies is 14kg.
My original rims with 175/60 14 tires are 12,2kg so allmost 2kg per corner more.

I'm in search for original Michelin rims and new 185/55 or 60 tyres, hope they wont weight over 13kg.

[neletina]

Im running 195/45-15 on ultraleggeras 15x7J ET18, on S2 model... Great size but problem is the price of tyres, more than 30% expecier tyres, and no good option for 45. Im running TOYO T1R, worst tyre ever!!!

But 195/50 is fat tyre for S2, it will touch fenders...but lower price of tyres and you have more and better options...

[Petros]

Yes I didn't hear good things about T1R

My problem was when I was buying tires I wanted semi slicks,just for track use and they dont come in lower profile in that size:/
The same problem will have now on 14" rims, usually all tires are 185/60, only 3 models I saw was 55 profile but their prices are allmost double

I just want durable tire, grip is not that important as I want more fun actually and one alternative is maybe Yokohama a539 but again didnt hear too good things about them.
Still searching for right choice...

[Harv]

I like T1R's on light cars, need quite high pressures though as the sidewall is quite soft.