Best wheel size / tire size for Road Racing

[Nativo]

Hello Everyone: First timer...For an S13; Could you guys share what is the largest/best wheel-tire combo for road racing with the stock fenders even if it means rolling up the inner fender. The idea is to use Hoossiers tires + coilover suspension.

I am interested in wheel size and offset + tire size. Street setup would be a PLUS.

Thanks,

Nativo

[InsanityInc]

OMG Totally go for the 18" wheels in front and back, because wider = better!!!eleven11

Depends on what you've done for power on the car. If it's stock, you should be fine with stock wheels and a plus-size tire (205-55-15 for s13 SEs). If you've done some work, you might want to go to a 7" wheel with a wider tire. If you've gone to a turbo, you probably want to step up to 8" with wider tires in the rear (no reason for wider ones in the front really).

[Nativo]

Just about to finish our Impreza '98 proyect and we are very interested on starting a Sylvia (S13) proyect. Want to prove a point that the S13 Sylvia conversion could be the best low budget track car nowdays. The goal is to at least keep up with the EVO, STI and Z06's

Thanks,

Nativo

[nismofly]

by the way, spelling is "silvia" with an i not "sylvia." just so you know.

good luck with the project

[InsanityInc]

Just about to finish our Impreza '98 proyect and we are very interested on starting a Sylvia (S13) proyect. Want to prove a point that the S13 Sylvia conversion could be the best low budget track car nowdays. The goal is to at least keep up with the EVO, STI and Z06's

Thanks,

Nativo

Well, I'm guessing you mean turbo SR then. If you're intending to keep up with those cars through straights, then you're going to be turning up the boost, so I'd recommend at least an 8" with 245s or so in the rear, and go to a wider tire if you start having traction problems. I don't think I'd go much over 225 with a low profile in the front, though, especially since you're going to presumably be using slicks.
Modified by InsanityInc at 2:52 AM 12/10/2004

[skydragoness]

Hmm. ..

In road racing, smaller wheels are preferred, because of cheaper replacement costs. By smaller, i mean something less than 17" .. going +1 for the s13's stock 15x6.5 ' rim/tire size is enough. A lot of racers stick with 15' and 16' sizes because of costs. And since your'e going with Hoosiers, you'll be able to find tires in those sizes. Get something like a 15x7, 16x7.5 or 8' rim. It's extremely hard finding rims in the s13's 4 lug pattern, so maybe doing a 5-lug hub swap will give more choices. Anyhow, good wheels in four-lug that are lightweight, and relatively inexpensive are: Kosei k-1's and the T1, Team Dynamics Pro Race 1 and 2 style rims, konig networks (15x7).. that's not much, but with a 5x114 pattern you'll have a LOT more options in wheels.

Also, we have a tire/wheel/suspension forum you can try posting this in too.

[nismofly]

id say either kosei k1's or 5 zigen fn01r-c's, i will be running kosei's in 16x7.5 to comply with my autocross class rules, a lot of people run these, and a LOT of people run the 5 zigens too, for a good reason though

[phroze2001]

15'' or 16'' are best imagine the stress to the big 18'' wheel when rounding a corner at 100+ mph and you gotta know that it is also transfering that extra stress to suspension and drivetrain components, dont get me wrong I love the look of big wheels I even have some on one of my cars but its just for show.

[toptechracing]

Mostly depends on what class you are gonna run in. Get a rule book first.

I run 245x40x18s or 245x35x18s or 245x45x17's depending on the track and or setup I am looking for. Strong light wheels are important.

I can't stress getting a set of rules for what ever club your gonna run with. Nothing worse than buying stuff only to find you can't use it.

[AustinSilvia]

personally i think for road racing running anything with a tire wall height less then 45 mm is not very smart... you can damage your rims easily with lower profile tires because road racing often involves roads that are not race track quality. a 45 height corresponds with a 17 inch rim to give you just about proper speed readings on your speedometer. if you have 18's you have to have super low profile tires to give you correct speed readings. i know this might not be a concern since you're racing and usually don't fixate on the speedometer when racing.. you need to pay attention to the road, but it's still something to consider. my friends fd3 with 17x7's and 225 width tires does very well in the corners.

[toptechracing]

Quote »personally i think for road racing running anything with a tire wall height less then 45 mm is not very smart... you can damage your rims easily with lower profile tires because road racing often involves roads that are not race track quality.[/quote]Well I would guess there are a bunch of us racing cars that aren't very smart then........I run Enkie RPF1 rims and have had 0 damage in the 2 years I have been running them. We also run them on the 350z we race. As far as getting tires goes. A hoosier 245x45x18 is about 20 bucks a tire more than a comparable 16" tire. If I were starting out and had a buget to be worried about I would look at a 17 or an 18" setup because most of the pro series are on that size of tire and take offs can be purchased pretty reasonble.

PS we curb them a ton also:
Modified by toptechracing at 9:07 PM 12/11/2004

[i2ice4m3]

personally i think for road racing running anything with a tire wall height less then 45 mm is not very smart... you can damage your rims easily with lower profile tires because road racing often involves roads that are not race track quality. a 45 height corresponds with a 17 inch ....

so does that 45mm apply to all rim sizes? I hope you know that the middle number stamped on a tire is not a dimension- it's a ratio of the tire sidewall height to it width.
Modified by i2ice4m3 at 9:48 PM 12/13/2004

[gpeele]

would 245 tires even fit in the front of a s13 with a coilover setup?

[toptechracing]

would 245 tires even fit in the front of a s13 with a coilover setup?

Depends on the coilover set up. I build my own because I don't like most of them. I run a 6" front spring so I have run the spring and the perch above the tire. This gives an extra 3/4 of an inch of clearance inboard.