Light Weight Wheels and why, add yours to the list, read the requirements first

[RAAMaudio]

M, I knew what you meant, at least I think I did

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I agree that some 205s would be stretched a bit more than needed on 8's but I also know a race team than runs 205s on 9's at times but those are wider than most 225's.

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JUST TO MAKE THIS VERY CLEAR

To run 9" wide wheels will require a camber change and max rolled and pulled rear fenders or actual flares where the inner and outer fenders are cut away, fillers welded in, etc.....

There is a way around it, custom offset wheels, 15x9 +35 front barely clears the coilovers so a +32 would be best and in the rear +45 might clear but careful measuring would be required and then you cannot rotate the tires properly.

To run 10's in the rear, flares must be installed as above.

 

[RAAMaudio]

White St, those 6uls look damn fine to me

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^Of course!

 

[LILIKE16ST]

I think we've figured out all our wheel options at this point. Sadly, we're stuck with big $$ wheels or Auto Zone wheels. That being said, I still love my 6UL's. To each their own, but I still haven't found anything better looking in person. I've seen all the wheel threads and can't find a single attractive wheel. In my opinion 17's just look oversized for our cars, almost cartoonish. The only thing for sure is that widdddddder is better. Our car with a 9" or 10" wheel makes it look like a serious performance car. The conversion is worth it just by the amount of tires that are available.


View attachment 15439

Damn I love those wheels and very nice choice on tire too that's the 205/50 continental extreme contact sport correct? Probably my next tire. If I went 4x100 I'd get those wheels without question

 

[RAAMaudio]

That Conti 205 is pretty narrow in tread width at 7" for a 205 but has decent section width at 8.4" which will help spread the tread a bit wider installed on an 8" wide wheel, I gained approx .25" with the 225 Rival S on 9's. The Conti would work on a 7.5" wheel and decently on a good on a 7" though start to give up some response and feedback.

It is a very good tire with great test ratings at a great price point, looks really nice, great in the rain, not a bad choice at all for those wanting more tread life than the stickiest tires(driver use and care will make quite a difference on any tire of course).

 

[LILIKE16ST]

That Conti 205 is pretty narrow in tread width at 7" for a 205 but has decent section width at 8.4" which will help spread the tread a bit wider installed on an 8" wide wheel, I gained approx .25" with the 225 Rival S on 9's. The Conti would work on a 7.5" wheel and decently on a good on a 7" though start to give up some response and feedback.

It is a very good tire with great test ratings at a great price point, looks really nice, great in the rain, not a bad choice at all for those wanting more tread life than the stickiest tires(driver use and care will make quite a difference on any tire of course).

I agree 100% as usual lol. I kind of figured with a section that wide an 8 inch wheel would widen that narrow thread width some and you have confirmed what I was thinking. I think it is the perfect tire for me and my needs. Good all around and decent life plus it only weighs 19 lbs. I'm pretty much sold on it since I kind of rack up the miles (33k since April 2016 when new) although I've dialed it back somewhat since I first got it I still log a decent amount of milage. I don't track the car and I'd like to get good performance on back road twisties while maintaining decent street ability and tread life and maintaining a low weight this tire has all of the above.

 

[RAAMaudio]

Cool
The low weight is a big bonus considering where the weight is located it makes a bigger difference.

One thing overlooked is larger rim diameter tires generally weigh close to what the smaller rims weigh but the weight is pushed out further which adds to the added torque needed to accelerate from the engine and to stop the car by brakes which adds to the heat generated by them, more brake wear, etc...

Then larger diameter wheels nearly always cost more and moves the weight out further also.

When all the benefits of smaller diameter and lower weight wheels are added up including ride quality, lower buying and operational costs in given wheel brands, models, tires as well....there is no other single overall performance mod one can do that comes close. Sure one can add more power up to a point but power only does one thing, not all things like good wheels and tires will do.

 

[GAbOS]

Unsprung weight is key! I've always been Keen to watch what tricks high race teams do to keep weight light and low when it's unsprung

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

 

[GAbOS]

Just a quick FYI. Formula 1 still uses 13" wheels! FIA has been trying to move them to 17 for a few years now and the teams have been fighting the change pretty hard.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

 

[M-Sport fan]

Just a quick FYI. Formula 1 still uses 13" wheels! FIA has been trying to move them to 17 for a few years now and the teams have been fighting the change pretty hard.

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One can be fully assured that those tall sidewalls on the 13" diameter F1 tires are MUCH MUCH more stiff than even a full road race 25 series 'rubber band' profile slick's sidewall.
How they can make it work (they do NOT want the 'cush' everyone on here so craves. ).

 

[neeqness]

They do not NEED "cush"...racetracks don't have potholes.

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[M-Sport fan]

They do not NEED "cush"...racetracks don't have potholes.

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CORRECT! (Their aerospace level tech suspension systems take care of the curbing quite well.)

 

[WhiteST]

That Conti 205 is pretty narrow in tread width at 7" for a 205 but has decent section width at 8.4" which will help spread the tread a bit wider installed on an 8" wide wheel, I gained approx .25" with the 225 Rival S on 9's. The Conti would work on a 7.5" wheel and decently on a good on a 7" though start to give up some response and feedback.

It is a very good tire with great test ratings at a great price point, looks really nice, great in the rain, not a bad choice at all for those wanting more tread life than the stickiest tires(driver use and care will make quite a difference on any tire of course).

I've only had the tires on for 2 weeks but I can definitely feel that they are more narrow. I was in a rush traveling and didn't check the actual specs. That being said, they drive great in the rain and they're sticky enough to throw rocks. Should make a good daily tire.

 

[RAAMaudio]

As much as I promote wide sticky tires on wide wheels I do miss the days of crap tires on skinny wheels, power was far harder to come by as well. I could drive at the limit for hours on end, getting a bit loose, no worries, just great fun. Now my cars have been so good I cannot really use what they have very often, why I ended up mostly driving them on track even though most were street legal.

I would rather give up a bit of grip to have a little more fun at times but I was also building my car for lots of power and the track where I tend to go 100% all the time and like to play with "faster" cars usually driven by egocentric mediocre drivers.

Eventually I will sell the ST as I have no real need since no longer to the track, I need something for the family like a 4runner but not a new one, butt ugly to me and a waste of money, I loved the 07 V8 LTD we had and miss it. With 285 sport truck tires, higher grade bilsteins, rear sway and air bags it was far more competent than one would imagine, on and off road(serious off road would mean disconnecting the sway bars) In time I will end up with my 7th Miata, NB most likely, moderate mods(by my crazy standards) and around 140 HP and will have great fun with it though will seldom drive it and it will not have super sticky tires.

 

[RAAMaudio]

I was at the last F1 race in Long Beach in 1983 for 3 days with full padock and garage passes which meant sleeping in our car under a bridge near the event but it was worth it
Even then the technology was incredible and the power was insane and at the braking zone on the main straight on qualifying runs when the brakes would instantly glow and howl louder than the exhaust when accelerating.

Almost more remarkable was the dual engine lay down karts that looked like tiny can am cars with feet sticking up and huge helmets that hit 145 vice 165 for the F1 cars on that straight and were only 2 seconds a lap slower meaning they cornered much quicker.

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Tiny wheels can work and the tires are still part of the suspension in F1.

Tires and chassis flex was the only suspension on the karts, still is.

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Unsprung weight, measure each part, attached to the hub on one end, chassis on the other, half the weight is generally considered unsprung.

I had $15k into the suspension of my last full track car build and waited forever for promised tubular rear trailing arms to replace the cast iron only stock parts left in that area to save a bit more weight and have a full tubular monoball suspensin, I was expecting to pay around $3k for them.

Since I blew all I could on cars and then retired going on 5 years ago I am happy to afford a good burger and beer out now but love my life unencombered by too much stuff is still the best I have lived yet.

(Note Nothing was as crazy loud as the 18K RPM NA engines later on, even the Indy cars where near ear bleed levels a few years later if not before.

 

[LILIKE16ST]

I've only had the tires on for 2 weeks but I can definitely feel that they are more narrow. I was in a rush traveling and didn't check the actual specs. That being said, they drive great in the rain and they're sticky enough to throw rocks. Should make a good daily tire.

Yup they're Def gonna be my next tire now after reading this. Seems to be exactly what I'm looking for. I want good grip but to the point where I can still slide around a little and have fun like rick was pointing out plus do good in rain and get decent tread life with low weight these tires seem to have it all. Very good street tire indeed and mounted on the 15x8 pro race wheels it's 34.5 lbs per corner which isn't bad at all sticking with 4x108. That's 8 per corner less than what my stock setup was (I had the 20 lbs Michelin not the 19 lbs bridgestone)

 

[SQFiST]

any new 4x108 wheels out?

 

[M-Sport fan]

any new 4x108 wheels out?

+1!

It seems to me that there are MULTITUDES of these cars in England, and the rest of the world, enough that it would behoove all of these wheel manufacturers to STOP losing profits, and having us make up excuses for them, and conceding and doing the stupid conversion to accommodate THEM (and then worshipping them for it! ), instead of the other way around.

After all WE are the customers here, NOT THEM!!

 

[jeffreylyon]

+1!

It seems to me that there are MULTITUDES of these cars in England, and the rest of the world, enough that it would behoove all of these wheel manufacturers to STOP losing profits, and having us make up excuses for them, and conceding and doing the stupid conversion to accommodate THEM (and then worshipping them for it! ), instead of the other way around.

After all WE are the customers here, NOT THEM!!

Yes, that's exactly the case. The multi-million $ aftermarket wheel industry has collectively decided to actively avoid the 4x108 format, even though there is a huge opportunity. Further, regardless of the fact that enthusiasts and racers have been doing bolt pattern conversions for as long as there have been more than a single standard bolt pattern in order to fit wheels that would be otherwise unavailable, this is "stupid" because, well, because Dave says so.

Aren't you happy with your wheels? What are you complaining about?

 

[M-Sport fan]

Yes, that's exactly the case. The multi-million $ aftermarket wheel industry has collectively decided to actively avoid the 4x108 format, even though there is a huge opportunity. Further, regardless of the fact that enthusiasts and racers have been doing bolt pattern conversions for as long as there have been more than a single standard bolt pattern in order to fit wheels that would be otherwise unavailable, this is "stupid" because, well, because Dave says so.

Aren't you happy with your wheels? What are you complaining about?

Quite happy with them, thank you!
(Yes, EVEN despite the constant barrage of acrimony for any wheel/tire combo which is not at least 12+ lbs. per corner lighter than the factory setup. Somehow, this car drives just fine, especially on the street where it's limits STILL cannot be even approached, even with my "only" 3 lbs. lighter per corner than factory, 'boat anchors'. )

Just a support for all of those out there that see 10 pound or less wheels as a MUST in order to survive, who do not want to do the conversion regardless of whether or not it was being done even BEFORE the invention of the wheel, that's all. LOL

NO 'conspiracy theories' here regarding your 'sacred' manufacturers, just pointing out that there are A LOT of these cars, with this "damned, odd, HATED, bolt pattern" out there in the rest of the world, even if not here in our land (NO? You deny that fact?).
(Just because the Miata, in all of it's iterations, and gens, is the 'of course' and "go to" enthusiast car here in this country, does not mean it is the ONLY car out there in the rest of the world.)