Am I making a mistake with 16x7.5 Kosei K1s?

[mspiegle]

A quick check on TireRack reveals only 1 r-compound (a yoko) that comes in the 225/45/16 flavor.

Is there a better tire place that has a larger selection, or am I kinda screwed with the 225/45/16 tiresize?

Just an FYI - i don't have the K1s yet, but i'm going to do a few track sessions with basketweaves and street tires. I think by my 4th or 5th track session, i'll get the K1s and r-compounds as a secondary set of wheels.

[permit]

16" wheels don't have many tire selections to begin with, so finding any selection of R compounds will be difficult.

[MR 325]

Check www.tires.com aswell

[e30sd]

um ra1's come in 225/45, and if you're a balla, 245/45

[cheades]

If all you want is 225 width why don't you just put 225/50 on your stock 14" basketweaves?

[mspiegle]

If all you want is 225 width why don't you just put 225/50 on your stock 14" basketweaves?

Why on earth would I do that? They wouldn't fit firstly, and 225/50 is not even close to the stock diameter.

[mspiegle]

um ra1's come in 225/45, and if you're a balla, 245/45

I wanted those... but Toyo doesn't claim to make them:

http://toyo.com/tires/tire_specsheet.cfm?id=1

205/55ZR16 236850 5.5-6.5-7.5 23 8 24.8 8.4 11.4 1235 44 853
225/50ZR16 236890 6.0-7.0-8.0 23 8 24.8 9.0 11.2 1390 44 853
P255/50ZR16 236880 7.0-8.0-9.0 27 8 26.06 10.4 11.7 1687 44 815
245/45ZR16 236800 7.5-8.0-9.0 25 8 24.6 9.6 11.2 1477 44 861

Where would I get that tire?

[rwh11385]

16" wheels don't have many tire selections to begin with, so finding any selection of R compounds will be difficult.

tell this to Jay. he's a defender of 16".

15" have good selection of tires, including 225/50 and 225/45.

If all you want is 225 width why don't you just put 225/50 on your stock 14" basketweaves?

true story. cheap wheels too. this is what Jet H K-prepped guy runs (one of Skafrog's friend's instructor one-time, and we've run into him a couple times now.)


and read this thread while on the topic:

http://bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=347238

esp this:

I say wait. You might think you're close to the limit, but I'd be willing to bet there's still quite a bit left in most corners that you think you're "max'ing" the car out on.

I thought I was pretty close to what my car could do after 3-4 schools, but here I am after 9 schools and I'm still getting quicker and quicker, and learning more and more on street tires.

Just be patient, and get as much seat time as possible.

If you really want to get a tire that will hold up to the abuse a bit better than the ES100's(I personally think they suck from a wear perspective given their grip level on the track) - step up to something cheap like Kumho MX's that'll give you a hair more grip, handle the heat(which is the biggest thing that gets to people with medicore street tires and trying to go fast), and wear pretty well.

After this set of Azenis, I'm buying 205-50-15 Hankook RS-2s, then probably a set of BFG KDs which TIATO ran even at his experience level.

[rwh11385]

Why on earth would I do that? They wouldn't fit firstly, and 225/50 is not even close to the stock diameter.

well, unless I was drunk and seeing things, Jet's fit fine. And they are only -4.7% the size of stock, which is a fine undersize. That's the same diameter as Charlie was using with his 205/55-14 RA1's.

in summary, yes, i think that 16" wheels aren't as good of a choice as 15's. 15's are cheaper, the tires are cheaper, and tire selection is much larger. including 205-50-15s (both street and r comps), 225-50-15s (street and r comps), and also 225-45-15 r comps.

[Mystikal]

tell this to Jay. he's a defender of 16".

I thought we were only supposed to be in the context of street tires since the entire thread was about his situation as a new racer?

Hypocrite.

[cheades]

Yeah, 225/50-14 on basketweaves fits perfect. Just look at what most of the specE30 racers are using, they will work perfect. They are smaller in diameter, but when do you ever get to the top of 5th gear anyways besides on the Ring. If you have a 3.73 they would be perfect to give you essentially a 4.10 ratio for better pull out of the corners.

[rwh11385]

I thought we were only supposed to be in the context of street tires since the entire thread was about his situation as a new racer?

Hypocrite.

Jay, both street tires for now has a lot more selection,as well as long down the road there are racing compounds in 15".

Stop being a child.

[mspiegle]

Yeah, 225/50-14 on basketweaves fits perfect. Just look at what most of the specE30 racers are using, they will work perfect. They are smaller in diameter, but when do you ever get to the top of 5th gear anyways besides on the Ring. If you have a 3.73 they would be perfect to give you essentially a 4.10 ratio for better pull out of the corners.

Wow, I stand corrected. Sorry for sounding like an ass.

Hmm... this might be interesting with a 4.10LSD...

[rwh11385]

Wow, I stand corrected. Sorry for sounding like an ass.

Hmm... this might be interesting with a 4.10LSD...

Don't worry about it.

3% and 4.10LSD = about 4.23 which is near what Ted Anthony runs in his racecar. So it might be interesting but will work anyway.