High performance tires that might fit your car

I just purchases a set of Yokohma AVS ES100s. 195 x 60/15. This is one of the few high performance tires made in a 60 series. It's a 'summer' tire with a soft compound. I've mounted it on 6 inch wide rims, which have about a 2 inch offset. The 195 just fits. I wanted to mount a 205, but there was no way it was going to fit. I'm hoping that it will improve the handling of my car. I'll let you know in a few hundred miles.
Ron







(Message Edited 5/3/2003 12:04:55 AM)








(Message Edited 5/3/2003 12:05:38 AM)

Bigger tires certainly will help with traction but until you sort out spring and shock rates and travel geometry you won't notice any big time handling changes just with tires alone. Of course if you had 165's on 5.5 inch rims then the change to 195's on 6's will help.
A low profile 50 or 55 series but only 185 would work better, less side wall flex and thus more stable control. If it is swing axel try a camber compensator bar and new rubber front sway bar bushings. For the little light speedster replicas the Empi and Sway away front sway bars are too big. They were built for the Bug at 2200 lbs and more than 40% of that on the front.
Get the spring rate right and the shock travel correct then a good four wheel alignmnet, the shop should do the rear first then the front, write and I will give you Speedster specs.

John Steele JPS Motorsports.

I agree that setting the car up properly is very important and that if the car is not set up properly the choice of tires won't make a huge difference in the car's handling. But, the type of tire you run on your properly set up car can make a BIG difference. Years ago I took a road racing course on the now defunct Westwood Race Track. The cars we used were identical BMW 325s (same year, model etc and they all had less than 1000 miles on them). Three of the cars had one brand of tire and the fourth had another brand. We drove all four cars and the difference between the two brands of tires was very noticeable (tires were all the same size and width). Both were OE tires, just different brands.
Ron

Ron, have you heard or read anything about Kuhmo (sp) tires? I was told they are the closest thing to Yok.008R's. I guess they are being used in Vintage Racing alot, and are supposed to be very sticky. Eddie

A friend of mine wholesales tires. He has agreed to give discounted prices to members when they mention their member number from here. I will have the details and a webpage setup with all of the info sometime this week. The discounts are pretty substantial in some cases. For instance, I just got the price for A008's to fit my mini, WITH shipping and tax he can retail them for between 60-70 each. They run 98-110 PLUS shipping and tax everywhere else.

I just bought some 235-45-17 Falken ZEIXs for my wifes BMW. He gave them to me with no markup, price is less than half that of the lowest I can find anywhere else.

-=theron

Thanks Theron, I'll be waiting. Eddie

Ed, I believe you are running 185/65 x 15s on your car. I couldn't find any Kumhos in that tire size (in the high performance category). What Kumho tire were you thinking of?
Ron

Thanks Ron, I'm not sure of the model yet, I'll let you know when I find out. By the way your tire and wheel setup looks great. I've always liked the Fuchs look on a speedster.

I'm going through all the threads to see which one's I want to save in my folder. WOW, great new option !!!! Theron, I haven't seen this link you're referring to in this thread where members can save big on tires. Did that ever happen?

Re tires.

I've got Kumho's on my Speedster. John Steele put them on. They are 185/65 15's. Like them so far. I don't think they are a high performance tire but they are quiet and offer a nice ride. Handle OK also but I don't have anything to compare them to.

Bruce

Theron,

Is your Mini new or old?

Marcos