Wheels and tyres. To go 195/50 or to go for some 14's?

[hard_corejoeboy]

In a bit of a dilemma at the moment. With money etc i don't really want to have 2 sets of rubber (one for road and one for track)

I have a choice of sticking with my vts wheels (at least for time being) and getting some 195/50 rubber on them (partly due to the availability of decent tyres in this size and partly because i want a more comfortable journey on the road)

Or getting some 14's (and R888's etc are pretty cheap in this size)
However i know bugger all about 14's surely the smaller rim size means quicker acceleration but lower top speed? Surely as the wheels would be thinner this would mean less grip also than say 195/50/15's? Whats the widest in 14's i can feasibly put on a saxo?

Also im lowered -40mm so with 14's would this make the car look...odd?

Please help either way i need a new set of tyres!

[harry289]

I'm a big fan of yokohama parada spec 2's. they sure do perform well on track in all conditions for the money. Can get a full set for about £160 which isn't bad at all.

size 195/50/r15

for a set of semi slick track tyres such as the r888 or yokohama ao48r then you will be looking at between £300 - £360 for 185/55/r14's new.

If you want one set of tyres for the road and track then the parada's are an excellent choice. Or even if you did decide to get 2 sets then it still could work out cheaper and last a whole lot longer than semi slick 14's.

[adamskiTNR]

These yoko ad08's are awesome. And nice and cheap ish in 15"
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Motorsport/Wheels_&_Tyres/Competition_Tyres/Yokohama_Advan_Neova_AD08_Tyre/1790/7030

[adamskiTNR]

r888's are about £70 and ao48's are about £85 -£90. That's no vat

[adamskiTNR]

£332 for 4 r888's and a pyrometer and a pressure gauge. That's good shit
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Motorsport/Wheels_&_Tyres/Competition_Tyres/Toyo_R888_Tyre_Special_Offer/1790/6854

[harry289]

adam doing his homework!
wish i could afford semi slicks on the r. i forgot about the no vat bit....

for road and track use though...parada's. for me.

[hard_corejoeboy]

Think im probably going to stick with some 195/50's for time being.
Maybe have a set of 14's for track use. Whats the widest you can get for saxo? 185's?
Still not sure if a set of R888's 185 14's will give as much grip as say a road tyre in 195/50/15's

[Steve]

adam doing his homework!
wish i could afford semi slicks on the r. i forgot about the no vat bit....

for road and track use though...parada's. for me.

Those pardas are dangerously shit imo. Unless you get them in 16s or above then you have to have a an extremly soft sidewall. Which is no good for track and the turn in is shit.

When i used to go round bends you could feel them flexing.
They are ok grip wise in the dry. In the wet they are the worst tyre i have ever used.

But suppose its what the driver thinks of them. If you like them you like them :) i personally will never go out my way to buy them.

[harry289]

Those pardas are dangerously shit imo. Unless you get them in 16s or above then you have to have a an extremly soft sidewall. Which is no good for track and the turn in is shit.

When i used to go round bends you could feel them flexing.
They are ok grip wise in the dry. In the wet they are the worst tyre i have ever used.

But suppose its what the driver thinks of them. If you like them you like them :) i personally will never go out my way to buy them.

suppose it just depends on what you fancy. to be fair i havn't had chance to try out many other tyres as iv just turned 19 and only been doing track days a year nor have i driven hard in the wet. Just going by my experience and what others have said about them.

is there any tyre you would recommend steve?

[Fulch]

I'm a big fan of yokohama parada spec 2's. they sure do perform well on track in all conditions for the money. Can get a full set for about £160 which isn't bad at all.

Havent had these yet but my mate driving a MK5 Zetec S with this on 195/45/15 paid something like 160 for 4 delievered and another mate pays 260 for them in 17's but both of my mates say they are the best road going track tyre they have ever used. One did a trip to the ring, round it, back, 3 track days plus day to day use and they still had a few bit of tread on them.

Spec 2's are what I plan on getting next.

Altho the guys have said dont use them over winter as they aint good in the rain at all. A lot of aqua plaining (sp).

Some places to look for tyres are:

BlackCircles
Camskill
Demon Tweeks
e-tyres

anymore feel free to add :y:

[Steve]

suppose it just depends on what you fancy. to be fair i havn't had chance to try out many other tyres as iv just turned 19 and only been doing track days a year nor have i driven hard in the wet. Just going by my experience and what others have said about them.

is there any tyre you would recommend steve?

I have hankook rs2s on the ek atm. Got them for £200ish. Seem decent atm not used them on a track yet as i now have some r888s. But on the road wet and dry they are good. Nice firm sidewall and an alright conpound. Track reviews say they are good on track but overheat quicker than most tyres. Meant to be nearly as good as r888s on a track but dont know how true that actually is lol
Am at croft sunday might use them for a session to compare.

Ps drive safe in the wet.
Tyrereviews.co.uk is a good site for looking at tyres :)

Also yoko ad08s are meant to be good, not sure on price. The paradas are ok in the dry tbf and at that price you cant expect the best. But once you start using other tyres you realise what you have been missing out on.

[jonathon5]

avon ACB 10;s are 195/45/15 size track tyres thats what I have got

[Mochachino]

Those pardas are dangerously shit imo. Unless you get them in 16s or above then you have to have a an extremly soft sidewall. Which is no good for track and the turn in is shit.

When i used to go round bends you could feel them flexing.
They are ok grip wise in the dry. In the wet they are the worst tyre i have ever used.

But suppose its what the driver thinks of them. If you like them you like them :) i personally will never go out my way to buy them.

I agree with that, and know a few other poeple do, Id avoid this tyre, plenty of other tyres are available which are better than these so they shouldnt even be an option.

[hard_corejoeboy]

So for mainly daily driving (albeit spirited lol) and track driving which would match this criteria?

[harry289]

I agree with that, and know a few other poeple do, Id avoid this tyre, plenty of other tyres are available which are better than these so they shouldnt even be an option.

maybe why they are cheap...

what about toyo t1r's?
goodyear eagle f1's?

any others? sorry to hijack your thread but on a budget for road and track any you would recommend?

[Steve]

So for mainly daily driving (albeit spirited lol) and track driving which would match this criteria?

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Hankook/Ventus-RS2-Z212.htm
They are what i use.

[hard_corejoeboy]

Just speaking to a friend and he recommends 14" wheels for track.

What width to get though? And if these would fit saxo?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peugeot-306-Alloy-Wheel-6-x-14-New-RRP-105_W0QQitemZ110572540294QQihZ001QQcategoryZ10406Q QcmdZViewItem

[Steve]

pm'ing you now about some worn semi slicks my mate is selling ;)

Only reason i never used 14's on my saxo was because i had 285mm discs and wilwood 4pots. Max size with 14s is really 266mm.

[Fulch]

maybe why they are cheap...

what about toyo t1r's?
goodyear eagle f1's?

any others? sorry to hijack your thread but on a budget for road and track any you would recommend?

Personallly I would avoid the T1R's now. Used them and some Falkern ZE912's and Falkerns out do Toyo in my honest opinion.

[Steve]

Personallly I would avoid the T1R's now. Used them and some Falkern ZE912's and Falkerns out do Toyo in my honest opinion.

They are decent those falkens. Not really a track tyre but i used them a couple times without issue.

[hard_corejoeboy]

Cheers for the PM i've messaged him so i'll see what he says..

[Fulch]

I just think Toyo's wear too quick compared to Falkerns. I use the ZE912's as a everyday tyre at the mo till I go Spec 2's all round and think they are great, even in rain and on the wear rate.

I plan on having Spec 2's for Summer and the ZE912's for Winter :y:

[gavin_t]

Second hand is the way forwards joe and second set means you can run them right down on track as they dont need to be road legal :)

On ebay and pistonheads for sale section I found some yoko a048s used twice for £250 and some speedline 205's for £50 so all done for under £300 :) (excluding paint :P )


http://i658.photobucket.com/albums/uu303/gavin18787/DSCN0409.jpg


Then I can save my road tyres on the standard VTS wheels. Which are goodyear eagle f1's used them on track and the road and find them really good :) Hard wearing too

[AndySAXO]

hmm there alot more places to buy tyre, got to search alot, but 15" semi slicks will be around 400 quid delivered new.

i just brought some silverstone type RR which came today for 400 quid all in, they are normally 120 odd quid a tyre.

and looking at the back to back test against the 888 and ad48 they where clear winner.

feberal and silverstone are both very unknown tyres, but looking around getting very good reviews from everyone.

federal do a tyre called a 595 rsr, which are a inbetween a fast road and semi slick compound, i been talking to alot of people and say they are on par with the 888, and they are only 70 quid an tyre can get a set for around 300 odd quid if you ring tyre traders.

only way to get cheaper is to buy second hand or get 14" alloys.

[Chris_O]

Does anyone rate yokohama s - drives as mainly fast road and very occasional track (until i've got track tyres for other set of wheels sorted) ? Can get them for about £45 a corner

[Fulch]

Heard some good things about them but never had them myself so cant really say.

[AndySAXO]

never used them, but if they are anything like t1r's then they will over heat very quickly

[harry289]

i used s drives on my old saxo. wear rate was really fast but were quite sticky due to the soft compound. seem a bit expensive for what they are...

[hard_corejoeboy]

Second hand is the way forwards joe and second set means you can run them right down on track as they dont need to be road legal :)

On ebay and pistonheads for sale section I found some yoko a048s used twice for £250 and some speedline 205's for £50 so all done for under £300 :) (excluding paint :P )


What size are the 205 wheels? Are they fairly light?

[AndySAXO]

Don't they have soft side wall on the s drive?

[Reechard]

What size are the 205 wheels? Are they fairly light?

15" they arent too light but still lighter than a lot of other wheels.

[AndySAXO]

Yer that was a good find dor that price I am always on eBay looking for tryes

[AlexB]

I had prada spec 2

Good for dry fast road use
shit for everything else

T1r wore out quick
t1s i have atm no complaints so far but not pushed them yet

[Fulch]

I had prada spec 2

Good for dry fast road use
shit for everything else

T1r wore out quick
t1s i have atm no complaints so far but not pushed them yet

Pretty much what I been saying lol

Had T1S' which are from my understand 1 spec below T1R's and are good, last longer then the T1R's but just not as good for grip when you really are pushing it.

[Wayne]

I rate the Toyo Proxes 4's quite highly and good grip, T1R's are good but do wear down faster, looking to get some yoko a048s for my track wheels once car is on road.

[gavin_t]

15" they arent too light but still lighter than a lot of other wheels.



They are lighter then the standard VTS wheels. I have the ones made by speedline which are a little lighter then the ones made by SMR. Both look the same but made by different companies.

And yer they are 15 inch. Was tempted by 14's but I have 285mm brakes so 15 is as small as I can go :n:

Cant wait to try them properly at oulton next weekend :D

[hard_corejoeboy]

Hmm with money and stuff im debating on getting the T1-R's as i've used them before on road and they were good when new.

Proxes 4 are a little more expensive though but they do have a load rating 4 higher so not sure what to do now lol

[hard_corejoeboy]

Think im just going to go for the T1-Rs as they are so cheap and to be honest they are only really going to be for the road and Brands Indy on the 17th Dec and hopefully the thicker profile will mean more comfort for the road and the stiffer sidewall than the 45 profiles will mean less flex for the track.

[Chris_O]

Im in a bit of indecision of what to go for as well.

Atm maybe t1-s, as you can get them for about £38 a corner in 195/45/15

Or t1-r's at not much more

Or maybe yoko s-drives, slightly more expensive at about £50 a corner, maybe a bit better grip but wont last as long!

[hard_corejoeboy]

195/50/15 t1r's are £29 at camskill

[Chris_O]

Yeah I know but I want 45's really! o well

[Steve]

Well i ran my RS-2s on the last session of croft today.

Conditions damp/cold but with a visible dry line.
RS-2s (with tyre shine *sigh*) were way better than R888's. Much more predictable at the break away point and just generally better all round. R888's were making an awfull noise making the car bang and judder, felt awful! Guess i just coulnd't get the heat in them, but did 5 -6 laps then came in to swap wheels. RS-2s were better towards the end once the tyre shine had scrubbed off :D