GT Motoring

It looks a lot smaller than a 245 street when mounted on a 9" wheel. May be because of it being a 40 series instead of 45.

GT Motoring

I have run a 225/45/15 on my 15x9 6ul on my miata and its definitely faster than an 8" wheel with the same setup.

oinojo

Yup. Same experience on an autocross miata.

ZDan

So the *real* question isn't about what the ideal wheel width is for a given tire size, it's what is the best tire for quickest lap times on your existing OEM wheels, right?

Usually it's going to be the widest fricking tire you can spoon onto it (within reason of course...).

Difference in feel between the S04 and RE11 tires will likely be greater than the difference between 215 vs. 225 and 245 vs. 255. Also, different wear levels further mucks up the comparison.

For quickest lap times on "street" tires, on OEM wheels, I'd be going 225/255 BFG Rivals or Dunlop ZII.

Q: What is "stock alignment"? A: It's a very large range, and not appropriate for track work...

Stock suspension/ride height? I'd be cranking in as much camber as the adjusters allow, ideally you'd want more.


Seriously, I wouldn't worry at all about "ideal width" for a given tire size until you are buying wheels.

My .02...

Bullwings

As far as "stock" alignment, there's no reason to force the issue. You're likely maxing out at -1.8 or -2.0 front. Rear you can probably get up to around -2.7ish.

I ran the exact same wheel/tire setup as you running the stock class in the s2k challenge. You could definitely bump up the front camber. I got hardrace joints and ran -2.7F/2.5R with the same setup you have now. It transformed the way the car handled and evened out my tire wear considerably.

I understand staying stock. I don't understand sticking to the stock alignment specs.

After tires, brake pads/fluids, the next upgrade should be getting something to give you more camber adjustment options. This car is very sensitive to alignment changes.

andrewhake

Trust me I understand exactly what I need to do to make my car faster, it is more to handicap myself and find ways around it through driving instead of making changes to the car. When I know I can't go any faster with the car in it's current setup, then I will make changes. "Stock" alignment for an 06 S2000 in the US is -0.5 F -1.5 R (if in the middle of the ranges given by the factory service manual. I think very few people ever get anywhere near the actual limits of a stock S2000, and most start modifying it before they even give themselves the chance.

I didn't make this thread to try and find the best setup for my particular car, I mainly thought it was an interesting topic to discuss, which definitely has proven to be the case!

Even consider the 215mm tire size versus the 7" wide front wheel. 215mm is much closer to 8.5". The S2000 sure would be easy to slide around with 215 tires all around.

andrewhake

I would imagine a 225 A6 runs wider than 225 but that makes plenty of sense with 9" being close to 229mm.

GT Motoring

225 A6 on 7.5 inch wheel (recommended wheel width - 7-8.5" - Section Width 9.7" tread width 8.8"
255 Star Spec on 9" wheel (recommended wheel width - 8.5-10" - Section Width 10.4" Tread width NA

TireRack info

boyguan

I was like you and I maxed the car to my potential about last year.

I was about 2:09 at thill all stock except for pads. I felt I drove it hard enought at 8/10 or 9/10.

Time to start modding and the front camber joints make a big difference as I was wearing outside edges more than inside

I found my best camber setting using my pyrometer

I am currently on rs3 255 around on 9 wheels. I feel the side wall flex is a lot. Another guy there said he liked it more with the 245

robrob

I agree with ZDan.Most of us start with a certain size wheel and we want the best (fastest lap time) tire we can get. That will normally be the widest tire we can fit on the wheels and in the wheel well so I highly recommend you not downsize your tire to get a better "tire stretch." 255's all around have been the best dry tire size for me.