8 replies to this topic

[Wilsod17]

I am helping my son get his 92 Miata ready for HPD. The car has never been on the track.
Read the rules and We are going through the car belts fluids etc, and adding the roll bar this week.
The car is all stock with OEM aluminum wheels.
The car needs tires.
Should we replace the wheels and tires or only replace the tires at this time?
Any recommendations can provide to help us get the car ready for the track will be greatly appreciated.

[Caveman-kwebb99]

Depends what size the wheels are... If they ar 14's I would just go ahead and change them out to 15x7 SM legal wheels. If they are stock 15x6 wheels they are legal for SM, some people use them for rains, the wheels are alot heavier that what we prefer to race with, but there is no dire need to replace them just to do a DE.

I would suggest using RA1 tires and now that they are being discontinued as the Spec tire by NASA you should be able to buy some from a racer who just bought new and found out they are no longer the spec tire or buy some used ones that are still 2 or 3/32 and put them on your wheels and go have a great time.

[Alberto]

Hello.

Definitely move up to the 15x7 wheels. There are so many more tires available in that size.
Not sure which part of N. Cali you are in but most of us get our wheels and tires from AIM Tire. They are located at Infineon. AIM sells Team Dynamic wheels in the correct Miata sizes and Toyo tires such as the RA1. He's a big supporter of the local racing scene and has on track support.

http://aimtire.com/


I think the RA1 is a reasonable tire for a newbie HPDE driver. They are reasonably good in the wet, excellent in the dry, they communicate well at the limit, reasonably priced for what you get and last a good long time.


Alternatively, consider the Hankook RS3 or Dunlop Z1 Star Specs. Tire Rack sells them. Tire Rack also has a good Miata wheel that is cheap ($89) and light under their TR Motorsports brand.


If you are near Infineon, take it over to TFB to align after you get the suspension installed. http://tfbperformance.com/

[William Bonsell]

If you are using a trailer, then a good set of shaved RA-1's (new or used) will work great. If the car is being driven to the track, suggest a good 205x50x15 high performance tire such as the Dunlop Z1 Star Specs...a great tire at a very reasonable price (Discount Tires probably has). And definitely 15x7 wheels, either 25 or 30 offset. Lots of options there.

[LarryKing]

If you are ultimately going SM racing make sure whatever wheels you get weigh at least 13 lbs each.

[JRHille]

I would recommend getting the most possible out of street tires, then go to something like the ra1 or the star spec or anything semi sticky.

[Tom Sager]

If it's within your budget I'd get a set of 15" wheels and you can probably find a set of used Hoosier's or Toyo's real cheap. In fact if you want to pay for shipping I have a set of used RA1's you can have for free. These would be track only tires. Unshaved street tires won't be very good and your son might ruin them in a day or two. Not that all the tread will be gone but the outer edges of unshaved tires can wear funny and quick (especially at street car alignment settings) and then they get noisy on the street. That and if your son has any prior experience (like karting) he might get near the limit sooner than later and he'll then be limited and frustrated by the street tires.

[JRHille]

True Tom, didn't take into consideration previous experience. I just drove on street tires for a year or so when I started out and thought it was valuable in finding the limit and doing it safely. Then full tread ra-1's and wore out the edges pretty bad. My street tires didn't wear too bad, but then again I wasn't pushing it like I would now back then. Find some old ra-1's, they should be pretty abundant and cheap used with the tire change next year.

[Wilsod17]

Very helpful. Thank you all. Hope to see you at the track very soon.