How much grip for 175-200whp?
#1
How much grip for 175-200whp?
Tried to find a thread on this but nothing quite hit the spot.
My '90 with 1.8 is getting a little baby turbo setup this spring. I'm shooting for 175-200whp and I'm debating on tire/wheel setup. Use of the car will be daily driver with the occasional trackday/autocross/HPDE. I have JIC Magic FLT-A2 suspension ready to go on. 9k/7k spring rates. Currently running 15x6 NB sport wheels. They have tires that are black and round and offer little else.
I'm not very concerned with laptimes. What I'd like to do is increase grip enough so that I'm not spinning the wheels constantly in 1st and 2nd, but not increase grip so much that I lose the ability to stab the throttle and kick the rear out mid-turn. I love how chuckable the car is and I want it to stay that way, just with more power.
I have a potential good deal on 15x9 Konig Dial-ins, and a set of half-worn Toyo RA1s in 205/50 already sitting in the garage. Am I going to have so much grip with this combo that it will ruin the tossable feel the car comes with?
Let me know what you're running for wheels and tires and how much power you're making. What is your favorite balance of grip and fun?
My '90 with 1.8 is getting a little baby turbo setup this spring. I'm shooting for 175-200whp and I'm debating on tire/wheel setup. Use of the car will be daily driver with the occasional trackday/autocross/HPDE. I have JIC Magic FLT-A2 suspension ready to go on. 9k/7k spring rates. Currently running 15x6 NB sport wheels. They have tires that are black and round and offer little else.
I'm not very concerned with laptimes. What I'd like to do is increase grip enough so that I'm not spinning the wheels constantly in 1st and 2nd, but not increase grip so much that I lose the ability to stab the throttle and kick the rear out mid-turn. I love how chuckable the car is and I want it to stay that way, just with more power.
I have a potential good deal on 15x9 Konig Dial-ins, and a set of half-worn Toyo RA1s in 205/50 already sitting in the garage. Am I going to have so much grip with this combo that it will ruin the tossable feel the car comes with?
Let me know what you're running for wheels and tires and how much power you're making. What is your favorite balance of grip and fun?
#6
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For a little more fun (less grip) you could go with the Direzza Star Specs ZII in 205/50 on 8". I had the ZIs and it was a blast. Reliable, predictable, lasted pretty long, but definitely not too grippy.
#7
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Another vote for the 205 tires. I'm not a big fan of the 225 prices. I also went with an 8" to make the 205s work a little better. 205s on 9" sounds stretchy. When I had fresh star specs and 185hp it was quite glorious with my budget bilstein setup. I doubt anything more would be worth it in the JICs.
#8
I'm picking up what you guys are putting down on the 15x8 / 205 combo. I got a really solid deal on these Dial-In 15x9s or that's what I would have done. I have done some poking around and apparently people are running 205s on 15x9s without things getting too stretched - not really my style, that hyper-stretched gumball look. Apparently it depends on the tire, RA1s are supposed to fare better than some others. When these wear out though I might throw on some S-drives for longer life and a looser feel. I hear RA1s are good almost down to the cords so let's see how it goes. Anyone here running 205s on a 15x9?
#9
This is all totally irrelevant to what liquidog asked, though. He specified that he was not concerned with lap times, and the implication is that he's aiming more at a street car.
Personally, I would go with 225s of the current hot ST tire (RS3, Rivals, whatever) on 15x9 6ULs. RA1s are not really a great choice as a pure street tire, you never get them hot enough to really use everything they've got. OTOH, if you already own them then you might as well use them up.
--Ian
#13
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The RA1s would work as well, but if they're old, the car will just push. I would never, ever buy a new set of RA1s.
#14
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Nothing wrong with 205's on a 9 as long as they're one of the extreme performance tires like the RS3, Rival, etc. I ran 205 Federal RSR's and they were fine. They'll look better on an 8 though and work just as well.