Road and cicuit racing wheel and tire set up

[chriskobi]

I havent seen any threads on this topic, hopefully I didnt over look it if there is one.

So I am going to buy some wheels and tires and I am wondering what would be a good recommended set up, so this is the questions.

What is a good wheel size? I've heard the smallest you can fit is best. But I'd like some more info to back up if this is true or not.

Tire size? Would it be best to have a tall side wall, short or somewhere in between. I know this would effect cornering somehow.

And lastly tire width. if I have a 7" width wheel should I fit a wider tire or one a bit smaller?

If I forgot anything please feel free to add.

Thanks in advance,
Kobi

[Sponsor]

[thenorm]

15" wheel. 7" minimum width. it is smaller and lighter for less rotational inertia. also there are many choices of performance tires in 205/50R15 or 225/45R15.
sidewall height wont have much of an effect on cornering, most performance tires have fairly stiff sidewalls. sidewall will only effect your gearing.

[chriskobi]

Cool thanks for the advice. Going to get some new wheels for lapping days at Pacific raceways. wanna get something that will do me good.

[blueovaldave]

15x7 as light/cheap as you can find them. Don't go overboard on cost.

As for tires depending on how much experience you have I would say a high performance street tire for just running HPDE until you get the feel and get real comfortable.
A straight race tire will hide to many mistakes you may make because of the better grip. With a max performance summer tire Star Spec or the like at least you will have plenty of grip and still feel if you make a mistake and be able to learn from them.

[chriskobi]

yeah not a lot of experience one other high performance class and a rally class. I have been looking for some 15 x 7's but haven't found much, I will continue my search though. Plenty of 15 X 6.5's though! Would a half inch make a huge difference? Any suggestions on a 15 X 7?

[wrc_fan]

What's your budget for wheels and tires? Best budget options in my opinion are rota slipstream in 15x7.5 or some ford racing svt wheels in 17x7. You could also get some rota's in 17x7. Granted, its giving up a little bit to the 15 inchers, but they are much easier to find. 4x108 is a tough bolt pattern to shop for :(

[chriskobi]

Originally Posted by wrc_fan

What's your budget for wheels and tires? Best budget options in my opinion are rota slipstream in 15x7.5 or some ford racing svt wheels in 17x7. You could also get some rota's in 17x7. Granted, its giving up a little bit to the 15 inchers, but they are much easier to find. 4x108 is a tough bolt pattern to shop for :(

Budget is around $500 on wheels give or take, or at least that's where I'd like to keep it. And yes the 4 X 108 bolt pattern sucks! I really like the SVT wheels but they are around 18lbs each and the rubber for them will cost twice as much.
Those rotas are nice choice I will do some more shopping research on those. I have been eyeballing the Sparco drifts 15lbs and the Asagos 13lbs they seem reasonable but they only come in 6.5" width. I do like the look and style (I know, its the function that matters most) They are 15x6.5 and I was thinking of putting either a 195 or 205/50/15 high performance wheel on them. tossed up on width.
But if 15x7 is best for performance that's what I'd like to have.

[blueovaldave]

For what you are doing a 6.5 won't hurt you that much to start out with. Go with a 205 or a 215. You want as much rubber as you can get on them.

[chriskobi]

Originally Posted by blueovaldave

For what you are doing a 6.5 won't hurt you that much to start out with. Go with a 205 or a 215. You want as much rubber as you can get on them.

Cool will do. Thanks for the tips!

[blueovaldave]

Go as light as possible within you budget. Look in the For Sale section if you get a chance. Even to go with a 16" wheel on the cheap to start with.
I ran 16" for 2 years autoXing until I could find a set of 15's to run with.

Biggest thing is to stay within your budget and learn to deal with what you get. Then move up. Don't jump steps. You will learn more and become a better driver.