Focus Fanatics Forum banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

Road and cicuit racing wheel and tire set up

Jump to Latest
1 - 17 of 17 Posts

chriskobi

· Registered
Joined
·
56 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 ·
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
 
#2 ·
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.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#4 ·
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.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
Discussion starter · #5 ·
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?
 
#6 ·
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 :(
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
Discussion starter · #7 ·
wrc_fan said:
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 :(
Click to expand...
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.
 
#8 ·
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.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#10 ·
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.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
Discussion starter · #11 ·
blueovaldave said:
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.
Click to expand...
Yeah slowly working up, trying to hold back on major engine upgrades for now, just want to learn how to use what power I have to use it efficiently, keeping momentum going. I would like to find some autocross around here but it seems pretty rare, same with rally-cross. My goal down the line is for rally. Its very expensive so I'm slowly getting there, I figure I can do road racing at the track till then.
How long have you been autoxing?
 
#12 ·
I autoXed for 2 or 3 years solid then went to the track and never really looked back.

Rally is way more expensive than the track. Way more stuff to mod/break.

Run AutoX as much as you can then switch to track time. AutoX teaches you momentum and car control in a more controlled environment without hitting anything. Then move to the track.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#13 ·
chriskobi said:
. I would like to find some autocross around here but it seems pretty rare, same with rally-cross. My goal down the line is for rally. Its very expensive so I'm slowly getting there, I figure I can do road racing at the track till then.
Click to expand...
there should be a fair amount of auto-x in your state. Chuckanut sports car club, Western washington club, then theres the SCCA NW region events. maybe they're not quite in seattle, but still close enough for a day trip.
(you could even come up to Canada and auto-x with my club, the UBC sports car club.) and there also some rally-x up here. visit rallybc.com
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
Discussion starter · #14 ·
blueovaldave said:
I autoXed for 2 or 3 years solid then went to the track and never really looked back.

Rally is way more expensive than the track. Way more stuff to mod/break.

Run AutoX as much as you can then switch to track time. AutoX teaches you momentum and car control in a more controlled environment without hitting anything. Then move to the track.
Click to expand...
That all sounds fun, cant wait to get a lot more involved.
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
thenorm said:
there should be a fair amount of auto-x in your state. Chuckanut sports car club, Western washington club, then theres the SCCA NW region events. maybe they're not quite in seattle, but still close enough for a day trip.
(you could even come up to Canada and auto-x with my club, the UBC sports car club.) and there also some rally-x up here. visit rallybc.com
Click to expand...
I will look those up. I've seem a couple of those sites but will look again. I know there are a few in Spokane but that's just a bit to far for one day. I'll check out the Canadian ones that's won't be to far away.
Thanks
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
1 - 17 of 17 Posts
About this Discussion
16 Replies
5 Participants
Last post:
chriskobi
Focus Fanatics Forum
posts
5.8M
members
203K
Since
2003
A forum community dedicated to Ford Focus owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about SVT performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
General Technical Chat Ford Focus Builds & General Showroom MK3 Focus SVT Performance (2002-2004) MK1 Focus