Ok i know theres a pretty decent amount of people here that auto-x and open track race. As most of you know i have 16's now. I was thinking about getting a set of lightweight 17's for racing (5zigen FN01R-C's to be exact)
Now am i better off keeping my 16's and putting a good set of tires on them, falkens perferably, or getting 17's with high performance tires on them?
If i should keep my 16's, or get another set of 16's, what size tire should i get, and where is the best place to get them?
Get wider 16s if you stay there. You can probably get a 7.5 or maybe an 8 in there. You're in Street Mod for autoX, so you can pretty much pick any size rim you want. If you go for 17, go for like a 225/45 tire. 16s you're limited by whatever Falken makes unless you're going for slicks, in which case I don't know whats available for 16. I'd guess a 225 something is available. Tire Rack has a pretty good selection of R-compounds, and they offer shaving and heat cycle services. Just depends how gung ho you want to be about it.
Last edited by Boilermaker1 : 03-02-2004 at 10:10 AM.
i was thinking about getting another set of 16's probably 7's. I have a problem with offsets because the track is wider on the RSX than the Civic so my tires kinda stick out a tad.
I'm looking at the Falken Azenis in 215/45/16's I just need to find a 16 with a +47 - +48 offset.
I plan on taking them off the car when not racing and switching to my mudders for daily driving (Cooper LilfeLiners 205/55/16's)
if i wanted to get 17's are they not good for auto-x or would they work fine?
They work fine. Its just that smaller is better. You go for the smallest rim you can fit over brakes if possible. Upsizing 1 size won't kill you, especially if it has tire sizes that will help you (shorter gearing or something).
i'm thinking about getting 215/40/17's which would be .55in shorter in radius. So they would help on the acceleration end. And the 17's i'm looking at are actually 1lb lighter per rim than stock.
If i were to go for a 16 do you know of a good rim that has the offset i need for a decent price?
16 is a tough size... not a lot of cheapies come in 16. Kosei makes 16x7.5 K1s. Stock S2000 rims have an offset thats like 48 or 50... you need 4 fronts though. Find some NSX wheels... you'd need 4 fronts again, but the older ones are 16x7 or 7.5 and they're forged, prolly rare though.
I'm sure Rota or someone has a 16xsomething that fits those high offsets.
There are a hand full of Hoosiers that will work too. For track days I'd run the VictoRacers before any other listed.
If you want cheeper tires then either the Falken Azenis or the Kumho MX will do well, though for track days I'd go with the MX before the Azenis (The Azenis can over heat and get greasy)
Note that all of the above tires are DOT legal so technicly you can use them on the street.
I think the max i can stuff in my wheel wells is a 215. When i go home i'll take a picture of my current tires and you'll see that they're practically level with the fenders now. I'm looking for a 16x7 with a 47 or 48 offset so i can tuck the wheels in a bit.
I used to have Falken Zeix and they were really grippy tires for street use how are they for tracking?
Because they're french and everyone hates the french. Michelin tires is how they get back at us.
Falken Ziexs may survive, but a lot of High perf. all seasons will chunk on the track. (Zzyzx has raced on 512s, see what he says) Kumho 711 and 712s are notorious for this. I've seen it happen to some Dunlops and Continentals too. If you're just racing on them, they can stick out of the wheel wells. Doesn't matter what it looks like, as long as it doesn't rub.
Falken Ziex 512..... Decent all season tire. Note the all season. and from running them in autocross for 1/2 a season I can say this..... You can definitly tell that they have a 400 tread wear and soft side walls. I never chunked them though When i switched to the Azenis, there was a night and day difference. and I shaved off about 1 to 2 seconds
When i switched to the Azenis, there was a night and day difference. and I shaved off about 1 to 2 seconds 
