First off, what idiot at Mazda decided to put a nice looking 16 inch wheels on the 01 IN A 6.5 width??? They must have had a deal with tire manufacturers to introduce a ridiculous 205-45-16.

Anyway, that said I've got a couple options. I like the look of the 01 OEM 16 incher, but I'm pretty much limited to the 205-45-16. I could do the Kook RS2 Z212s or the Toyo T1-Rs. The car won't be tracked or autoxed, but it will be driven hard on the street. I doubt I'll drive it much under 40 degrees or so, but anything above will probably happen.

Back when I had my '90 with about 220 whp and 215-40-16s, traction was decent running the Goodyear F1s and Toyo T1-S. I'll probably eventually pick up some of emilios 6ULs but I need to hold off on a $1K+ purchase.

The car currently has 27K miles and still has the ES100s which IMHO are a big bag of suck. I don't know if it's the tires or the mileage, but they're squirrelly and not to grippy and I'm only running wastegate boost until I get the car registered and get legal plates on it. I can't see them improving with MORE boost.

Anyone here happy with 205-45-16 Kooks or T1-Rs (or other) running a decent amount of whp?

Car will probably get Tein Basics eventually too.

Thanks,
Frank

 

the bridge stone S-03's are the best for non sub 40 degree weather.

 

They don't come in a suitable (funky) size. I don't really want to go 205-50-16 even though they are on closeout at tirerack.

Frank

 

Ahh come on now. Bigger rolling diameter leads to shorter rear end. Shorter rear end leads to slower acceleration. Slower acceleration leads to more boost. I sense there is much boost in you.

 

True but tires that rub on your fenders are slower

 

The current stock rears on the stock suspension on the '01 look tiny. There seems to be a cavernous amount of clearance back there. Not that I'll be going for the mullet wearing '68 Chevy Nova look though.

Frank

 

in the front is the problem

 

I could stagger them and go 45 in the front, 50 in the back. Still not a fan though.

Frank

 

I'm doing 45s in the front and 50s in the rear. I burn them off as much as possible just so i can wear them out and have an excuse to buy 45s for the rear. Don't do it.

 

Probably the same idiot that decided to put 17x6s on the SRT4.