Miata Mailing List: June 1993, Message #96
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   From: Ken Warren 
Subject: Re: Tires, wheels, transporting and stuff...
   Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1993 12:30:11 -0400





On Mon, 28 Jun 1993, Andy Poling wrote:

>
> OK... so I'm getting tired of getting toasted at Harrisburg just because I'm
> a "have-not" and everybody else is a "have"...  :-)
>
> I'm thinking about getting something a wee bit stickier than the stock
> Dunlop D89's and a couple questions came to mind:

Good idea. Get two sets of tires; none of the OEM tires the Miata has come
with are worth a damn in the rain, and *no* street tire is going to do you
much better for autocrossing.

> How on earth to other people get an extra set of tires and wheels to an
> event without a chase car (especially if you're also carrying a
> moral-support person along)?  The limited cargo space of the Miata has
> suddenly become rather a limiting factor...
>

There are a couple of alternatives. First, you can buy a trailer. This is
the ideal solution, as you can put the spare wheels on, *plus* a nice big
toolbox. You sacrifice none of your puny cargo capacity in the car, and
you can still take a passenger. I'll be getting a trailer this winter
sometime.

The other choice is to give up on the passenger. You can put one
wheel/tire in the trunk, and stuff soft stuff in around it. You push the
passenger seat back all the way and put one tire in the footwell. The
other two tires go in the passenger seat, resting on the center console,
where they make shifting uncomfortable. (Thanks to Jim Wynn for describing
this to me, I'd tried almost this configuration in my own search for a way
to carry my race tires to events.)

> My budget probably can probably only handle the purchase of steel wheels
> as my spare set (I'd rather spend $$ on sticky black round thingies).
> Does anybody really think there is an advantage to using the alloy wheels
> on a relatively flat smooth surface like that at Harrisburg?  I like the
> appearance of the alloys enough that I'd rather drive around on them and
> use the boring steelies at events if it won't hurt me.

The alloy wheels have the advantage of being lighter. Less unsprung
weight, less weight to accelerate and turn. They're also *much* stiffer.
Steel wheels flex. When you're autocrossing, they flex engouh to make a
difference sometimes.

>
> What kind of mileage can one expect to get from RS-II's?  I understand
> they start out with reduced (5/32") groove depth.  Maybe the AVS-I's will
> give me almost the same ultimate grip but last longer?
>

I *do*not* suggest you buy a set of street tires for autocrossing, unless
you'll be using them for both auto-xing and street use. The RS-II's will
get the same mileage as most tires, or maybe a little better; the sidewall
*is* slightly stiffer, after all. I have AVS-I's on my car, and I took the
AI auto'x school this spring. In one weekend, I figure I put over 1,000
miles of wear on the tires. I had some feathering, scuffing, etc, but
fortunately no chunking.

BTW, buy from Tire Rack; contrary to rumors (mostly from folks who've
never dealt with them) they don't sell blems, and their prices are
impossible to beat locally (unless you should be local to Tire Rack :-{)

> Hoping to look good/better by the end of the season...

I *might* see you at the event in Timonium on the 18th, if I can make it
down there, and if you make it.

--
Ken

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Ken Warren             |"Nothing good has ever been reported about the
| full rotation of a race car about either its
E-Mail: kenw@netaxs.com| pitch or roll axis."            Carroll Smith
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