Consulier guys...what wheel and tire size are you running?????

[Johnny]

Consulier guys...what wheel and tire size are you running?????


I still have the stock 15" Fittipaldi wheels.
Running 205/50/15 on the front
225/50/15 on the rear...so far.

I need to get new tires soon...might need to go 225/45/15 on the rear.

What are you running????

[168glhs1986]

16's for me but the key Johnny is to change lug pattern to bmw and take advantage of their 20 offset wheels. If i were to do it all over again thats what id do. Also get the deep dish look. I almost did it for my build but am regretting i didnt. I do like my wheels but the dish isnt big enough.

[Rrider]

Wouldn't a 20 offset crash the tires into the fender lip?

If I ever get mine going I think I'll run 205's all around. Sticky 205 will grip better than a harder 225 anyway. These cars are so light soft tires should last a lot longer than on a standard weight car. How many miles did you get on that set of Ziexes Johnny??

[Johnny]

How many miles did you get on that set of Ziexes Johnny??

Year and a half is all...maybe 12,000 miles.

- - - Updated - - -

And it's not like I am hard on them! :)

[Johnny]

16's and what size tires????

[Rrider]

Ooof maybe I'm wrong.

If ziex's only last 12k R1R's are prolly not a good idea for a lap of the country.

[GTP#44]

#44 has OZ Racing rims 17 inch.
The tires are Dunlop Direzza ZII 235/40/R17 90W.
They fit no problem,turns well,no rubbing and they fill the wheel wells way better than 15 inch.

[Johnny]

I looked and looked. A called and called. Finally just bought the tires off ebay...from Discount Tire.
Did find the 225/50/15 and 205/50 15 that I wanted.
Got Kumho Ecsta AST tires.

Next time I might need to size up the wheels to find tires.

[player1up]

#44 has OZ Racing rims 17 inch.
The tires are Dunlop Direzza ZII 235/40/R17 90W.
They fit no problem,turns well,no rubbing and they fill the wheel wells way better than 15 inch.

Elaborate on the specs of those rims. Width and offset please. :)
17's do seem to look the best on these.


I looked and looked. A called and called. Finally just bought the tires off ebay...from Discount Tire.
Did find the 225/50/15 and 205/50 15 that I wanted.
Got Kumho Ecsta AST tires.

Next time I might need to size up the wheels to find tires.

How do you like them compared to the Falkens? I have the Falken's and they seem to be pretty good on the car. I find them very predictable, have decent control even when spinning and seem to come back smoothly from tire spin if you let off just a hair.
Mine had Kuhmos on it when I bought it but they were ancient, out of round and probably days from coming apart at the seams.
I still haven't decided if I want to go to bigger rims yet

[Johnny]

How do you like them compared to the Falkens?

I'll let you know when I get them and have them installed.

I did like the Falkens too, stuck good on the corners. Very predictable.
But they stopped making them in my size.

[Vigo]

I personally think 225/50 is effectively a 'dead' size because the only tires you can get in that size are Kumho AST which are barely even 'sporty' tires (and might have just been discontinued), and i believe Toyo R888 which are basically track tires with low tread life. Or Yoko Advan A048 which have the same problem and are even more expensive.

15s are getting pretty limited because the only wide ones are either super short or super tall for our cars. There are a LOT more options even in 16s which are already a dying breed.

[Ondonti]

I personally think 225/50 is effectively a 'dead' size because the only tires you can get in that size are Kumho AST which are barely even 'sporty' tires (and might have just been discontinued), and i believe Toyo R888 which are basically track tires with low tread life. Or Yoko Advan A048 which have the same problem and are even more expensive.

15s are getting pretty limited because the only wide ones are either super short or super tall for our cars. There are a LOT more options even in 16s which are already a dying breed. Death of the 15" tire has been a sad one. Not great for old cars with small wheel wells when you might want a little sidewall.

[Reaper1]

It's a government conspiracy! They don't want these '80's cars to make it, so they are getting rid of supporting parts to drive people into getting rid of them! ;)

[Rrider]

205/50-15 will be around a long time.

Look at the way those 16's look on Mike's car. Looks perfect. With the GTP's small arches 17's don't leave enough room for sidewall.

[Vigo]

16s still give you a decent range for staggered tire sizes in the 'right' ballpark of diameter, like 245/45/16, 225/50/16, 225/45/16, 215/50/16, 215/45/16, 205/50/15, etc. Between all that you can find several tire models that have a good size for the rear and a good size for the front. In 15s the only way you get staggered widths but same diameter in the same tire model is 225/45/15 rear and 205/50/15 front which is just too short for the car, imo.

[cordes]

205/50-15 will be around a long time.

Look at the way those 16's look on Mike's car. Looks perfect. With the GTP's small arches 17's don't leave enough room for sidewall.

I wouldn't be so sure that the 205/50r15 will be around forever. I thought the Porsche guys would have kept us in the 225/50r15s for a lot longer, but I guess not. There were a couple of Mazdas made in the last 10-15 years which used the 205/50r15 so that is a huge help. Even they went up to a 16" wheel at the end of that production though IIRC.

[Vigo]

205/50/15 is hugely popular for 90s Miatas and 80s-00s FWD Hondas. I feel it'll be around for about as long as those cars are.

[Johnny]

UPS tracking says my tires should show up at the tire shop Thursday.
Maybe I can get them installed Friday.

[168glhs1986]

Put some 19" on her and be done with it.

[cordes]

205/50/15 is hugely popular for 90s Miatas and 80s-00s FWD Hondas. I feel it'll be around for about as long as those cars are.

I hope you are right. I could have a bad woodshop accident and still be able to count the number of 205/50r15 sets of tires that I sold in 7 years using my fingers.

[Johnny]

You are right on the 205/50/15....many brands of these. Just the 225 ones are hard to find.

[Vigo]

I hope you are right. I could have a bad woodshop accident and still be able to count the number of 205/50r15 sets of tires that I sold in 7 years using my fingers.

Probably because a huge proportion of driving enthusiasts buy tires online now. I wouldnt blame anyone for not stocking a single 205/50/15 in a retail store.


Johnny, 225/45/15 is pretty available but all of those tires have very low treadlife and i feel they are a very short tire height for a Consulier. My .02...

[Rrider]

The actual tread on the asphalt width for 205/50-15's varies 1.5" depending which type of 205 it is. Width tends to get wider as the tire gets stickier from the specs I looked through at tirerack's site.

I wouldn't be surprised if the widest of the available 205's are the same width as those now discontinued high tread wear 225's.

[cordes]

Probably because a huge proportion of driving enthusiasts buy tires online now. I wouldnt blame anyone for not stocking a single 205/50/15 in a retail store.


Johnny, 225/45/15 is pretty available but all of those tires have very low treadlife and i feel they are a very short tire height for a Consulier. My .02...

This was in the heyday of the size. I think part of the issue was that I lived in MI and sold higher end tires. Not everyone wants to put Michelins on a car that will use them only 6-8mo out of the year.


The actual tread on the asphalt width for 205/50-15's varies 1.5" depending which type of 205 it is. Width tends to get wider as the tire gets stickier from the specs I looked through at tirerack's site.

I wouldn't be surprised if the widest of the available 205's are the same width as those now discontinued high tread wear 225's.

There can be a huge variance in section width between manufacturers. I have seen the exact thing you're talking about. A 205 that's as wide as someone else's 225. wheel width etc. does come into play when you're looking at the specs though so make sure that you're comparing apples to apples.

[Vigo]

I actually own some 225/50/15 Kumho ASTs and can vouch that they are no wider than the widest 205/50s. Also, the 225/45/15s i mentioned are all basically 'cheater' 225s and run more like a 245-255 in actual width. Most people say you should have 9" wide wheels to get the full benefit of them vs 205s!

[Johnny]

The 205 are 8.4 wide...like most 205's.
The 225 are 9.2 wide, making it 3/4 inch wider.
Works for me.

Drove 100 miles home on them after having them installed yesterday evening.
They seem to handle pretty well. Didn't get too crazy.

[player1up]

...So, Johnny, how are those Kumho's holding up?
I've got about 6k on the Falken's and they're completely done. Who am I kidding, they were done at 5k.

I'm think I'm going back to the 205/50/15's in the rear. Looks like I can get a better ( and just as sticky if not more so ) tire. Specifically looking at the Nitto NT NeoGen or the Yokohama S.Drive. The Nitto has a bit better reviews...

[polopharm]

The kumho's are good , yokohama has a bunch of 225 15's. I would stay staggered.

[MPI_duster]

I've got 16's on mine. 225/50 up front and 245/50 rear. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. I think they're discontinued in that size now.

[polopharm]

That's great to know mpi_duster the blue car has 16" s and there is a very limited selection in 205 n 225/ 16. Was not sure how much rubbing I would get with 225 in front.
Jacob is running 225/15 on all 4 corners on 7" and 8" wheels. . He says rubs up front under hard braking when turning.

You get any rubbing? I am still worried that 16" high performance tires are gonna continue to get harder to find.

15"s are easy cuz they use that size for multiple spec racing classes, miata , e30 etc.

[Johnny]

Just got a set of (4) Proxes RA1 225/50ZR15 tires for this coming summer autocross events.
Going on my Revolution wheels.

[bfarroo]

What's the tread wear on those these days? I picked up a few used sets a few years back that were 205's from the Miata guys for cheap. I've been using them here and there for autocross for the last few years.

[Johnny]

utqg: 100 aa a

[MPI_duster]

That's great to know mpi_duster the blue car has 16" s and there is a very limited selection in 205 n 225/ 16. Was not sure how much rubbing I would get with 225 in front.
Jacob is running 225/15 on all 4 corners on 7" and 8" wheels. . He says rubs up front under hard braking when turning.

You get any rubbing? I am still worried that 16" high performance tires are gonna continue to get harder to find.

15"s are easy cuz they use that size for multiple spec racing classes, miata , e30 etc.

I haven't had any rubbing upfront when turning. But, I've also not had the car out on the track.

[1990MoslerGTP]

I manage a wholesale tire distribution location and I am a "tire professional". lol The 15's have dwindled away and will continue to do so. Almost no modern day vehicles come with 15" wheels and the ones that do won't have a size we can run. The 205/50R15 will be around for quite some time because it still has a large replacement market. Even the Spec Miata, and Spec E30 race series use that size tire. I race a Spec E30 as well and have about 40 205/50R15 Toyo RR's in the garage as we speak. lol

[Johnny]

40 tires? Why so many spares?

[player1up]

Sounds like the plan. I'm pretty sure I'll end up getting a race setup sometime in the future as well, and turning down the boost to keep the street tires alive if the Nitto's start to go south quick.

[bfarroo]

utqg: 100 aa a

So they did raise them, mine are a 50. I think something changed in the rules for autocross so they changed the treadwear.

[Reaper1]

They *might* raise them again because I *think* the new rules for street touring says the UTQG must be 200+.

[Johnny]

Right. But I don't need to worry about the rules, as I have no idea what class I run in so I am just going to do Time Only.

[Reaper1]

Yeah, I was just throwing that out there for general knowledge. :thumb:

[1990MoslerGTP]

40 tires? Why so many spares?
Well I have 5 sets of wheels. One set of wheels and tires are rains. But I will run 2-3 sets a day at a race event. You never run the same set in back to back races if you can help it. Helps prolong the life of the tire and keeps your lap times down.

[player1up]

Got the Nitto Neo Gen's put on the rear yesterday ( 205/50/15 ). I'll give it a bit before I give the full review, but I'm liking them so far.

[jacob mosler]

hoosier r7 225/50

[Johnny]

Nitto Neo Gen's put on the rear yesterday ( 205/50/15 )

Why not the 225-50-15 on the rear?

[player1up]

Why not the 225-50-15 on the rear?

Really just due to the lack of options in the 225.
Possibly to settle a long term debate over "quantity" vs "quality" I have going with someone at work. ( better tire is a better tire )
Possibly comments made by Rrider and Vigo about brand x tire at 205 is just as wide as brand A tire at 225 and I had to see for myself.

In the 225/50/15 I was only coming up with race tires or the Kumho ecsta ast.

I got to looking around at some tire information posted around the internet and was curious about why there are varying tread widths listed for the same size tires for different manufacturers. Specifically 205/50/15 vs 225/50/15.

Summit's website states
205/50/15 Falken Azenis treadwidth = 7.6"
225/50/15 Mickey Thompson 3550 treadwidth = 7.8"
( I'm using treadwidth instead of section width because it wont change with rim width and tire squareness... )
FYI: .2 of an inch is 5.1 mm

Now, not all tires list a treadwidth so you have to guess a little. From the above specs it's easy to see that you can get tires that are extremely close dimensionally in different sizes.


Basically I think the 205 Nitto is a stickier tire than the 225 Kumho, and if I'm wrong, I'll move the nitto's to the front and buy the 225's for the rear. So it's not a real big gamble at the end of the day.

[GTP#44]

Dunlop Direzza 235/40R17 90W
I have seen other one with 17" also.