Help with tire recommendations

I drive my Miata to work once a week or once every other week. I do an occasional autocross, time trial or track day. I am going to Miatas at Hallet in September both days and Porsche club time trial at motorsport Ranch in October.

I need tires. Two years ago I bought a set of Falken Azenis 195/60r14 and they made my car! I have FM VMaxx coil overs and it's a fun little toy. I picked up a set of 15" 1999 miata stock wheels and figure 205/50r15 would be the way to go. But what tires??

I can get 205/50r15 Dunlop Star Specs for $110/ea. what other good tires should I look at?
I may use the 14" wheels for daily driver duty and the 15" for track duty.

Im rather limited on funds and the $459 for star specs is enough of a stretch. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I loved the star specs when I had them. Bought Kumho ASTs for daily use and wish I had just bought another set of star specs. the star specs were great on the track.

I have a set of the Star Specs and love them. They have ton of stick for the money.

Khumo XS's.

You guys use the star specs for street/track?

Star Specs are your best choice if you're looking for a one-size-fits-all. Good (not great) at the track, and a great daily driver.

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Originally Posted by sammm

Star Specs are your best choice if you're looking for a one-size-fits-all. Good (not great) at the track, and a great daily driver.

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Awesome that's what I wanted to know

I hear that stickier on the track would require a roll bar

Agree with the SS recommendation. The Kumho XS is also great for a track/autox tire that is streetable, but it lacks the good road manners of the SS and is much less capable in the wet. Also, the SS has amazing tire life, both in heat cycles and tread life. They are still UHP tires, so don't expect 30K miles or good all-season performance, but they are the best all-around tire for what we do.

Thanks guys, that's what I have heard but I just wanted to verify to be sure.

question 2: would you drive normal a/s 14" tires (which i have) for daily driver use and keep the SS for special occasions? I do have a tire trailer that I built now. And I am bringing it to Hallet just to be able to bring stuff. Not would it not matter with a tire like that doing road/highway duty an track time?

I would agree with what everyone posted here.

Two years ago I drove up to Hallett on brand new Star Specs on dedicated RPF1 rims and ran two track days with a best lap of 1:36 on them. Did an October MSR 3.1 and forget the time. Did a November open track day at ECR as well as the December Toy Run with a 2:17 I think. Did MSR 3.1 the following spring and another ECR last June. Then drove up to northern Indiana on them then back home via Miatas at the Gap with at least 2000 miles and a good 300 of hard driving in North Carolina. Then I went to Hallett last September and used them in the rain on Friday and the first session Saturday where I again (on a green track) did a 1:36. Then flipped over to the new Nitto NT01's (now on the RPF1s) to drop two seconds but still impressed a year later on the same tires yielded the same lap time. Hallett last year was the last time my Specs saw track use but have now been dailies since then and are pretty much down to the wear bars.

In short, they heat up fast, are quite grippy, have predictable slide and very durable. I will buy them again unless I find a much cheaper price new or used on a similar brand.

Personally, I think the 205s on the stock 99 15s are a little too wide for my taste.

For track tires go with nt01s

Nails, thank you.

David, isn't wider better? More rubber on the road = more grip

205's on the 99's will be fine.

"Wider is better" is only true if you can put more rubber to the pavement (contact patch) and you aren't overworking the suspension with added weight (miatas like light wheel/tire combos, but 205 is reasonable). Since you aren't running wider wheels and you are on stock power, there isn't really a compelling reason to go bigger. If the 195 was not enough, it would make sense, but the 195 is plenty of tire for national-level autox-ers in light cars, so you should be fine with them.

205's on 99 wheels are also fine; the difference is minimal.

As far as street-vs-trailer, that is totally up to you. I often trailer my race wheels/tires, but the main reason is to prevent damage/flats/extra wear. Since I'm trying to compete at a National-level (with varying success ;)), I don't want to do anything that might compromise my ideal grip potential. My tire of choice is also a marginal tire for DD and is poor in the wet, so I have to have a second set of tires anyway. If I wasn't running expensive, fragile wheels or was competing on a more casual level, I might just drive the same tires all the time and avoid the hassle of tire swapping and trailering.

Having said that, I just drove to Colorado Springs and back on my race tires/wheels to run a National Tour, and just gambled with a donut spare in the pass seat (NC's have no spare, nor room in the trunk). My tires are more 3/4 worn, so it would not be as big a loss if one was damaged, though it would still have ruined my race had one not matched the others. It was worth it to me to avoid trailering 12 hours each way, and I still managed a win, proving that "street tires" really can be just that.

Now you have even more confusing info to sort through!

205s are fine on 99 wheels. They feel like shit on the track, but if you've never driven on a 205 w/8 or 225 w/9 you'll never know what you're missing and never make a thread like this again because you will have seen the light.

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Originally Posted by OZMDD

Now you have even more confusing info to sort through!

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I don't like you now. Lol

So some of it boils down to, what's better, red or blue? Or ford or Chevy? I get it.
Good points on rain and flats. I drove half the way up to Hallet last ear in the rain. Suck.

Thanks again guys. It's nice to hear so many helpful opinions from people who have "been there".

Another vote for Star Specs I have them on both my Miatas.

The '94 runs a 14" and I run the 15" on the '02.

Great tires!

And you run those as your daily driver tires too don't you?

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Originally Posted by GregW

And you run those as your daily driver tires too don't you?

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Yes and no.

They are the daily drivers on the kids 2002.

I recently downgraded to a used/free set of Pirelli P3000 for the '94 for street use. Trying to save the Star Specs for AX duty. ;-)

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Originally Posted by GregW

And you run those as your daily driver tires too don't you?

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Hi Greg, I've had Star Specs on my 03 Miata since early 2011. About 8000 - 10000 miles, plus another 3500 towed behind the motorhome, plus around 100 autocross runs. While I am not very fast on them, others driving my car do well. For a DD tire, they stop like crazy wet or dry; who could ask for more? I'll replace them this fall with another set of Star Specs.

As great as Star Specs are, they really suck on ice.

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Originally Posted by motorollow

As great as Star Specs are, they really suck on ice.

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Yep... I hear Hoosier's are much, much better on ice.

Jack Daniels is good on ice!

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Originally Posted by bnordin

Jack Daniels is good on ice!

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At last... Someone who can make sense!

Here is a video of my Miata with Falken Azenis on ice. Kinda like a treadmil. hehe

http://youtu.be/eUaCa6HP7f4

Sure a 205 works on a 6 inch, I have a 205 kumho xs mounted up as a spare, but if you are planning on tracking the car a 195 will perform better. A 205 on the 6" wheel will bulge in the center, reducing the contact patch.

Youd be much better off getting some 15x7 or larger imo.

But doing things right does cost more

I'm sure you are right, and I'll start doing things right as soon as three more kids move out or someone offers to buy em. Until then, I'll just do it all wrong. Lol

We can't always afford to do things the "right" way lol

I just ordered mine using the ad link on this page. Does that extend my membership? ;-)

I'm about to buy mine. $115/each... Need em!