Ask GTP About Your Car Problems/General Questions

[motortrend]

Sorry about the double post but I have another question.
If I am 6-6'1 feet tall and have relatively long legs will I be able to fit in an NA miata?

 

[nobuffalo]

I'm about to drop the bomb on some wheels and tires (Dunlop Star Specs) for my miata but I still can't come down to a size for the tires. I will either get 185/60s or 195/60s. They will be going on 7in wide wheels. Will the 195s have that much more grip, will the 185s have that much less? I being pretty weight conscience and the 195s weigh 1lbs more, that's 4lbs total!!! I'm not a big fan of adding weight and height to the tires which may make the car slower, but will it really be noticeable? I think I like the looks of the 195s, and that does play a minor role in my decisions. I've never spent this much money at one time so i'm a bit nervous. Crap.

Suggestions? I'm doing this tonight if I get enough responses.

Also, does anyone go for tirerack's Road Hazard program? It's only $37...

 

[Sniffs]

any of you middle aged guys can tell me how to convince someone over 70 to let me take repairs and checks to a pro?

 

[Eric.]

I'm about to drop the bomb on some wheels and tires (Dunlop Star Specs) for my miata but I still can't come down to a size for the tires. I will either get 185/60s or 195/60s. They will be going on 7in wide wheels. Will the 195s have that much more grip, will the 185s have that much less? I being pretty weight conscience and the 195s weigh 1lbs more, that's 4lbs total!!! I'm not a big fan of adding weight and height to the tires which may make the car slower, but will it really be noticeable? I think I like the looks of the 195s, and that does play a minor role in my decisions. I've never spent this much money at one time so i'm a bit nervous. Crap.

Suggestions? I'm doing this tonight if I get enough responses.

Also, does anyone go for tirerack's Road Hazard program? It's only $37...

You're talking about a 0.4" difference in tread width and 5mm in height. Doubt you'll notice any difference in feel by having a taller tire, not with sidewalls that stiff. I'd probably put the 195 on there (I run 225/45 on my Civic's 7" wheels, and will be doing the same on the Koseis). I don't do the road hazard programs either.

Are you aiming for STS rules?

 

[nobuffalo]

You're talking about a 0.4" difference in tread width and 5mm in height. Doubt you'll notice any difference in feel by having a taller tire, not with sidewalls that stiff. I'd probably put the 195 on there (I run 225/45 on my Civic's 7" wheels, and will be doing the same on the Koseis). I don't do the road hazard programs either.

Are you aiming for STS rules?

I know, that's why i'm having such a hard time choosing!!!

I'm not really aiming for any rules in particular, but running in sts is ideal, I think. I'm really considering the road hazard, houston roads are crap, I think the chances of damaging tires here are increased. Idk. I'm very indecisive when it comes to spending large sums of money.

 

[BrutherSuperior]

Also, does anyone go for tirerack's Road Hazard program? It's only $37...

It's kind of a waste.

If you need a tire, you have to have it dismounted...shipped...and wait for the new tire to arrive...get it re-mounted...and you've spent a hell of a lot more than $37 on shipping + installation.

I'm not even sure if they'll accept a tire if it can be repaired (could be wrong on that).

And what usually happens is that you need to replace the tire after a year or 2...which is probably about 6-8mo before you need to buy new tires anyway.

I stay away from all warranties, replacement or not, regardless of product. But if you want the piece of mind that if you're stranded your replacement tire is only 3-4 business days away...then go for it.

I'd go to a local tire joint (Ford dealer, NTB, Discount tire, etc) and buy their warranty before a mail-order tire.

 

[nobuffalo]

Hmm, doesn't sound worth it. I've never bought a extra warranty for anything, just curious about this one.

 

[Joey D]

You're better off going to Discount Tire after you buy the tires and getting their certificates. I know the Discount's around here will warranty any tires you bring in, whether they sold them too you or not. I used my certificates quite a bit with my tires in the past, I found it to be worth it.

 

[nobuffalo]

Cool, I didn't even know about the "certificates" from Discount Tire, sounds like the logical route to go if I decide on some kind of warranty. FYI, I still haven't purchased anything. Was doing some reading and took an interest in a set of Koni Sport shocks with GC coilover sleeves and springs, still unsure on the rates. This seems to be a popular set-up with the sts guys. In all honesty, I really don't know what I want out of the car. I guess I just want something that will improve the handling/look of the car that's a bit adjustable. Quality is important too.

 

[Perfect Balance]

(I run 225/45 on my Civic's 7" wheels, and will be doing the same on the Koseis).

You do know you could run a 215 and still have the same amount of rubber on the ground with less sidewall flex, right?

Probably significantly cheaper as well.

 

[nobuffalo]

You do know you could run a 215 and still have the same amount of rubber on the ground with less sidewall flex, right?

Does that apply to 185s and 195s?!

 

[Perfect Balance]

Does that apply to 185s and 195s?!

I think that's a small enough tire that you would need a REALLY narrow rim to run into the same problem. IIRC Miata wheels are 14x6, which is wide enough for a 195. At the same time, you're still running a pretty big sidewall so the difference in width shouldn't do much as far as sidewall flex by running an oversized tire. You're going to have a lot of flex either way.

EDIT: a 195 on a 7 inch wheel is the same width as a 205 on a 6.5 inch though. A friend of mine had the same exact tire as me and we compared them when I had my old car.

 

[Eric.]

You do know you could run a 215 and still have the same amount of rubber on the ground with less sidewall flex, right?

Probably significantly cheaper as well.

And people on 8thCivic asked why I wasn't running a 235/40...

 

[niky]

Found that 205 on 6" rims kind of sticks out a little bit... Not terrible with my 205s, considering the Advans have sidewalls that could withstand rifle fire, but on something less aggressive, not good.

7" is perfect for 205-225.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Found that 205 on 6" rims kind of sticks out a little bit... Not terrible with my 205s, considering the Advans have sidewalls that could withstand rifle fire, but on something less aggressive, not good.

7" is perfect for 205-225.

A 215 summer tire on a 7.5 inch rim is going to put down the same amount of rubber as the 225 does on a 7. I'm just saying he needn't waste his money, or buy some wider wheels, since he's letting money/grip go to waste, whichever way you want to look at it.

Summer tires generally run big, moving that bracket down to 7 inch wheels being good for 195-215, and 8 inch wheels being 215-235.

Also, the guys who asked why you weren't running 235s are 'tards. ^ Being the reason why. 235 summer tires belong on no less than an 8 inch rim. 8 inch being the same situation you've got running 225s on a 7.

EDIT: My experience being the literally thousands of tires I've mounted on everything from oem steelies to Volk wheels.

 

[niky]

Oh. Was merely talking about optimal sidewall stiffness... I agree... wider tires aren't really going to give you more rubber on the road.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Oh. Was merely talking about optimal sidewall stiffness... I agree... wider tires aren't really going to give you more rubber on the road.

Ah ok. Yeah I was simply making the point that the extra money spent on 225's wasn't really putting any more rubber on the ground on a 7 inch wheel. Reducing sidewall flex was just another advantage to running the smaller tire, I wasn't trying to say that the 225s were flexing too much because they were big for the rim or anything.

 

[Punknoodle]

Perfect, do you think a 215 40 tire will be ok on a 8 inch rim?

 

[Perfect Balance]

Perfect, do you think a 215 40 tire will be ok on a 8 inch rim?

Yes. In fact, a 215, depending on the tire, could be very slightly stretched. Emphasis on the very.

 

[Eric.]

So, I took my MR2 to get an alignment yesterday. I knew the right rear toe adjuster was bent but I hadn't looked closely enough to know if it could be adjusted. It can't. And besides that, the car has positive camber all around. So on the issue of camber bolts vs camber plates, I'm being told that camber plates will be better. Opinions?

Also planning to go with an alignment something like:

Front:
-2.5 camber, 0 toe, 6 caster

Rear:
-2 camber, 1 toe (out..positive?)

 

[Punknoodle]

OK cheers, I'm considering running them instead of 225/45s, as the 225s will make the external diameter quite a bit larger than standard, and I'm a little concerned about guard clearance.

Eric - you may be interested in this: Link. It is Whiteline's website, lists their suspension components for the MR2, and also has a section with their recommended alignment settings they use in their different handling packs they provide. Hope it helps.

 

[Eric.]

Thanks, I'll keep it in mind. What I posted is a setup I found from some AW11 owners.

 

[Perfect Balance]

So, I took my MR2 to get an alignment yesterday. I knew the right rear toe adjuster was bent but I hadn't looked closely enough to know if it could be adjusted. It can't. And besides that, the car has positive camber all around. So on the issue of camber bolts vs camber plates, I'm being told that camber plates will be better. Opinions?

Also planning to go with an alignment something like:

Front:
-2.5 camber, 0 toe, 6 caster

Rear:
-2 camber, 1 toe (out..positive?)

I'm assuming, since you mention camber plates, the MR2 has a McPherson strut suspension?

I always assumed they had a double wishbone. hmm. In any case, Camber plates will probably give you more adjustment than the bolt will, and it's easier to work on the car without screwing up the alignment if you need to loosen some stuff up.

You probably won't be able to adjust caster, so if it's not 6, you might just have to live with it/buy adjustable arms.

I assume the rear is toe out, since I'm also assuming this is an autocross setup, which would help it rotate. I'd be kind of scared to do anything else with that kind of set-up though. In an autocross situation, the rear wheels typically track inside of the front wheels, giving the car understeer under any kind of acceleration as a result, unless you overpower the rear tires, so this set-up seems like it's focusing on minimizing this. Take this car to a back road or something with long sweepers, where at higher speeds the outside wheels track just outside of the fronts, and you've got an already tail-happy car that is going to be even more willing to step out on you.

 

[niky]

Camber plates are more stable than camber bolts... Which can slip under high loading.

And, as PB says, they're easier to work with and give you a wider range of adjustment.

 

[Eric.]

MR2s are MacStruts all around. And yes, caster is adjustable. Right now it has some crazy toe out on the right rear because of the bent toe arm, I don't remember how the left side was, it should be somewhere in the ballpark of "okay". It doesn't exhibit any sort of unpredictable oversteer right now (particularly for a left turn, which is what would be potentially the most unstable in its current state). If I don't like it, I can change it.

 

[Perfect Balance]

MR2s are MacStruts all around. And yes, caster is adjustable. Right now it has some crazy toe out on the right rear because of the bent toe arm, I don't remember how the left side was, it should be somewhere in the ballpark of "okay". It doesn't exhibit any sort of unpredictable oversteer right now (particularly for a left turn, which is what would be potentially the most unstable in its current state). If I don't like it, I can change it.

Well it's not so much because of unpredictable oversteer, but more because the car would probably be faster on a track if the back wasn't aligned to oversteer so much. It might be perfectly predictable and easy to handle, but you could be losing potential speed in a corner.

 

[Eric.]

Ah, well, there aren't any tracks around here so that isn't going to be an issue.

 

[nk4e]

My brother's civic won't go into second in between a certain RPMs does that the gear is bad or the clutch is bad?

 

[Punknoodle]

If it's just one gear doesn't sound like the clutch, could be worn syncros, what if you blip the throttle to match engine speed does it go in alright?

 

[nk4e]

I have to try it later on today.