NC Rims

[Charlie Brown]

These rims. RX-7 Series 6 1993 - 1995.
I have no idea of the wieght of the rims you show in the photo.



R-Spec tyres come in a range of three compounds to suit the motor sport application and/or you budget.

Soft : heats up quickly and is used for hill climbs, gymkhanas and one lap screamers to set fastest grid time. Wears very quickly and goes off just as fast when the operating temperature is exceeded.

Mediums : Takes about a lap on the track to come to operating temperature and is probably the most widely used compound for track days. Wear rate depends on manufacturer but generally you get a season (8 – 10 track days) out of them on an MX-5. You wouldn’t get enough heat in them initially for gymkhanas.

Hards : Takes around two laps to get to temperature. Used mainly in endurance racing or where you do sessions where the mediums start going off as the lap numbers build.
Probably last twice as long as the mediums but slower lap times using this tyre. Again, you wouldn’t get enough heat in them at any stage in a gymkhana.

Using Softs would give you a lot more grip than the KU36’s but then you need to consider your budget. R-Specs will set you back $325+ each.

[Charlie Brown]

Forgot to add a warning:

If/when deciding to go for a 16" rim insteaded of the stock sized 17", you need to check that it will clear the brake calipers. Some of the Enkei rims don't.

[NC2005]

Forgot to add a warning:

If/when deciding to go for a 16" rim insteaded of the stock sized 17", you need to check that it will clear the brake calipers. Some of the Enkei rims don't.

Thanks Charlie, really appreciate your advise re. 16" but I got a good deal on second hand set 17".
Can you recommend any particular brand of R-spec Soft compound.
Not looking to break world records so the Kumho KU36 still might be an option. Have you had any feedback on these from anyone running them? Cheers

[JBT]

I'm running KU36 on standard NC rims and have achieved a PB at Lakeside with them. As far as I'm concerned they're better performers than the Toyo R1R and Bridgestone RE050A...and a hellava lot cheaper too.

[Charlie Brown]

I'm running KU36 on standard NC rims and have achieved a PB at Lakeside with them. As far as I'm concerned they're better performers than the Toyo R1R and Bridgestone RE050A...and a hellava lot cheaper too.

Should try R-Spec's John. You'd smash your PB by a couple of seconds

[NC2005]

I'm running KU36 on standard NC rims and have achieved a PB at Lakeside with them. As far as I'm concerned they're better performers than the Toyo R1R and Bridgestone RE050A...and a hellava lot cheaper too.

Should try R-Spec's John. You'd smash your PB by a couple of seconds

Which R-specs do you suggest
Charlie?

[Charlie Brown]

Which R-specs do you suggest
Charlie?

If you are just doing gymkhanas then Hoosiers are the leading tyre in the US.

If you are doing gymkhanas and track then I can really only comment first hand on Dunlop and Kumho as that's what I've used.
I have a contact at Kumho so that's what I'm running at the moment and I'm very happy with them, wear quickly though.
Mark's (Hellman) doing wonders with Yokohama at the moment and the old stand by is Toyo R888 but it's a middle of the pack tyre.

I suggest you find the availability of them all, price them up and then make a decision. You most likely find that you can get four in from http://www.tirerack.com/ in the US cheaper than you'll source them locally.

[NC2005]

Which R-specs do you suggest
Charlie?

If you are just doing gymkhanas then Hoosiers are the leading tyre in the US.

If you are doing gymkhanas and track then I can really only comment first hand on Dunlop and Kumho as that's what I've used.
I have a contact at Kumho so that's what I'm running at the moment and I'm very happy with them, wear quickly though.
Mark's (Hellman) doing wonders with Yokohama at the moment and the old stand by is Toyo R888 but it's a middle of the pack tyre.

I suggest you find the availability of them all, price them up and then make a decision. You most likely find that you can get four in from http://www.tirerack.com/ in the US cheaper than you'll source them locally.

Thanks Charlie, which Kumho you using?

[kris]

Interesting thread, Just as a side note, i don't mean to hijack, but how do most guys get there mx5s and R specs to the track? Do you drive to the track with them on? Fit them in the car / boot?, do you have a support car? trailer?

[NC2005]

Interesting thread, Just as a side note, i don't mean to hijack, but how do most guys get there mx5s and R specs to the track? Do you drive to the track with them on? Fit them in the car / boot?, do you have a support car? trailer?

I think most put them on and then drive to the track.
Of course they are street legal so some dont take them off.

[Charlie Brown]

Thanks Charlie, which Kumho you using?

V70A

Interesting thread, Just as a side note, i don't mean to hijack, but how do most guys get there mx5s and R specs to the track? Do you drive to the track with them on? Fit them in the car / boot?, do you have a support car? trailer?

I think most put them on and then drive to the track.
Of course they are street legal so some dont take them off.

I drive to the track with them fitted, some have a trailer and tow them but I don't have the room at home to store a trailer, plus you have the extra weight of the tow bar to lug around the track.

There is no room in an NC (or any MX-5) to carry 4 wheels. I put one of my road wheels on the passenger seat as an insurance spare should a R-Spec go flat. It's a long way home from Wakefield.

[PaulF]

There is no room in an NC (or any MX-5) to carry 4 wheels.

Wasn't there a method going around a while ago for getting four spare wheels and tyres into an NA/NB?

[kris]

I didn't realise that semis and slicks were road legal? Is that true in NSW? It seems like a long way to drive on your r specs from sydney to (for example) wakefield?!

I am trying to decide between keeping my stock wheels with standard road tyre + a set of slicks on new wheels versus 1 set of s spec tyres on either my stock rims or replace the stocks with 17x9 enkeis. I'm not tracking all that much yet, but plan to next season, and i think it would be hard to transport the r specs to the track. I've read that alot of people get very similar results using an s spec tyre such as the dunlop z1 stars vs an r spec. I'm not at the level where it would likely make a difference to my driving as yet. For this reason i'm leaning towards just using my stock rims + z1 stars, i don't even think the 17x9 would make a big performance difference to me just yet.

Any advice?

A mate of mine races a ute and its very convenient for him just to throw everything in the back!

Four wheels in a NA/NB sounds very ambitious- I'd love to see a photo!

[PaulF]

Tracked it down.

Basically:
- 2 go on the passenger seat, in line with the car
- 1 goes behind the passenger seat
- 1 goes in the boot.

The process is:
0. If you need to carry things like a helmet or food, etc in the front then put it on the floor in front of the passenger seat now.
1. Slide passenger seat back about half way, and recline the seat back a bit more than usual
2. Put a towel or something on the seat to protect it.
3. Put in the first 2 wheels side by side on the passenger seat and wrap the towel around them the rest of the way.
4. Slide the seat forward as far as you can and then straighten up the back rest as far as you can to lock them in
5. Open the centre arm rest lid (otherwise the next wheel jams it shut)
6. Slide the 3rd wheel down behind the seat (it just fits), making sure you keep the seat belt clear. Take care not to drag the rear carpets down at the same time, otherwise you'll tear them or pull out their plastic holders.
7. Run the seat belt through the spokes of the first 2 wheels and buckle them in.
8. Remove space saver from the boot and put the 4th wheel where it was (it also just fits)

[Hjt]

Or get the old school aluminium rack for the boot lid and mount them on there