Nankang ns2r vs ar1 street use

[mx589]

I have googled a heap and got a mix of info but looking at these 2 tyres for my mx5.
Nankang ns2r in 205 50 15
and nankang ar1 in 205 50 15
100% street car.
Not worried about wet weather performance.
Car is over 250 rear wheel kw so need as much help as i can with rear end grip on the street.
Have already done heap of work on suspension on car to try help etc
Just after as much grip as possible exp on rear of car. Budget is around $170 180 tyre max.

What i have read is the ar1 is only good for certain amount of heat cycles then it loses its grip ?
If i step down to the ns2r i can get for around 130 each is there much else in this price range that i should be looking at ?

[plohl]

I don't think the ar-1 would be suitable for the road, or last that long. They have been known to heat cycle out during track/race use.
A few of the guys doing sprints up hear have had good results with the nexen sur4g for track use (one of them is a 450 million billion hp silvia). No idea how much they are, but might be worth looking at.

[rascal]

Semi slicks that stick like glue on the track once hot are no good on the street as you can never get enough heat into them to make them work properly , so they actually have less grip than a more road biased tyre. The noise and poor longevity is just a double whammy on the side..

Also if you are trying to harness 250kw you prob need to step up in size from a 205

[PaulF]

250rwkW and you're cheaping out on tyres?

AR1s will be rubbish on the street. No personal experience with the NS2R; from anecdotal evidence people seem to be fairly happy with them but happier with Hankook RS4s. RS4 doesn't come in a 205 though, only 195/50 or 225/45. Personally, with that much power, I'd want a 225 as a minimum anyway.

If you really want 205, normally I'd suggest AD08R but they don't seem to have much stock in Australia at the moment. You could consider a Falken RT615K+, available on Ebay within your budget. But again, putting 250 kW through 205s is never going to be great for traction...

[mx589]

Thanks for the info guys has cleared up a few things for me.
Would like a 225 but my current wheels 15 by 7 poke 2 much already out of the guards with a 205 tyre as it is.
Will sus out the other brands also

[greenMachine]

Would like a 225 but my current wheels 15 by 7 poke 2 much already out of the guards with a 205 tyre as it is.

Really? What offset are the wheels? Is it really an NA6 you want these tyres for?

Sounds to me like you want some 15x8s, maybe 15x9s, and some guard rolling/pulling maybe.

If you want traction/grip, you need rubber, and to get enough rubber you will have to do whatever is necessary/feasible to make that happen.

I run 15x8 track wheels with 215/50, with a minor roll of the rear guard which probably wasn't necessary.

[mx589]

15 by 7
et 10 of the top of my head
Complete nb sub frames suspension on na mx5 body so little bit wider there already.
Guards are rolled already.
Want a happy medium 2 much grip will probably blow 6 speed to bits

[greenMachine]

If you don't want to blow a gearbox, dial the power/torque down, simples. Then feel free to use what you have.

Sounds like what you really need is some good old chinese wooden tyres, and you will get all the wheelspin and smoke you could wish for, at no risk to the gearbox.

If performance is what you want, some changes will be needed.

[PaulF]

15 by 7
et 10 of the top of my head

There's your problem... Go back to a stock-ish offset, say +35, and it's a whole inch further into the guards - which means you can go 2" wider in your wheels and tyres.

[mx589]

Paul f thats what i might have to do
thanks for the info