I’m not a fan of the aftermarket lights, prefer OEM.
Penknife to a sword fight?
Mega day on the GP circuit, car was great again if lacking a few bhp. Zestino tyres and ebc rpx pads worked a treat.
Looks awesome mate
Oulton never ever let’s you down. Even when it’s wet and greasy for most of the day, the last 1.5 hrs made it worth it.
Finally a dry line appearing around 2.30pm and I wasn’t tip toeing around every corner.
I can confirm that zestino won’t kill you in the wet or greasy conditions, but they won’t allow you to push at all. Once the dry line appeared it was genuinely like flicking a switch. Mega.
Nice to see you dude and glad you had a top day
And you pal. Let me know if you jump on any
@DC04R: If your rear arches are not rolled and comparing to your current wheel setup, do you reckon 16x8 +28 on 205/50 non-track day tyres would rub?
This calculator says for this setup says the tyre will stick out 2 mm farther and wheel will stick out 4 mm farther. Issue is that there are so many variables when it comes to tyre fitments
Might be ok but depends on a lot more like ride height, camber, tyre brands etc.
To be honest an offset as low as et28 with a 50 profile tyre is making it difficult to start with but a 205 tyre and some negative camber it may be ok.
May I trouble you to take similar photos to the two of my own setup posted over at miata.net?
I think anything beyond et30 with that wheel fitment is likely to rub. However it is very much dependent on the tyre as you know. For example a 205/50/16 AD09 will have more stretch than an A052 for example. The more front caster you have will also have an effect, all my wheel setup ups rub the front arch liner slightly (on track and full lock) as u like to run max caster.
I will be running this set up in ET35 with a 3mm spacer (ET32 effectively) so will let you know how it goes. I did run my winter wheels at ET30 (with spacers) but these were a 6.5 inch wheel with 195/55/16’s, no rub other than front arch liner.
Car looks awesome Dan
I’ve had track day tyres before such as AD08R which you may already know are usually wider than non-track day tyres despite being the same size. However, I can’t speak for stretch since those AD08Rs I had were in 225/40 on a 18x7.5 wheel.
I haven’t been able to find any photos of a Continental PremiumContact 6 205/50 tyre on a 16x8 wheel. I have come across ones of the same tyre but on a 16x7 +37 wheel, taken from the German MX-5 ND forums:
https://i.imgur.com/SEBzCqS.jpeg
It appears quite plump despite not having any rim protection. How the appearance will change on a 16x8 wheel, no idea as I would love to know!
I had thought fitting offset knuckle bushings on the front to get more negative camber and reducing caster slightly, just for these 16x8 +28 wheels. My worry is the rear arch lip which I don’t wish to roll.
You might have already thought about this, but I wouldn’t recommend a 205 width tyre on an 8" wheel. That is undue stretch in my book, especially for trackday work.
Minimum width tyre on a 8J would be 215 in my view, with a 225 being recommended.
I had initially thought the same when I started looking into 16 inch tyres. It turns out 205/50 on 8 inch wheel width is the go to combo for most MX-5 NC and ND owners.
Tyre specifications are a funny thing. It appears the look of the same tyre width can be wildly different on different diameter wheels. In terms of smaller wheels, could it be the taller tyre sidewall giving that plump look therefore allowing a bit of stretch?
Having said the above, 215/50 R16 tyres strangely don’t exist. 225/50 R16 is just too much increase in total circumference over the factory fitted 205/45 R17
[quote=“Jonathan_W, post:176, topic:132309, full:false”]
I had initially thought the same when I started looking into 16 inch tyres. It turns out 205/50 on 8 inch wheel width is the go to combo for most MX-5 NC and ND owners.[/quote]
Sorry, what do you mean by ‘most NC and ND owners’ ? In what context, for track work?
I imagine you will get a reasonable amount of stretch with a 205 road tyre on a 8inch wheel but those conti 6’s do look pretty chunky. The stretch will also help prevent rubbing as the shoulder won’t be as square. However it’s the offset that would concern me as it’s relatively extreme, sure they run 16x8 et25 in the US though but may fender roll etc.
First track day of the year.
Rolled the car out, drove it to work one day to get it warmed up, washed it and took it onto the track. Performed faultlessy again and a cold dry day where the Zestinos impressed me again. They won’t break lap records but they’re perfect for what I ask of them (road and track use).
Had a spin towards the end that was a bit of a brown pants moment, otherwise all good.