Wheels and Tire Upgrades:

---TIRES:---

PURPOSE:
Excellent dry grip, decent wet grip, bareable ride quality, lifespan of about a years worth of street driving, autocrossing, shouldn't be too hard to accomplish....right?

Falken Azenis RT-215 (195/60R14):

Purchased from: Edgeracing

Tire Specs:
- Price: $41 (2003)
- Treadwear: 200
- Weight: 20.5lbs. each
- Tread Depth: 8/32nds
- Weight w/ OEM wheels: 34lbs.

RESULTS:

Ride Quality:
Ride quality was actually improved. I'm going to assume that the small wheel, and tall sidewall adds to the comfort. The 60mph shimmy also disappeared.

Handling(dry):
Dry grip is just awesome. Sidewall is nice and stiff, which gives me tremendous turn-in. Nothing to complain about, it's also been stated to be near to R-compound grip. As they get worn down to their last few days, they tend to lose a little bit of their massive grip. The best grip from the Azenis are right from the start. It's been said at the autocrossing events that they are very sensitive to high temperatures, I haven't experienced this (mostly because I'm a novice).

Handling(wet):
Wet traction isn't a problem until you encounter some serious deep puddles. For example, one day of regular rain on a completely dry surface won't cause problems, unless it's extremely heavy. Consecitive days of rain will be a problem. I'd advise just driving on the streets, and avoid most highways/freeway. If you do travel on the highway/freeway, then do so at very slow speeds.

Noise:
They will produce this 4x4 tire noise about the middle of their young lives. Not annoying, as the grip is too good to whine about silly noise.

Tire Wear Life:
With a 200 treadwear rating, it's expected to be a short life span. At such a low price, it's worth it. I would estimate with daily street driving and a full season of autocross will use every last bit of tread of pure Azenis. I reached near the end of their life span, but was stopped short due to an accident.

Tire Pressure:
From day one they were on 35psi, and to the last day they died at 35psi.

Yokohama ES100 AVS (205/50R15):

Purchased from Tire Rack

Tire Specs:
- Price: $75 each (2004)
- Treadwear: 280
- Tread Depth: 10/32nds
- Total Weight: 20lbs.
- Weight w/ K1-R: 35lbs.

RESULTS:

Ride Quality:
I can't really comment all that much on the ride, other than that my OEM wheels with Azenis produced a much better ride quality vs. the Kosei K1 with ES100 rubber. Both were on the same suspension of Eibach springs on stock shocks.

Handling(dry):

I knew from the beginning that the ES100 weren't in the same class as the Azenis, in terms of grip. So knowing this, I expected less grip. Well after about a years worth of driving, and about a few months away from running them bald, I can say these aren't bad tires at all in the grip department. For a street tire, these offer good grip. I can flip the tail out on some occasions, but always do my best to never let this happen. The sidewall is indeed soft, even at high PSI, it's still not as good as the stiff sidewalls as the Azenis. Which leads to not that great of turn-in on the autocross course. You can feel the soft sidewall on the street as well. At the end of their lifespan, they were just horrible on sticking to the road. Using some water to keep them cool at autocrosses is the key to keeping them from greasing up badely.

Handling(wet):
The ES100's clearly is the better one in this catagory vs. the Azenis. They just inspire confidence in the rain. Of course I can flip the car out of control in a fast and simple manner, but they grip a lot better than my Azenis did. Deep Deep puddles of water is where I've found that my Miata isn't good. Simply because I don't have PS, which leads to a GREAT amount of bumpsteer. So I learn, and drive carefully over these large puddles. Still, the Azenis would've hydroplanned easily.

Noise:
As of now (Dec2004) there is a slight noise problem. Not as loud as the Azenis, but it's quite noticable when the top is up. Kind of annoying in a way when I add in the horrible ride quality I've got already, but could change if I didn't have a horrible ride.

Tire Wear Life:
They ended in the 12K mile range. Hard as a rock for about half their lifespan, which equates to a bad ride, but the soft sidewall helps a bit in the ride department. They last long, but I can't say if that's of any good if your going to have horrible ride quality and average grip halfway through their life.

Tire Pressure:
For street driving they are 24psi in the front, 20psi in the rear. I use 36psi in the front, and 30psi in the rear for autocrossing competition.

Hankook Ventus RS2 Z212 (205/50ZR15):

Purchased from Tires.com

Tire Specs:
- Price: $78 each(2005)
- Treadwear: 200
- Weight: 20lbs.
- Weight w/ K1-R: 35lbs.
- Tread Depth: 8/32nds

RESULTS:

Ride Quality:
Much improved over the Yokohama ES100, but beware, as my hard autocross driving on them creates flat spots. Flat spots are what makes them vibrate, or bumpy on the roads. There isn't much to about flat spots, just wait till they go away with time, which is a long time. Visually, the sidewalls are taller, so I'm assuming that this creates the more comfortable ride quality.

Handling(dry):
The grip is still increasing as the wear off more. On the streets, they are just amazing. Early turn in still plays a major roll in these tires, but they are nearly as good as my old Azenis, without the noise and harsh ride. On the autocross course, they are just a huge difference when comparing them to the ES100's. Early turn in, smooth driving, and these tires will reward you. Even though I was very sloppy on them, they just spoiled me with their massive grip, where as, the ES100's would just induce me into a fun spin.

Handling(wet):
Can't comment, but I can say this, in some light puddles, they haven't broken loose yet.

Noise:
No noise as of this moment.............still no noise after 1K miles on them.........and still none after 5k!

Tire Wear Life:
First 1k mile mark, the tread depth tool measures 7/32nds. All tires read the same, from inside to outside, give or take a little, so the alignment I have right now is doing its job of making these tires last longer. So I plan to stick to this setting for awhile. After 5k, the treadwear is nice and even, and stands amazingly at 6/32nds!

Tire Pressure:
Best in town driving tire pressure that I've came to is 30F, and 28R. Autocrossing pressures are set at 38F, and 36R.....perfect balance with my setup, you can kind of induce oversteer with some late braking, or turning in late, which is great, as you need the car to rotate at that point. Understeer is accomplished with too much speed, and too much steering being used at the same time.

Kumho V700 ESCTA (195/55R14-K8A compound):

Tire Specs:
- Price: $150(used)
- Treadwear: 50(DIY heatcycled)
- Weight: 18lbs.
- Weight w/E30 wheel: 33lbs.
- Tread Depth: 4/32nds

RESULTS:

Ride Quality:
Drove them home from the tire shop, rides like garbage, but that's expected from a tire like this. A treadwear of 50, don't think many people would like to waste them on a boring highway.

Handling(dry):
No comment

Handling(wet):
Not meant for wet conditons, but many drive them when there is rain during autocrossing.

Noise:
No noise from my small time driving them on the street.

Tire Wear Life:
Treadwear of 50, they eat up fast.

Tire Pressure:
Undecided, but I'm going to give the high 30psi a shot when I take them out for the first time.

---Wheels:---

PURPOSE:
Lightweight, affordable, durable, ability to transform the looks of the Miata, and easy to clean. Not too hard to accomplish, right?

Kosei K1-R Silver

Left: Right out of the box. Right: Painted satin
black with clearcoat.

Above: Another view of the DIY black K1R.

Specs:
- Price: $150 each (2004)
- 15x7in
- +38 offset
- 13lbs. each
- Cast/Shot Penned
- Hubcentric rings needed

RESULTS:
Great simple looks, easy to clean, super sturdy, still lightweight, low price, not much to complain about. Only negative part is that the letterings are peeling off, and after I've installed the center caps, the hub start to extrude outwards, looks damaged, but I've run nearly half a year on this, and they still are doing just fine. Scary to look at it, but I can't see much of a problem with them, as I autocross with the caps on, and they haven't budged a bit. A lot more cheaper in price right now (2005), so it makes them more appealing too. I personally believe they look great on any modern car today, just the simple design creates a clean classy look. They are available in silver, white, and "was" available in antharctic color, which was a gunmetal type of color.

DIY'd OEM wheels/Gold Center/Polished Lip (gone):

Specs:
- 14x5.5 inch
- +45mm offset
- 12.5lbs.
- 7 hollow spoke

Tools:
1. Paint Stripper
2. Wire brush (size of the toothbrush)
3. Primer
4. Finish coat
5. Laquer Thinner
6. Rags
7. Metal Polish
8. 400 grit sandpaper, 2000 grit (optional)
9. Optional: clearcoat
10. Small puddy knife
11. Masking tape

Process:
1. I'd advise to remove the tire from the wheels.
2. Find a nice area to work at.
3. Wear some nice gloves to protect yourself from these very nasty chemicals.
4. Ventalation is very important!
5. Wash all wheels with a strong detergent.
6. Spray the paint stripper onto the lip area, where it will be polished. You can strip all the paint off, but keep in mind this will be a big mess.
7. Let it set for about 10 minutes, or until the bubbles rise.
8. Use either the puddy knife, or grab the wire brush and start scraping off the paint. You'll notice it comes off with ease. You could actually get away with just the rag.
9. Once it's all clear of paint on the lip, or where ever you've applied the paint stripper, give it a rinse.
10. Now the sanding begins.
11. Get a dish of water, and grab your 400 grit sandpaper. Cut the sandpaper in small pieces, preferrablly 4x2inch sizes.
12. Wet sand the lip. This will take a long time, but depends on your goals of shine. More shine the more time. One wheel took me about 15-20 minutes.
13. If you've felt that you've had enough, then grab the metal polish, rag, and apply the polish. Buff it off, and see if the shine is up to your liking. Mines were. If not, it's good to go to the finer 2000 grit paper, and work your way to what looks good to you.
14. Once the lip is loaded with shine, go snatch the masking tape. Mask off the lip. Be sure it's a good seal, or else paint will leak through.
15. Now spray the primer on. Go thin, but lots of coats, preferrably 2-3 is good enough.
16. The primer doesn't have to be completely dry to spray the finish coat on. So it's fine to spray the finish coat after the last primer coat.
17. Spray on the finish coat. Give it a thick coat than the primer, but don't leave drip marks!
18. Let it sit overnight, and go take a break.
19. Wake up, and remove the masking tape. Please don't remove the masking tape when the paint is still wet, as the paint will drip, or drag.
20. Does it look good? If not, then I can't help you here.
21. Mount the tires back on, and mount the whole wheel/tire onto the ride.

RESULTS:
Mines came out good. One guy at an autocross event thought they were Panasport wheels. A few have commented on how it came out. So overall, not bad for a few bucks well spent. Lots of work since I didn't have the most comfortable space to work in.

BMW E30 14x6

Specs:
- 14x6 inch
- +35mm offset
- 14lbs.!!!
RESULTS:
Plans are in progress of refinishing them.

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Page4Wheels&Tire Upgrades
Page5Autocrossing
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Disclaimer: DO ALL MODS AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! I AM NOT AT FAULT FOR ANY OF YOUR MISTAKES!!!