I see Tirerack is now taking pre-orders for the new Star Spec... need new AX/Street tires for my 2007 S - I see a 205/45/17 and 215/40/17 will be available. Will the 215/40/17 fit my 17x7 wheel correctly or should I just stick with 205/45. I really like the idea of a little extra width and shorter circumference/sidewall for AX if the tire will fit the 7" wheel width well enough. Are there going to be any additional sizes later or is this it?

 

Yes, lots of others use this same size. I prefer 215/45/17 myself. It gives a better ride and fills the wheel well nicely.

 

I have 215/40/17 on my 17x7 and I love how they look. Can't wait to get me my new ZII

 

Do 215/40/17 fit a 7inch wide wheel? I think that I saw they needed 7.5 inch wheels vs the 45 tires fitting a 7" wheel?

Also, the 40 wheels are an 83W load rating but the 45 wheels are an 87W load rating. Does that matter?

 

215/40-17 will fit a 7" wheel fine, that size fits wheels from 7-8.5" wide with perfect fit at 7.5".

Tire diameter is short at 23.8" but is fine for MINIs especially if you have lowered suspension or if you are tracking or autocrossing.

The 215/40-17 size has a lower and stiffer sidewall which is not as good if you have poor and rough streets for daily driving. In that case 205/45-17 or even 215/45-17 makes more sense.

A load rating of 83 is still OK for a MINI, 84 to 87 is generally about right. Higher is also OK.

Even though the 215/40-17 tire is molded wider than the 205/45-17 your stock 17x7" wheel will limit tread width once mounted. The bigger difference will be from the 40 series sidewall and lowered center of gravity from a smaller tire diameter along with slightly lowered gearing- all good things for autocrossing.

We do not know just how good the Dunlop Direzza DII will be. It's due out in early March 2013 and is highly anticipated. Car and Driver did a comparison of Max and Extreme tires and found the old Direzza Star Spec Z1 as not keeping up with the competition.

Some sizes and prices-
205/45-17 $174 each, 25 lbs
215/40-17 $167 each, 30 lbs! Could that be right? XL casing maybe?
215/45-17 $153 each, 26 lbs

 

On tire racks site is says that 215/40/17 is available in March but the 205/45/17 and 215/45/17 are available now, interesting.

If this was strictly for an autocross tire on a spare set of wheels would you recommend going with the 215/40/17?

Also, does Tire rack charge to mount and balance if you are buying wheels from them? If they don't then I will likely find a wheel to buy from them. If they do then I might consider the NM Engineering RSe05 as its light weight and has the Mini stock bore not requiring any centering rings.

I did a couple of wheels on my last mini that needed the centering rings and its just one more thing to have to worry about...

 

No they don't

Professional Mount & Balance•Free scratchless mounting•Free hidden weight balancing on alloy wheels•Free Hunter Road Force™ balancing

 

Oh, also for an autocross only wheel/tire set would you guys forget about putting TPMS sensors in the wheels?

 

Actually.... they ship them to your mechanic/tire mounter.... already done this several times... a real good deal in general.

 

Not if you buy wheels and tires like he asked.
http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/wtpac...=true&index=xx

 

I was actually disappointed with the higher prices.... I may wait to see how the actually perform on course before I try a set... don't want to be stuck with it for two years if it does not work for me. I need a new set of tires - but I can certainly wait until April or May to pull the trigger. At that price point there are several good options to consider.... unless the new star spec ups the performance bar.

 

Don't have that on a 2007.... computer only... no sensor!

 

Actually, the '07 year was a transition year, my '07 had them. For autoX I would not bother with the monitors

 

Take a look at this TireRack test and blog comparing the Z1 and Zii:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...a-08ecf4df5ecb

http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/roll-o...er-direzza-zii

205/50/16 is already in stock (my size - looks tempting - need to decide between these and
Conti Extremecontact DW's - very different animals, but still a tough choice for me at the moment)
205/55/16 is already in stock
225/45/16 expected 1/16/13
205/45/17 expected 3/8/13
215/40/17 expected 3/8/13
215/45/17 expected 1/21/13

 

ZII looks promising as expected.

I will wait until the test results are in.

I would expect performance on par with Yokohama AD08 and Bridgestone RE-11.

I wish tirerack would include Hankook Ventus RS-3 since Kumho XS was in the last test.

 

You looking to buy them primarily to drive on Street or to Autocross/Track?

I am considering the 205/45/17 because it looks like the best fit for my S to stay in D-Stock. I drove Hankook RS-3 225/50/16 the last two years which were great in many ways - but was not the best fit overall I believe(sidewall too high, terrible in cold temps even though great when hot weather).

 

If you have 17x7" wheels for autocross you might look at-

Yokohama Advan Neova AD-08
215/40-17 $187 each, 180 treadwear, 21 lbs each, 23.7" tire diameter. Direzza ZII in same size is $167 each (coming in March) and 23 lbs each.
Fits rims 7-8.5" wide.

For autocross you want-
Very good grip
Stiff and low sidewall
Low weight
smaller tire diameter than stock for lowered gearing effect

 

Daily driver, no track or ATX. The adventurous part of me really wants the
Direzza Zii for the performance, but the practical part of me says I'll be
better off 95% of the time with the DW tires.

 

I'm in exactly the same situation. I think my Ventus V12s were a step up from the RE050a Runflats, but I feel like both were still too mileage oriented and not enough performance oriented for my liking. I'm on a dedicated set of winter tires and 16s for the winter, and have 17" Infinite Streams for the summer, so I have a while to decide.

--Matt

 

My $0.02, most of which has already been said in one form or another in this thread.

Last two autocross seasons I've run a 215/40R17 Star Spec on a 17x7 and I had no problems whatsoever. I chose the 40 sidewall bc of the (slightly) better turn in you get from the shorter sidewall.

This season I will be running a 235/40R17 Direzza ZII on the 17x7.5 NM Eng RSe05. It's going to be a tight squeeze...

As far as the question about whether tire rack charges for mounting and balancing if you buy both wheels and tires from them, no they don't. I bought some Motegi wheels two years ago when I got the first set of 215's and they didn't charge for mounting and balancing.

 

I was thinking my 225s were going to be a squeeze

What do the wheels have for offset and what amount of camber will you have to handle that large of a tire?

 

I'm still waiting on my wheels to arrive (today!) so I haven't put this set up on yet, but it has been done with a 17x7.5" rim with an et45 offset and 5mm spacers in the front. I believe the camber requirements are as negative as you can go, I have Vorshlag plates, and it likely requires some fender liner trimming. It is also entirely possible it rubs on full lock, but that's ok, you don't need full lock at the autocross anyways.

This is not a set up I plan on DDing, I'll be swapping back to my 205 all seasons that are mounted on my challenge spokes between events.

 

Thanks. Good info. Let us know how it all fits. Will you be autoXing soon?


As for "don't need full lock at the autocross"...I think I've been there a few times

 

Definitely, hubby keeps telling me I need to start a build thread and he's probably right, I just don't seem to ever get around to it.


The season here in the DC area starts mid-March. I'm counting the days... Once it gets going we're autocrossing at least every other weekend, which really makes the off season feel like an autocross vacuum. I'm starting to go stir crazy!