What is the best 13 inch non-R performance tire available? I have read in GRM that the Sumitomo HTR 200s are a good cheap ST autocross tire (relatively speaking).
The car is a 1985 Mazda RX-7. It is my middle son's first car. It will be his daily driver and his auto-x car. I want him to learn car control on the tire on which he will be driving, but I want a tire with good traction at the same time.
Looking for input.
That's a great start. I'd recommend it.
im in the same boat as you. Those are are on Online Tires for something like $50 a piece. Gonna take the plunge in a week or two to buy em...
I had the HTR 200s on my Miata in 13in. I never autocrossed them but they are pretty good on the street.
I have attempted to auto-x on HTR200's. It was not a pleasant experience.
I'd recommend digging up a set of 14" wheels and getting Star Specs in the newly available 186/60-14 size. More the 2x as much money, but waaaay more the 2x as good a tire.
I bought a set of HTR200's to roll my Miata around on when I was setting it up for track duty. It came with mismatched tires that needed replacement. I wanted to be able to drive it on the street occasionally. Once I had the suspension installed, I ran the car in an autocross on the Sumitomos as a shakedown.
After one autocross, the tires showed significant wear and there were some major chunks missing.
They are not autocross tires. But they are cheap.
I cannot find 14 inch 4x110 wheels. I want him legal for E-Stock so I cannot go to a 15 inch wheel either.
In reply to Moparman:
diamond racing wheels.com
Moparman wrote: I cannot find 14 inch 4x110 wheels. I want him legal for E-Stock so I cannot go to a 15 inch wheel either.
Honda, Miata wheels are 4x100. A whole set of Rotas in 15x7 can be had for $500 new.
Seconded on the diamond wheels as a good value as well.
Mazda787b wrote:Moparman wrote: I cannot find 14 inch 4x110 wheels. I want him legal for E-Stock so I cannot go to a 15 inch wheel either.Honda, Miata wheels are 4x100. A whole set of Rotas in 15x7 can be had for $500 new. Seconded on the diamond wheels as a good value as well.
Yes, but RX-7 wheels are 4x110m. If I can get Diamonds with the exact same offset it would work. They have to be very close to what was available from the factory to be legal for stock. This is also supposed to be a first daily driver for my 16-year old.
Moparman wrote:Mazda787b wrote:Yes, but RX-7 wheels are 4x110m. If I can get Diamonds with the exact same offset it would work. They have to be very close to what was available from the factory to be legal for stock. This is also supposed to be a first daily driver for my 16-year old.Moparman wrote: I cannot find 14 inch 4x110 wheels. I want him legal for E-Stock so I cannot go to a 15 inch wheel either.Honda, Miata wheels are 4x100. A whole set of Rotas in 15x7 can be had for $500 new. Seconded on the diamond wheels as a good value as well.
You can probably get Diamonds in any size/offset you want to afford; they aren't that much different compared to off-the-shelf alloys. Check for used wheels, too; you might find some Spec RX7 racers who are cleaning -out their garages and trailers.
If this is your son's first car and he's going to autocross it, the HTR's should be just fine. He's just learning how to drive and master car-control so there is no need to spend big money on a more "competitive" tire - as if he would even know the difference.
BTW, if the car has alloy wheels now, they should be at least 5.5" wide. That's a wheel wide enough to stick with the OE-size 185/70's, but will easily take 205/60's. IIRC, the OE steel rims were 5" wide and you can still squeeze the 205's on them, but wider is always better
Yeah, 4x110's for a 1st Gen 7 are tough to find. It took me 6 months and a crazy amount of elbow work to buy and then restore my old 14's. I'd recommend a Falken ZIEX 512 or 912 on the 13's, and grab a spare set of stock alloys for V710's for autocross.
My son and I autocrossed a RX-7 on HTR200 for two years. Not the greatest autocross tire, but they got the job done while we were learning to autocross. They do feather pretty bad though. I would start with them even with the feathering problem. You really don't need a sticky tire while he is learning car control. If you are worried about the feathering, you might consider getting them shaved.
After we graduated to a stickier tire, I got a set of Marsh Racing wheels in 13X8 to run slicks on. They will build just about any diameter with any lug pattern and offset.
Moparman wrote:Mazda787b wrote:Yes, but RX-7 wheels are 4x110m. If I can get Diamonds with the exact same offset it would work. They have to be very close to what was available from the factory to be legal for stock. This is also supposed to be a first daily driver for my 16-year old.Moparman wrote: I cannot find 14 inch 4x110 wheels. I want him legal for E-Stock so I cannot go to a 15 inch wheel either.Honda, Miata wheels are 4x100. A whole set of Rotas in 15x7 can be had for $500 new. Seconded on the diamond wheels as a good value as well.
Sorry, total brain fart there. Carry on.
P71 wrote: Yeah, 4x110's for a 1st Gen 7 are tough to find. It took me 6 months and a crazy amount of elbow work to buy and then restore my old 14's. I'd recommend a Falken ZIEX 512 or 912 on the 13's, and grab a spare set of stock alloys for V710's for autocross.
In my experience ZIEX 912s aren't any better than the Sumitomos
I had htr200s and autoX'd on them for a full year.. and got 30k street miles out of them too. Woulda been 40 if i was nicer to them.
I p0wned HS in my local club on those tires in a STOCK Dodge Dynasty.
I had NO wear issues other than the one time i flat spotted one during a long decreasing radius turn on the brakes from 80mph.. in my dodge dynasty 
I own some falken 912s right now and i feel they are less grippy than the htr200s.
Did i mention the HTR200s were very quiet and had great hydroplaning resistance?
If they made them in more sizes id be buying some right now. Certainly not a super-high performance tire but for a performance-oriented street tire you cant do much better for the price.
EvanB wrote:P71 wrote: Yeah, 4x110's for a 1st Gen 7 are tough to find. It took me 6 months and a crazy amount of elbow work to buy and then restore my old 14's. I'd recommend a Falken ZIEX 512 or 912 on the 13's, and grab a spare set of stock alloys for V710's for autocross.In my experience ZIEX 912s aren't any better than the Sumitomos
Which is why I said, "and grab a spare set of stock alloys for V710's for autocross." 
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