I see where now someone asked Maxxis if they would consider making a 275/35R15 VR-1 for Miatas to use, due to the fact that there is no 200TW tires wider than 245 in a 15". Maxxis said that if there was enough interest shown, they would definitely look into making them. I signed the guys petition.
What sway bars are you running? Have you tried building a combo that allows you to ditch the rear sway bar? I run the stock front bar with no rear and too-stiff springs, and I have no issues with putting power down at ~220whp in my NA. I'm running 225 BFG Rival S 1.5's on a 9" wheel.
I just assumed that it was an autox miata so the rear bar was removed years ago :p
I have no rear sway bar. Jettisoned that thing yeeears ago. FM front sway bar. FM/VMaxx Classic coilovers. The Classics don't have enough rear spring rate, in the corners it is picking up the inside tire and then the Torsen goes open and it annihilates the one tire. The Classics won't accept more spring rate, and like I said, on page 1, the plan was to put Fox/Ohlins/Xidas/whatever on it this winter, but then a transmission failure prompted a 6-speed, 3.63:1 ring & pinion and a new clutch, which wiped out the shock budget.
I was under the impression that it's not enough roll stiffness in the front that caused the inside rear to pick up (assuming no rear bar as you have). My old car (pictured above) was running Spec Miata suspension which is Bilstein shocks and 700/325 springs. Not enough for nationals but actually pretty good for a budget. There is even a bit of roll stiffness to be gained by swapping the E36 M3ty rubber end links for proper spherical metal joints on the sway bar. 
FM front sway is probably pretty light for your setup, and i run a much lighter one than many do in STS. So if *i* think it is light....dang!
I don't think I have my FM bar on the stiffest setting (not sure, I'll have to check) and I'm running the Racing Beat end links, which aren't rod-jointed but at least they are poly. At least I don't have to worry about bracing the sway bar mounts out (Keith says the NBs have th weak tear-prone mounts) because I have to run the Rotrex traction fluid cooler hoses through the mounts to the cooler (mounted in the LF inner wheel well) What is recommended for a big boy sway bar?
Racing Beat hallow bar on my ES car. Will need the braces.
Any of the racing beat hollow bars will be stiffer, how stiff you want to go is up to you. I run the 54104 but with heim-jointed adjustable end links you can run any of the NA6/NA8/NB bars if you wish. http://www.racingbeat.com/manuals/swaybarguide.pdf
You still want the brace blocks up in the mounts - but they make a version with room for the power steering (or AC? one of them) hoses to pass through, i imagine they would work fine for you where in lieu of PS hoses you have SC cooler hoses. The NB is the one with issues tearing the single lower A-arm mount but both NB and NA can tear the frame mount with a big enough bar so you do want those little $30 blocks for peace of mind.
Duke said:I will say, as an autocross marshal myself, changing tires before an event is a serious PITA for somebody involved in running the event. It might only take 15 minutes, but that's 15 minutes you don't have while you're being pecked to death by seagulls.
RedGT said:Any of the racing beat hollow bars will be stiffer, how stiff you want to go is up to you. I run the 54104 but with heim-jointed adjustable end links you can run any of the NA6/NA8/NB bars if you wish. http://www.racingbeat.com/manuals/swaybarguide.pdf
You still want the brace blocks up in the mounts - but they make a version with room for the power steering (or AC? one of them) hoses to pass through, i imagine they would work fine for you where in lieu of PS hoses you have SC cooler hoses. The NB is the one with issues tearing the single lower A-arm mount but both NB and NA can tear the frame mount with a big enough bar so you do want those little $30 blocks for peace of mind.
With both the power steering lines and SC fluid cooler lines, it might be a tight fit, but being aluminum, I could probably just take a router or saw to it and open it up some without too much ill effect, I suppose.
So, figured I would do an end of the season follow up on this one. When we last left our intredpid hero, he had ordered a set of backordered Hankook RS-4s from Tire Rack. He waited and waited, and the first autocross came and they still hadn't shown up, so he ran near-corded 225-width Rivals that had sat outside for an entire NY winter. And they were skeeeetchy. A week later, call Tire Rack, still no word on when I'll get the Hankooks. Screw that. Cancelled them and was just getting ready to pull the trigger on the Maxxis and I get a message on Facebook from a guy I don't know saying he heard I was looking for 225/45 Nexens and his shop has them. Weird, but okay. Order them, they are $20 less a tire than Tire Rack and for only $15 he overnight-shipped them from California. Cool!
One thing to note about the Nexens, they run wide for their size. On the left is the old 225-width Rivals on a 15x9. The Nexens are on the right. The BFGs had a definite stretch to them, the Nexen's sidewall is straight up and down.
I also installed the big Racing Beat front sway bar with AWR reinforced mounts. And then I promptly drove the E36 M3 out of them. On the road, they seemed fairly quiet, certainly not like my RE71Rs were. And they were pretty competent in the rain and colder conditions. Turn-in was pretty crisp, plenty of grip and I could slide the back end around a little and not have it instantly come around on me like it would with the Rivals. I put about 8000 miles on them, as well as 8 mini track days at the local 1.1 mile road course, a weird kind of track day at the Lime Rock Park Autocross pad that mostly turned into an oversteer session and 8 autocrosses. What finally killed them was my own laziness. I flipped them once on the rims and should have done it sooner, and I never checked my alignment partway through the season, so I didn't realize that the one rear eccentric had slipped to 4.0 degrees of camber and chewed the tire down to the carcass.
In the end, I would rate them terrific bang for the buck and a pretty confidence-inspiring tire. With them on the car, I felt like I had a much better handle on the car, and got into top 10 on raw times more than once, as well as roughing up much pricier cars around Pineview. But, as I went faster with the car, it became apparent I needed more grip, both in a wider tire and grippier compound, as I was pushing the front end pretty good at Pineview and was having to brake significantly into the corners. And so I ordered next season's tires
Those are 245/40R15 Rival S 1.5s under a stock Miata body. I put them on for a test fit, and I'm going to run them down to a 2-day NEPA event and scrub them in there, then put the old Nexens on for winter storage and put these in my cellar for the winter.
Wow those 225-wide Nexens look like an easy 245 width! SUR4G model I assume.
Those fit under there surprisingly well! Wheel size/offset?
Big pull, or just a fender roll?
In reply to GameboyRMH :
RedGT says they tend to run about 10pm wider than advertised. They are narrower than the 245 Rivals
In reply to Rodan :
Those are 15x9 +35 Konig Dial-Ins with a 3mm spacer on the front and no spacer in the rear. Fenders are rolled and moderately pulled and front and top if front fender liners ate chopped out
Thanks!
On another, unrelated note... how do you like the BF lexan trunk spoiler?
I picked one up off another forum a while back, because it was NIB and you just don't see them for sale that often. I can't decided if I should install it, or just hold out for one of 9LR's big Wangs.
Glad to hear the Nexens are a good option for a budget tire.
did you DD them? Crazy loud?
In reply to CyberEric :
I did DD them, I did not think they were loud. Not like my old RE71Rs, which made a loud Velcro noise every time I went over a strip of asphalt sealer
Rodan said:Thanks!
On another, unrelated note... how do you like the BF lexan trunk spoiler?
I picked one up off another forum a while back, because it was NIB and you just don't see them for sale that often. I can't decided if I should install it, or just hold out for one of 9LR's big Wangs.
I can't say for certain whether it was ineffective or not, or whether I'm just not a good enough/consistent enough driver to tell the difference. I know that my fastest runs at Pineview, which is a relatively low speed track, came with the spoiler at the highest of the lower settings. I can say for certain that it does look absolutely awesome. Warning: they want you to hold the spoiler to the struts by tightening a buttonhead screw to a square nut with a split-lock washer between the screw and the Lexan. DO NOT DO THIS, the split-lock will instantly start a nice crack in your brand new spoiler. Mine literally got a crack 5 minutes after I finished tightening everything up. I ended up going and getting fender washers and sandwhiching the Lexan between fender washers.
CyberEric said:Glad to hear the Nexens are a good option for a budget tire.
did you DD them? Crazy loud?
Nick said it already, but the Nexen SUR4G are much more pleasant (quieter and better ride) on the street than RE71R. Additionally, dead Nexens ride so much nicer and quieter than dead RE71. I believe most of it comes from them having a soft sidewall on the Nexen and a particularly stiff one on the RE71.
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