Westfield Miata forum

[miatacarpc]

I've talked to the folks at 949racing, who have suggested running a staggered setup on my build: 205/50-15 front, 225/45-15 rear, to account for the weight distribution, and obtain consistent sidewall tension/ air pressure in all four wheels.

However, I also spoke to another Westfield owner in my area, (johnch, occasionally seen on this board), and he expressed concern about the ability to get heat into tires that wide, given the light weight of the Westfield. Another friend of mine who owns an Atom also runs 205 front, 225 rear, and doesn't have any issues; the Atom is about 1100 pounds and 40/60 weight distribution.

Anyone have any thoughts? I've tried checking the USA7s board without much success at garnering useful info. I plan on driving this mostly on the street, but with probably 2-3 track days a year at least.
_________________
My BRG 7 build

[JohnCh]

You should also check WSCC. Significantly larger knowledge base than any US forums. This discussion comes up there fairly often, so a lot to be gleaned from searches. However, it might also be worth posting something there and describing your expected power levels, and planned use for the car. Just remember to spell it "tyres"

-John

[keith]

The British seem to be afraid of tyre width.

We actually have the exact setup described for use on our car. At least, that's why we bought it. I think the wheels and tires were kidnapped for one of the V8 cars.

At our local track, Bill is definitely faster when he's running 225s than when he's running 205s. We've only ever run it "square", with the same size front and rear.

My biggest concern would be unsprung weight. Emilio at 949 is great at setting up Miatas, but with a car that weighs half as much unsprung weight becomes a bigger issue. In the case of the Toyo RA1, the 225/45-15 is 3 lbs heavier than the 205/50-15. The wide wheels he's recommended (I'm going to guess 15x9 rear, 15x8 front) are also going to be heavier than 15x7 versions of equivalent quality.

For your use - mostly street with occasional track - I'd probably go with a square set of 205-series RA1s, R888s or NT01s. Probably the former. I can say that because that's exactly what I run

The US Atom is quite a bit heavier than a Westfield and has far greater rear weight bias, BTW.
_________________
Keith
---------------------
FM Westfield
My Seven

[JohnCh]

Keith, not to drift too far off topic, but Miatacarpc and I were also discussing R888 vs. RA1 for street use. Have you tried both on your car or the Westfield? If so, any feedback?

Thanks,
John

[keith]

I've tried them both, but I don't know if we've had the chance to do a straight comparison. At Flyin' Miata, we have a bunch of tires of different sorts in different sizes and they tend to move around from car to car depending on what's available! The tires (a mix of RA1s, R888s and NT-01s) were usually chosen due to price and availability in the required size. We probably have all three of them in 225/45-15.

I think the RA1 is easier to live with. It seems to be happier over a wider temperature range and it does have more tread depth for longer life. That's one big reason I chose it for my Targa racer. For a big discussion of the merits of the two tires, check out what the Spec Miata racers had to say when they changed from the RA1 to the R888 - and back again.
_________________
Keith
---------------------
FM Westfield
My Seven

[miatacarpc]