My car was a show car that was showing its age. I bought the Bee back in 1998 for $800 and did a full restoration. It was painted in 2001 and finally back on the road in 2005. I did a lot of regular car shows but after the paint started cracking and chipping, I ended up parking the car in the garage and it just sat. End of 2019, I decided to start driving the car again, and have some fun with it, before getting it repainted. I set a date to road trip the car to Tucson for the Roadkill Zip Tie Drags. It needed new tires so that started the gears turning to transform the car to have that vintage stock car vibe. I grew up next to Riverside Raceway and loved the stock cars that raced on that track and I wanted fat tires all the way around.
So in this post, I want to discuss my tire setup first, When I ordered my rims and tire, I researched the heck out of FBBO, amongst other sites, and searched things like “biggest front tires”…”Largest rear tires”….”wheel back space”….etc. I could have easily upgraded to 17’s or 18’s and my tire options would have opened up but I really wanted that old stock car look.
Here’s what I came up with:
Front Rim: 15x8, 4.5 bs
Front Tire: 245/60R15
Rear Rim: 15x10, 5.5 bs
Rear Tire: 295/50R15
These tires are roughly 26.5 in diameter front and rear for balance. I studied tire sizes over and over again and compromised with this setup to be safe. The tires are Mickey Thompson's Sportsman S/T's which have a treadwear rating of 440. The only issues are the front wheel weights would contact the upper arm and the rear tires just kiss the inside wheel well on hard turns. I went to stick on wheel weights for the fronts and added ¼ billet spacers in the rear. One important thing to note is I upgraded to 3” wheel studs that were stronger than stock
I start the day off at 32 psi and as the temps come up, I’ve seen the pressure rise 3-4 psi on a hot day once I get off the track. My tire temps are even across the rears and a little warm to the inside of the fronts. Mostly because of the extra front camber but the temps indicate my pressures are good. I’ll go over my alignment later but here is what I’ve learned about these tires on the track. The tires are a bit harder than I’d like at the 440 treadwear. I’d like to get more front tire but I’m limited on what is available. After 3 track days, I’m at about 2/3’s tread remaining. These tires are very predictable and give great feedback when they are starting to lose grip. I feel these are a great option if you are on a budget. If you really want to go fast, upgrading to something with a lower treadwear rating would be best. I do push the front tires before the rear ever starts to get loose. That could change if I had more horsepower and could steer more with the gas pedal.
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My X liked them but stockers weren't all that fast anywhere but in the hands of a good driver, yeah, they did well on a tight autocross but if you want something that's fast on the autocross.....the old mini's were pretty dang good and would rather have one of those vs a midget......so long as it had the 1200 engine.
