Wheels & Tyres On Mr2...

October 19, 2005

Hi there, I have owned a UK spec MR2 GT for about half a year as my 1st rear wheel drive car. Its Slightly modfied but I dont want anything too much in the face so I have kept it simple as I am only 20 and insurance hates me.

I am currently running Mitsi Evo6 OZ 17" wheels on my MR2.

The size of the tyres were 235/40/17 ZR Toyo Proxes TS1 on all four wheels.

The tyres were amazing on grip in rain but were a a little noisy. The 4 tyres were also very low on tread so I bought some 2nd hand tyres for all 4 rims. The 2 front were 235/40/17ZR Nankang NS1's.

The back 2 were 235/45/17 ZR Wan-Li's. I think they are budget tyres but my Proxes were running with about 0.5mm tread so I needed some new tyres.

Although the new tyres I have are quieter and have more tread. Whenever I go full lock on turning, my front tyres rub a part of the side/suspension I dont know.

DO I need spacers or just let it wear down? It doesnt make any rubbing noises on straight driving only when I turn very deep. My friend has a MR2 GT but is jap spec...he has 235/35/18ZR. His one has loadsa space for the front wheels.

I also experienced driving in the rain was a nightmare with these rear WanLi tyres. I drifted about 2 times so Im a bit scared on accelerating on turns...my proxes had no probs.

If I was to change the 2 back rears to Yoko's or Proxes again would it stop me from drifting? The front tyres dont make any affect does it?

Hopefully I can get an answer from some experienced MR2 driver or someone who is used to Rear wheeled drive.

October 19, 2005

Largest size you should be running on the front is 215's.

I run 235's on the back and 215's on the front. New compound Nangkang NSII all round. Nothing like the old NSI's. They were nicknamed "Ditchfinders"! :lol:

October 19, 2005

Get rid of the Wanli's ASAP.. complete crap in my proffesional opinion..

Although the new tyres I have are quieter and have more tread. Whenever I go full lock on turning, my front tyres rub a part of the side/suspension I dont know.

Depending on the offset of your wheels, 235's will be a little to wide and will be rubbing on full lock.. probably on the inner wing. Do as Earl has said, go down to 215's.. the car will probably handle a little better with the slightly lower profile anyway.

DO I need spacers or just let it wear down? It doesnt make any rubbing noises on straight driving only when I turn very deep. My friend has a MR2 GT but is jap spec...he has 235/35/18ZR. His one has loadsa space for the front wheels.

Don't use spacers.. if something doesn't fit properly without them.. don't put them on. If they are rubbing on the inner wing as i suspect might be the case.. letting them wear down won't make much difference, as it's not only the width of the tyre that causes the problem, but also the height (rolling radius) 215's wouls sort this out.

If I was to change the 2 back rears to Yoko's or Proxes again would it stop me from drifting? The front tyres dont make any affect does it?

Probably.. Toyo's or Yoko's are considerably better than those Wanli things you have.. and will give you back the same level of grip you had before. The front tyres are just as important as the rear tyres, if you get a lot of understeer (front tyres loosing grip) then it suddenly gets some traction.. it could possibly cause the rear of the car to step out.. this depends on a lot of factors though.. mainly on how hard you have turned in to correct (or try to correct) the understeer.

If you can't streatch to a set of Toyo's or Yoko's.. Nankangs are ok for the price you pay.. another descent tyre at a good price are Kumho's prefreably the KU31's.