Is anyone running 19" track wheels?

[OppositeLock]

Does anyone know whether 19" wheels fit on the car? I did some rough measuring, and I know an 18" wheel won't fit in the rear, but it looks like a 19" might. An 18" wheel should fit in the front.

The 20 inch wheels on the car really limit tire choice, and I destroyed my set of OEM Goodyear F1 Supersports at Laguna Seca. I'm going to put some street tires on the 20"'s and I'm hoping to downsize for the track. More sidewall means lighter wheels, better bump absorption, and lower tire costs.

 

[centerpunch]

I asked @GRP about smaller diameter wheels (they had the 18" Braid motorsport wheels listed on their site, but I don't see them now).

They said the Emira parking brake definitely interferes with 18" wheels, and might interfere with 19" wheels. They said they would investigate and follow up at some point.

 

[netsinah]

Hopefully GRP will be able to answer the OP question.

This is off-topic but related: this post got me wondering if there was any advantage to using dedicated track tires on the track, rather than street tires. Here's a discussion on reddit, amongst people who track their cars so should know what they're talking about, in relation to how long tires made specifically for the track, last. Some comments should also apply to street tires, in terms of your driving style. I was particularly interested in comments mentioning tires "degrading" when exposed to UV (sunlight) or cold temperatures, since I was considering storing a spare set of tires outside during the cold winter months (apparently not a good idea, at least for track tires), before I recently created more room in my heated garage:


And here's another interesting discussion confirming that track tires don't last anywhere as long as street tires, but they're far more "sticky" for those looking to get true performance on the track with their tires:

Why do racing tyres last just some track laps, while regular tyres can last for years?

Answer (1 of 5): Because racing tyres only need to last some track laps. They could make them last longer, but why? Rather make them perform better instead. Regular tyres could also be made to perform better on expense of durability (in fact, you can buy a lot of different “regular” tyre, which ...

www.quora.com

 

[centerpunch]

Once you try track tires, you'll realize how terrible street tires are on the track.

(I guess Cup 2 MIchelins are kinda more track tires than street tires, so those should be fine.)

I had a Porsche 944 Turbo Cup factory race car that I bought new and had for 29 years (now owned by Mr. Seinfeld), and I usually used Hoosiers R7, but also tried others that were pretty good. The Hoosier's don't last long, but there are a bunch of "200TW" (200 treadwear rating) tires that are still really good and will last most folks a season or two. BTW, I never did "real" racing, just DE events with BMWCCA and PCA, and also several years with Brian Redman's Targa 66 track group.

The magazine Grassroots Motorsports does very detailed testing of track tires, very useful. Scroll waaaaay down to the bottom for a chart of all tires. This is a year old, my guess is they'll be updating it soon.
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Grassroots Motorsports ultimate track tire guide

What you need to know before choosing your next track tire.

grassrootsmotorsports.com

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EDIT: Probably modern ultra high performance street tires are ok on track when the tread is worn down halfway or so.

 

[OppositeLock]

Hopefully GRP will be able to answer the OP question.

This is off-topic but related: this post got me wondering if there was any advantage to using dedicated track tires on the track, rather than street tires. Here's a discussion on reddit, amongst people who track their cars so should know what they're talking about, in relation to how long tires made specifically for the track, last. Some comments should also apply to street tires, in terms of your driving style. I was particularly interested in comments mentioning tires "degrading" when exposed to UV (sunlight) or cold temperatures, since I was considering storing a spare set of tires outside during the cold winter months (apparently not a good idea, at least for track tires), before I recently created more room in my heated garage:


And here's another interesting discussion confirming that track tires don't last anywhere as long as street tires, but they're far more "sticky" for those looking to get true performance on the track with their tires:

Why do racing tyres last just some track laps, while regular tyres can last for years?

Answer (1 of 5): Because racing tyres only need to last some track laps. They could make them last longer, but why? Rather make them perform better instead. Regular tyres could also be made to perform better on expense of durability (in fact, you can buy a lot of different “regular” tyre, which ...

www.quora.com

Yeah, I've contacted GRP a few weeks ago. As soon as they tell me that the wheels fit, I'm buying a set from them. I also suspect it might be possible to reconfigure the rear parking brake gearbox and turn the motor inwards, towards the center of the wheel. If I can find some time, I'll see if I can make a prototype that clears an 18" wheel. There's no reason for that thing to stick out so much.

I've done several hundred track days on my Elise, I lost count of how many a good decade ago, and early on, I realized that a dedicated track wheel set is a must.

First, until you sort out the car as you like it, you will be experimenting with tires, pads, all kinds of stuff. Some pads (like sintered metal ones) are hell on wheels, and I don't want to mess uo my pretty Emira wheels, since I'm going to keep this car pretty.

Second. Track focused tires can handle heat better. The Goodyear F1 SuperSports on my Emira were good for the first 10-12 minutes of a session, and then they started to get greasy. I had the same problems on the Elise as well. Once you get into the barely streetable tires, like Bridgestone RE71RS or Toyo R888R as examples, you will have higher performance for more of your session. I used to run the Yokohama A005 soft slicks on my Elise, and they got me 3-4 seconds a lap at Laguna Seca, that's huge! I use track wheels with dedicated tires because I want the extra performance, life be damned. Where I live it's generally warm, but we have a few weeks of the year where temperatures are below 40F, and the tires I mentioned aren't supposed to be driven at those temperatures.

Third. Your streetable, all-temperature wheels become your rain tires. Why miss a track day when it's raining?

Four. It's nice to drop wheels off at a tire shop and not have to worry about them dropping a Lotus off a lift.

 

[centerpunch]

I also suspect it might be possible to reconfigure the rear parking brake gearbox and turn the motor inwards, towards the center of the wheel. If I can find some time, I'll see if I can make a prototype that clears an 18" wheel. There's no reason for that thing to stick out so much.

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Sign me up! I'd probably run 18's on the street if they'd fit.