It feels awkward referring to our 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo as an “older” automotive. In any case, we nonetheless keep in mind it profitable our Editors’ Alternative award as the perfect new automotive again when it got here out. That we drove that first mid-engine turbo Toyota greater than 30 years in the past appears pretty absurd, but right here we are.
So when our MR2 wanted some new wheels and tires, we bumped into some points. We couldn’t merely hop onto Tire Rack’s web site and place our order with a number of clicks. The second-generation MR2 is notoriously tough to suit with fashionable wheels and tires. In truth, that’s a standard difficulty in our world, particularly when the automotive in query is barely uncommon and some years older.
This MR2 was initially outfitted with 14-inch wheels–Toyota finally moved to 15s a number of years later–however you’ll be able to already see the issue with looking for new tires. Because of our automotive’s staggered fitment, Tire Rack doesn’t checklist any stock-sized tires for our automotive.
Nothing.
The non-compulsory 15-inch setup doesn’t assist, both, as Tire Rack reveals only a single possibility for tires. We wanted to have a look at modernizing our MR2, and we nearly needed to work backward. First, we wanted to determine some applicable tires, then discover some wheels to suit them.
Step 1: Tire Hunt
We knew we needed a particularly sporty tire however not a devoted observe mannequin. Most of at this time’s 200tw rubber within the extreme-performance summer time class would fill our wants properly.
[Ultimate track tire guide | 200tw, 100tw, street-legal track and R-comps]
This MR2 will not be going to be an on a regular basis commuter or a “combating for the final hundredth” observe automotive, but it surely wanted to have the ability to do mundane day by day obligation when the temper struck, together with an autocross or observe day without having a tire change. The 200tw scene is actually constructed on that ethos.
For sizes, our most excessive limiting issue was the general diameter within the entrance. The unique 195/60R14 tires measured about 23 inches tall, and as a result of proximity of the spring perch to the hub, we measured our most doable tire diameter at about 24.5 inches. Switching to coil-overs supplies extra choices as a result of it frees up some house, however we weren’t fairly able to make that leap.
Our MR2 initially ran a 205/60R14 rear tire, and that measurement is just about NLA. Nonetheless, we had lots of room vertically between the hub and the perch, that means our largest limiting issue was width.
So we began to have a look at fashionable tires that would offer appropriate outdoors diameters whereas nonetheless (hopefully) clearing our fenders. We noticed 15- and 16-inch sizes out there, however wheel availability and the extra desired width within the rear weren’t all the time choices in these diameters. Ultimately, a 17-inch was seen as the perfect all-around use of sources.
As quickly as our new König Hexaform wheels arrived, we test-fit them to ensure our measurements checked out. As soon as they bolted up easily, we felt protected having our Falken tires mounted.
The entrance wheels had good clearance from the strut housings, however the distance from the wheel to the spring perch on SW20-chassis Toyota MR2 is restrictive. A brief tire is a should for vehicles with inventory spring perches.
The rears have loads of vertical room, however our 9.5-inch-wide wheels have been fairly cozy with the strut housings. A good sidewall profile makes rear fitment a lot tidier.
At 23.8 inches tall, a 215/40R17 entrance tire appeared like the perfect match. For the rear, we needed to fill out the wheel wells and make the most of the out there house, however we didn’t wish to get into modifying the sheet metallic for clearance. Preliminary measurements confirmed we had slightly greater than 10 inches of house between the strut and the fender lip, and the 10-inch-wide, 24.8-inch-tall 245/40R17 tire seemed like match.
Taking all this knowledge and cross-referencing what we might use with the businesses that had these sizes in a tire we favored led us to the Falken Azenis RT660. Whereas our testing has proven that different 200tw tires might be able to run an absolute sooner lap time, the Azenis continues to be considered top-of-the-line tires within the class for all-around efficiency on each avenue and observe.
Step 2: Wheel Procuring
Now for wheels. After we purchased the MR2, it wore a set of Derpmaster 3000 alloys, probably purchased by way of some Balkan eBay pirate clone website that stole everybody’s bank card quantity after it despatched them crappy wheels. Certain, the wheels have been ugly, however they appeared to be of suspect high quality as effectively.
So whereas something could be an improve, we nonetheless needed a high-quality wheel that correctly match and likewise enhanced the MR2’s retro vibe since this automotive is now older than many of the NFL’s beginning lineup. And, as with our tire scenario, we thought our wheel selection could be tightly restricted.
A flow-formed wheel appeared like the right reply right here. Making a flow-formed wheel entails operating an aluminum casting via a machine that makes use of warmth and strain to create a robust, light-weight barrel. This often creates a wheel that weighs lower than a standard solid wheel but prices lower than a totally cast mannequin.
“The tooling for movement forming could be fairly costly, and the educational curve for correctly producing wheels could be steep, however the payoff is in elevated versatility of the molds,” explains König’s Scott Weiss. “That offers us flexibility down the street that we don’t have with different manufacturing strategies and lets us produce wheels to fulfill an increasing number of particular calls for.” As Scott provides, all wheel manufacturing in the end flows from buyer demand, however the versatility of movement forming permits König to react to and serve extra area of interest audiences.
König gives a spread of flow-formed wheels, so we dove into its catalog for a mannequin that met our specs concerning diameter, width, offset and that all-important bolt sample. A method that labored effectively on our rad-era basic could be a significant bonus.
We took measurements and consulted some testimonials. The gallery part of the Fitment Industries web site could be an distinctive useful resource relating to discovering workable wheel specs for a lot of fashions of vehicles. It accommodates posts from precise customers itemizing wheel specs, tire sizes, automotive setup and any modifications required to suit the combo collectively, and it helped us again up our personal measurements.
All this analysis led us to the König Hexaform mannequin: 17×8 inches with 38mm offset up entrance and 17×9.5 inches with 38mm offset out again. As a bonus, the Hexaform seems a bit like one thing from the ’90s JDM scene and invokes among the OEM wheels Toyota supplied on the MR2 again within the day. A 17-inch mannequin weighs about 17 to 19 kilos, relying on offset, and determine a avenue worth of a couple of grand for a set of 4.
The 245/40R17 Falken Azenis RT660s within the rear have a really slight quantity of stretch, creating slightly additional clearance beneath the strut housings. As soon as mounted, it seemed like our rear fitments could be nice with none spacers.
The rear tires crammed out the wheel wells properly with none trace of interference on the within edges. Underneath full compression, although, we anxious there might be some fender interference, so we determined to place a little bit of a roll on the rear fenders–simply to be protected.
We didn’t therapeutic massage the rear fenders a lot–simply sufficient to take the sharp horizontal edge out of play.
Our closing product makes use of fashionable wheel and tire know-how to create a delightful, retro look whereas providing fashionable dealing with.
Our measurements, nonetheless, confirmed that we could be slightly near the strut housing on the within of the rear fender, however it might in the end come right down to the form of the tire as soon as mounted. If we had a clearance difficulty, we figured we might resolve it with a spacer (fingers crossed).
When our wheels arrived, we first mounted them on the automotive with out tires to substantiate match, as König is not going to settle for returns as soon as tires have been added. This gave us an opportunity to substantiate our measurements and examine that our tire would match nice inside a sure margin of error. As we suspected, the within fringe of the rear wheel sat fairly near the strut housing, however tire form would in the end dictate our path.
Time for the second of reality: We mounted up our Falkens. The rears had a really slight little bit of “stretch”–sufficient to create loads of clearance between the spinning meeting and the strut housing, precluding any want for a spacer. The fronts, as we suspected, match nice.
We did put an ever so slight roll on the rear fender lips–largely to take a pointy edge out of the equation, though we don’t suppose that lip will ever be in play at our present trip peak except one thing extraordinarily dangerous occurred. Nonetheless, we thought-about a small fender therapeutic massage to be slightly insurance coverage coverage in opposition to a catastrophe, irrespective of how unlikely.
Our closing product matches nice, seems applicable and supplies efficiency past what Toyota ever meant for these vehicles. Now we are able to correctly put down the facility, turn-in feels unbelievable, and there’s traction for days.
Fashionable, high-performance rubber can actually rework older vehicles, giving them grip you’ve barely ever dreamed of whereas retaining uncanny street manners.
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