JackMcCornack wrote:
Driven5 wrote:
...a pair of 205 (typical 15" high performance) tires...
My tires are 175/65-15 and I wouldn't care to go bigger. From a weight-to-profile standpoint, 175 width on a 1400 pound car is equivalent to a 375 width on a 3000 pound car...
In principle, I completely agree with you. And if your intentions are really only towards 'marketing' the Lalo exclusively to Kubota powered high mpg cruisers, you're probably right. However, when it comes to performance, more than anything else, rubber compound is far and away more important than tire width. If/when my Lalo ever becomes road worthy, it will see track time. And possibly a not inconsiderable amount of it. I don't know about on cars this light, by my experience on mostly sub-3k pound production cars has been that all-season tires not only lack ultimate grip on track, which actually I can live with, they also have considerable problems with melting, chunking, and even delaminating under that kind of abuse...Which is not something that is acceptable to me. I am also planning my tire size the same way I'm planning almost all of my other mass manufactured components...With an eye towards future availability. Not just short term, but mid and even long term. The
only size I'd really consider meeting both construction and availability requirements in a 15 inch wheel are the 205/50R15, and to a lesser degree 195/50R15 and 195/55R15, and even those are only 'guaranteed' in the mid-term. Unfortunately though, I'm concerned that tires for 15" wheels may very well go the way of tires for 13 inch wheels within the next decade or so, and where would that leave me if only accommodating an overall diameter and width that then offers absolutely nothing in a streetable sporting compound anymore. That's why I'm actually leaning toward 205/55R16, but would expecting to also be able to accommodate the same diameter but slightly wider 225/50R16 (and subsequently the identical width/diameter to that but
much more popular 225/45R17 if need be, someday)...Not because I want to, but because I fear I'll need to eventually.
Yeah, that pic of the 11 with flares was actually mine.
I agree it looked cool, but also does loose some of the classiness (not to mention aerodynamics) that comes from the smooth lines on this bodywork. And while I personally find it an overall visual improvement on the more bulbous Lotus 11, I feel that it would be detrimental to the look of the Lola Mk 1 derived bodywork that we're dealing with. It might still be a last resort option, but if I'm going to do that much fiberglass work building custom fender flares for a Lalo, I'd probably rather assess the feasibility of massaging the inboard side of the front wheel arches a little to accommodate the full range of front wheel motion with the tires I intend to be able to fit.
JackMcCornack wrote:
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. One must be realistic about compliance, but a half inch of chassis clearance has been sufficient for me.
I'm kind of shocked at this. With my rear upright, and a typical ~.5* camber gain per degree roll translating to ~1* camber gain per inch bump, it's not inconceivable for max bump to produce an inward movement of .75" or more at the the top of the tire, depending on pivot points. Roughly the same could apply to a solid axle at 3 degrees roll, depending on roll center height. Also tires, at least in stickier compounds, are notoriously inconsistent in measured width vs advertised width, namely measuring wider than advertised. I think it has actually become a badge of honor among some tire manufacturers. They're 'under-rating' their performance tire widths in much the same way performance car manufacturers often under-rate the advertised hp.
That being said, if my math is right, a box-stock Miata rear end on a 44" Locost chassis, combined with common high-offset 15" wheels and typical 205/50R15 tires, should result in the vicinity of 2" clearance per side anyways...Which seems to be a pretty common starting point for a Locsost rear end. Of course, it doesn't help that I'm also now looking at passing a suspension arm in the space I expected to have between the tire and chassis based on those measurements.