i got nitto nt-01's and absolutely love them. still trying to find the limits of them. my first auto-x with them last month i was gaining about a second and half each run and still was learning the tires. got them for 168 each with free shipping from discounttiresdirect.com. they are not the ultimate auto-x tire but i also want to do track days too, so these were my best all around choice.

 

For ultimate auto-x the Ra-1 and NT-01 are great, but really meant more for road course and as such take time to get up to temp. Kumho and Hosier make auto-x specific compaunds that heat up extremely fast but do not last very long.

That said, I love the Nt-01 and feel it has a slight edge over the RA-1 especially if you intend to run them full tread. Both are made by toyo, but the RA-1 is an older design. RA-1 is a great tire and if you can get it for far less, that would make up my mind.

Those prices above are extremely good. The RA-1 really should be shaved to at least 6/32 if not 4. At full tread, they can chunk a bit.

 

could some one give me a quick rundown on why you would want to shave tires? The only thing close to performance tires I've ever driven on is my now dead Azenis rt-215's

 

Shave tires to get rid of tread.

On a treaded R compound, about half the life of the tire is the thread blocks, but once those are worn off, you are essentially left with a slick with 2 rings and about 3/32nds tread life. Once it gets down to this, the tire is much faster. Also, the more tread you have, the more the tread distorts and chunks. If you plan to race in rain, then you would want some extra tread and the RA-1s are a better rain race tire.

Another advantage of shaving it to this point vs just waiting for it to wear down is that it may wear uneven to the point that when you get down to 3/32nds, part of the tire may be worn much more giving you a short life on full slick mode

 

My RA-1's are down to 4/32 & right where I like them. As mentioned above they do take a little while to heat up but if you can get them for as little as 60-70per tire jump all over them

 

Why don't you get the new Azenis rt615's? That's what I got and they are awesome.

 

Well I absolutly love my Azenis now and that is why I was wondering if 225-50-16 will fit because the new Azenis don't come in 205 55 16.

 

You can put the 225's on, but they say you should only go up one size which would be 215. My friend had 17x7 which came with 215's and he put 235's. So depending on the width of the wheel you should be able to. Plus they are only $108 a tire..

 

205/40R16, 215/45R16, 225/50R16, these are all the 16" sizes that the Falken rt-615's come in. so would the 225/50/16 be best?

 

Yeah, the 225/50/16 is almost the same ratio as the stock tire size so it won't look funny and your speedo will pretty much stay the same. If you got the 215/45 or the 205/40 the tire wil be much smaller and your speedo will be off. To check tire ratios you can search for "miata tire calculator".