Anyone have pictures of Gunmetal Panasports? Non in gallery!

[240ZMan]

Does it look like you have a few mm's of extra inboard clearance, or is zero offset the best fit in a 16x7?

If it was possible to "dial in" by adjusting a few mm here and there, I suspect that for my car with these tires I could go a few mm positive so I didn't have the rub with the fender lip. But there isn't much clearance between the tire and the spring around the strut, so it couldn't be moved inwards very much. Given that you can't order wheels with that level of granularity for offset, I'd say that zero is the best fit.

Of course, I guess you could build some custom wheel spacers ... but I think it would be cheaper and more reliable to trim the fender lip, or go to a narrower (215) tire. I doubt there is much difference in real-world grip between a 215 and 225 tire.

[xray]

16 x 7 gunmetal panasports anyone???

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8056394957&fromMakeTrack=true

Steve

[Jeff G 78]

Thanks Daniel. That's exactly the fit info I was looking for. Zero offset it is.

Steve, I can't believe a set just popped up on ebay! Dammit, I don't have $1000 handy at the moment, but I REALLY want those wheels. If I don't act within the next few hours, they'll probably be gone. What to do, what to do...

[DougN]

That looks like a pretty good price, when I was pricing them a few months ago, I was getting prices in the $1200 range for a set of 4! Better get them now Jeff!

[Jeff G 78]

Done! Yay, I finally have my Panasports! Now I have to figure out how to afford some tires

[240ZMan]

Good for you Jeff, that's as good a deal as possible I think for new Panasports.

Now begins the "rest of the discussion" about tires... so many choices

[Jeff G 78]

Yes, I was looking at the Yokos like you have as well as Kumho Ecsta MX's and Falken FK451's. I want summer only tires that I can run on the track without feathering or chunking too quickly. Most of the tires I'm looking at are around $100 each.

[DougN]

Woohoo! :laugh: Congrats on your new wheels Jeff! Looking forward to seeing some photos posted when you get them on the car.

[Jeff G 78]

I can't wait to get them, but it will take me a bit of time to afford tires now. I was leaning towards the Rota Grids so that I could have spacers, tires and wheels for ~$1100 shipped. I'll have to dig a bit deeper now, but I'm MUCH happier with what I'm getting. I had all but given up on finding an ebay set, let alone a NEW ebay set for that price.

[240ZMan]

Yes, I was looking at the Yokos like you have as well as Kumho Ecsta MX's and Falken FK451's. I want summer only tires that I can run on the track without feathering or chunking too quickly. Most of the tires I'm looking at are around $100 each.

My use is very similar to yours Jeff. I don't drive it in the rain nor as a daily driver so I only care about dry weather performance. I had the Yoko ES100s on the track for the last day at the end of last season and have to say that I wasn't all that impressed with the grip. I really expected more. I was replacing an all season tire at the end of its life and while the breakaway was much more controllable, the maximum grip wasn't much better. I suspect that all those grooves to help with wet performance work against ultimate grip in the dry.

They did tolerate the abuse very well (5 sessions, about 100 miles) with no visible damage except some feathering of the tread in the front. And their price was very good. FWIW, I still have my stock springs/struts in good condition with bigger bars (1 1/8" front, 1" back). Upgrading to the Tokiko package is on my list this summer.

I had looked at the Khumo's you mentioned, but they didn't fare well at all in a Car and Driver tire test last year, even ignoring the wet performance. The Falkens weren't included in the test and weren't readily available here in CO last fall so I don't know anything more about them.

I read quite a few people complaining that the ES100s become very loud on the highway as they wear. Given how loud my '73 with header is, that didn't matter at all - I doubt I'll be able to hear them But if your car is better insulated, you may want to take that into account.

If/when I have to do it again, I think I'll plan to spend a bit more and go with something like the BF Goodrich G-Force T/A KDW ($127 at Tirerack) I think that type of big blocky tread is best for the kind of driving I do.

[Jeff G 78]

I saw the same C&D article and was shocked after reading many reports of how great the Ecsta MX's were for track use. I have also heard that the ES100's were lacking grip on the track like you mentioned. I don't know a lot about the Falkens, but people seem to like them. I know that the KDW's would be good, but I was hoping to get something a bit cheaper. I guess it's just like the wheels. You get what you pay for. Thanks for the tire reviews.

[xray]

Glad they went to someone who will use them...