15” track tires for Rabbit, couple questions

[Laner66642069]

Hey all!

I just completed my first ever track day in my Rabbit, and I must say, it’s the most fun I’ve ever had.

I’d love to run more track days, time trials, and some autocross, but I’d like to do it without putting extra wear on my daily tires (Yokohama avid ascend GT 195/65r15.)

As I’m under a tight budget and still in early stages of learning, I don’t feel like I need/want to go for anything too fancy. I just want a decent tire I can dedicate to the track. Honestly, they’re probably going on steel wheels.

All of that being said, I’m strongly inclined to stick with 15’s, as I don’t want to lose any acceleration or tight corner response, which probably leaves me with 195/55 or 195/50 options. I’m going for function over looks.

Any thoughts or tire recommendations are appreciated. Thanks!

Edit: should also add that the car is 100% stock and all it will get in the foreseeable future are better tires and brake pads.

 

[Laner66642069]

Well, after looking for some more info I realized that a 205/55r16 is within .4% of a 195/65r15 and a 225/45r17 is within .03% of a 195/65r15…. so my assumption is that I’ll get better performance out of the 16 or 17” stock size than the stock 15” size due to a lower profile and stiffer sidewall, and of course wider wheel, though weight may be an issue unless I go for a lighter wheel. Also opens up a lot more tire options.

I should also mention that I want to stick to a factory available wheel/tire size due to classing restrictions.