safety wire? tires?
 

Were are you guys picking up your safety wire for the wheels?

I ordered a set of 17s for my Superformance. I plan on doing a little light track time in dry weather. Are there any preferences of tire type and size? I'm leaning toward the hard compound Yokohama Advan a032r.

rear 315/35 17
front 255/40 17

Safety wire - click on the Finish Line logo on the left side of this page.:LOL:

or

http://www.cobraaccessories.com/cata...21cb14ba62a2bd

Try these links too...
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...safetywire.php
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/...wiretools.html

greg,

Out of curiousity, are the 17's Vintage pin drive? If so, did you order adapters, too? It is my understanding that the Vintage pins are a different size than the Trigo pins (used on earlier SPF's). Let us know what's up on the interchange.

Also, track tires want to be soft for more grip. Why do you want harder compound?

Good subject, thanks for posting.

I've not yet received my 17s from Vintage yet. They should be here Monday.

I have already purchased a second set of 15s for my rear 325/50 15 MT ET street drag radials. They came from Vintage. His information was exact and service was perfect. The original wheel back space from Superformance is 3.6 inches for the 9.5 wide by 15 tall wheel. I ordered my new 15 inch tall 9.5 wide rears from Vintage with 4 inch backspace. The wheels from Superformance and Vintage are identical in appearance from an outward view, and I mean identical down to the same sheen on the metal and castings inside the wheel. Looking at the castings on the interior I'd say it's likely they are made at the same place. From an inside view of the wheel there's an obvious difference in the back space of .4 inches. This additional back space dimension is gathered by having the mounting surface of the wheel simply .4 removed. In this the depth of the pin hole on the wheel has slightly less depth. The pins which came from Superformacne needed to be reduced in length slightly. Vintage included a detailed note with the wheels that this condition may exist. The wheels from Vintage also have a second set of holes for a different offset pin dimension.

I shopped around for the 17s as an apartment manager on a budget might like to balance service, convenience and value. I think we all like to support local business, and I really do because the local crowd is a nice bunch, but the price difference is just so silly different by 2000 dollars I had to go with Vintage and buy the 17s for 1440 dollars shipped. The Yokohama Advan a032r hard compound set up I plan to use is 315/35 17 rear, 255/40 front unless somebody offers a perspective of why not to go this way. These will be right about 1000 dollars.

I'm not an expert on the road course with experience of only a bit of 125cc shifter kart and hitting the indoor kart place for fun now and again. For this reason it was suggested by a friend which does casual racing that I go with the hard compound as it is more forgiving in the corners to give you a hint before it's going to let loose. The hard compound should also throw less rocks and last longer if I do some cruising around town. I know I'll not be able to go as fast with the harder compound, but it should make for a nice training tire to learn the car.

My next consideration is how to set up the carb for the track.

Harbor Freight has safety wire. They have it listed on their web site as lock wire. .025 and .031 stainless lock wire is $3.99 for a 1 pound spool and .041 is $6.99 for a 1 pound spool. They also sell 6" and 9" safety wire pliers.

Greg,

I have the Rockahama A032R tires on my vette and they do not have the grip of other tires. They really do not give any more warning before letting go in a corner AND they let go earlier. In my opinion, track tires are always safer with more grip. I find my bravery runs out first if I have stickier tires.

I recommend you look at the Toyo RA1s. These are sticky and they are consistent performers through the entire tread depth (the Kumhos cross-link and get slick as they wear, the Rockahamas are always slick). I and JB34 run these on the street as our driver tires as well as at the track. I have about 1.5 yrs (and a lot of tread left) and I think Jim had 2 years on his when he sold the car. They do last pretty well and are much stickier than the Rockahamas.

You might want to talk locally to GroupA (tire dealer). I got good prices for my Toyos and great service. I think ~$700 for the set.

BTW, what group are you planning to track with? Let me know if you want any info.

I agree. The toyos last quite a while, I used one set to run an entire 24 hour race on the Honda. The Yokos are very hard and not suitable for a short track like Firebird. The Cobras handle so badly anyway that the stickiest tire you can find will be needed just to try and keep up with any japanese econo car in the corners. They are fun on the straights, but you can do that for free on the 101.... I am sure there are plenty of sages out there who will argue about the handling comparo - we were lapping the Factory Five Cobras in the Thunderhill 25 hour race about every 8 laps with a 125HP Civic... tell me that none of those guys could drive! No excuses or whining - suspension has come a long way in 50 years..... Go for the Toyos, they are really good value.

Steve

Most of the local dirt bike stores sell stainless saftey wire in spools cheap along with the tool to twist the wire and cut.
Scott

Greg,

Very interesting that Vintage can match the original wheels you have on the SPF.

Larry