Before you go thinking I'm totally nuts, bear in mind that my car has been lightened to 1900 pounds. That's about 10% lighter than the typical 2100 pound Mirage. 10% narrower than the factory 165 tires would be less than 150. So, 155 shouldn't be too bad. Plus, the 155's I've chosen are called "performance tires" rather than "eco tires". So, I don't feel like I'm likely to die. They'll probably grip as well or better than the factory eco tires.
But, let's back up. How did I get here? It's a weird ride, hang on!
My Mirage was bought as an autocross project. I had fun autocrossing it... and somewhere along the line, I sold the OE wheels and tires. Don't have 'em. Don't want 'em. After I retired the car from autocross, my autocross wheels and tires (15x7's!) went to my Miata, and I needed something that checked all of my boxes to put on the Mirage. That is: lighter than the stock steel wheels, attractive enough, reasonably narrow, and tires that are super-light, narrowish, "good" and CHEAP! After kicking that around a bunch, I settled on 185/55-15 Toyo T1-S on 15x6.5 Konig Helium wheels. Pretty nice setup.
Then I ended up getting my Mom's Mirage, selling it to my son... and as I was preparing to drive it across the country to deliver it to him, it needed tires! The easy-button solution: just put my Heliums on there and go. So, I did. (er... I am... leaving tomorrow)
Now, I've got nothing on my Mirage, and a set of factory 14" steel wheels with two bad tires and one "iffy" one. I did consider just slapping some cheap 14" tires on there and running with it. The eco benefits of the itty-bitty stock tires (even if you don't buy expensive LRR tires) are attractive, and the way I'm using the car now, I don't need uber-grippy performance tires.
But, as I was swapping the Helium's onto the other Mirage, I remembered that I can't fit 14" wheels on the front of my Mirage. One of the mods that I did that I'm too lazy to undo was to fit custom lower control arms with taller lower ball joints. Those ball joints push the bottom of the control arm into the wheel. 14's don't fit. Some 15's don't even fit!
So, I've got to either "un-modify" the suspension... or I've got to get some 15's for the front of the car. I opted for the latter.
Believe it or not, I DID consider just getting a pair of 15x5.5" steelies and some cheap 15" tires for the front and run to stock 14's in the back. But, ultimately, the heft of an 18 pound steel wheel, plus adding the weight of a hub cap to that... plus having to purchase both the wheel and the hubcap, which would add up to $60-70 per wheel. It just didn't make sense to me. I can still get Heliums for $84 each shipped!
So, I ordered a new set of 15x6.5" Heliums. 12-pound wheels. Tasty.
Now, what to put on them?
The stock 165/65-14's are super-light at about 13 pounds. I'd like to get close to that without spending $120 per tire. The 185/55-15 T1-R's are pretty darned light for what they are, at 16 pounds. (and they were like $60 each) But, I think I can do better, and I'd like to be no wider than 175.
Then I discovered the 155/60-15 Nankang AS-1 with a shipping weight of 14.3 pounds. And Amazon has them for $55 shipped. Score!
Comparing to the 165/65-14, the AS-1 is a bit narrower, but it's more of a performance tire, so it should balance out as far as performance goes. The AS-1 has a better speed rating (not really relevant, but usually means a more rigid and durable tire). Load rating is 79 for the stock tire (963 pounds), and 74 for the AS-1 (827 pounds). So, about 60 pounds less load capacity per corner. But, again, my car is lighter, and it rarely carries more than myself, my wife and maybe 20 pounds worth of stuff.
Comparing to the 185/55-15 T1-R, the AS-1 is WAY narrower, but also 2 pounds lighter. The T1-R is an okay tire, I've used them before. Great in the rain! But, the big wide tapered tread grooves like to collect gravel, and I hate that! The AS-1 tread should be a little less prone to that sort of thing. Narrower tires are usually a little better in the rain, plus this looks like a well-designed tread. I think I'll be okay there. No winter weather to worry about in FL.
The diameter of the AS-1 is almost exactly the same as the stock tire. I actually would have preferred slightly taller for better gearing, and also because it looks a little better. But, I liked everything else about this tire. For $55, I just have to try it!
Should have the wheels and tires here next week. Will get them mounted up as soon as I can.
14 pound tire. 12 pound wheel. 26 pound package. I can't wait!