Collision Avoidance Practice - Rim and Tire Time!

[Godfrey DiGiorgi <ramarren@domain.elided>]

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of practicing some collision avoidance 
braking and maneuvering as a group of cars in front of me suddenly 
decided that it was time to stop in the middle of Highway 101 (for no 
reason I could observe, by the way ... they just slammed on their 
brakes). I managed to find a slot with the most distance between me 
and the closest obstruction and hit the brakes pretty hard. The 
pavement surface was moderately poor: the tires were nearly 
impossible to hold at the threshold of lockup. They kept locking and 
sliding as I modulated the pedal.

Good news is that I managed to stop 12 feet from the car in front of 
me and 3 feet from the concrete barrier wall to the right side. Not 
too shabby, FrankenSpider is unscathed.

Bad news is that the old Michelin XGTH4s are now nastily 
flat-spotted, at least three of them. So it's definitely become time 
to replace them.

Since FrankenSpider has the taller rear axle ratio from the '82 
Spider, a slightly shorter tire is perfectly reasonable, the gearing 
is just a hair too tall for my preferences as it is. The Michies are 
185/70-14 and a bit squidgy, I'd like something more responsive now.

I've had good results with the Yokohama AVS-Intermediates on my MR2 
and I see they're available in a 195/60-14V size. They're listed as 
fittable on a 5.5-7.0" rim width, the 5 spokes are 6.0x14 and the GTA 
Replicas I see advertised from Sperry are 6.5x14.

Has anyone used the Sperry GTA Replica wheels and can tell me what 
they're like? I'd be interested to know how well they're finished and 
whether they're substantially heavier than the Alfa 5 spokes.

(BTW, if I go with the new rims, there will be a good set of 5 spokes 
available for sale... ;)

Godfrey

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