This is for a complete drag car.(95 automatic)
I'm debating what to use for my rear wheels and tires for them. I have the following wheels to work with.
honeycombs,sawblades,97-99 5 spokes,9 or 11 spoke millenias(i cant remember and 15x7 k1's if i can find a second.

I'm thinking the best would be the k1's or millenias due to weight.
I'm also looking for as light weight tire as possible.My major concern is should i go with stock size tire or go with a larger tire for a better stance and weight transfer.

My front wheels will be k1's with 22x8x15 m/t slicks

This is in the 1/4 section because thats all i care about is looking into this to help me go faster

 

Well first off you need to know that lightweight wheels on the back don't have nearly the effect that lightweight wheels on the drive wheels do. In the back, the weight is not being "turned" by the motor it's just being pulled, like dead weight. So if you lose 10lbs off the back wheels, it's just like losing 10lbs of interior pieces or whatever.

If you are interested in this for the "every little bit helps" factor then your best bet would be some dedicated drag skinnies. Some 15x4 welds or something of that nature, and the tires to match. Of course that's gonna cost you a bit of money, for what, 20 maybe 30lbs of weight reduction.

Millenia wheels won't just bolt onto the back, you are going to have to either enlarge the center bore, grind down the hub, or run a big spacer and the associated lug studs to move the wheel out far enough that the centerbore isn't an issue.

If you want "aftermarket" wheels but not real drag racing skinnies, there are wheels out there that are far lighter than K1s, they will also cost you more money as well.

Jime was using an RX7 spare and motorcycle tires at one point as a combination of low cost, low weight, and legality (regular spare tires for instance aren't legal on the drag strip, though whether or not your particular strip enforces that rule is a question).

Getting the back as high as you can would be good for weight transfer, though there are other ways of doing that besides using a really tall wheel/tire setup of course. Coilovers for instance, or blocking the rear struts, or better yet welding some struts at full extension so that they can't compress at all. It all depends on how far you are willing to go.

EDIT: Bah I just noticed you said that you have certain wheels in your possession and those are all you are willing to work with. I thought at first that you were looking to buy a dedicated set of wheels for the back. Given that info, I'd go with the millenias, modify them as necessary to get them to fit on the back, and then put as skinny a tire on them as you can (but make sure it's still legal for track use).

 

Thanks for all the info neal.
I'm doing this for the every little bit helps within reason. I'm not going to go out and spend big bucks for the small gains though.
I totally understand the weight debate.

With the millenia wheels i would grind the hub down.So it's a toss up between k1's and millenias.

I looked into the boat rollers jime uses for the rear struts.So that may be an option but i do want to be able to drive the car on the street for when i'm called out. I do have a set of sprint springs. I will be using the front springs for sure to drop the front end so with 22"dia tires the front should be low. If i use stock size tires on the rear along with either a stock se spring or boat rollers the rear should be about 5-10" higher than the front.
This seems like the best/cost effective way. I will also be able to use the stock size tires for other applications also.Anybody know some lighter weight tires in 215/60/15?

 

Just noticed your edit. Do you have any idea what the smallest tire is that will fit on a 15x6.5 wheel?
I did some checking and it looks like a 185/65 is the smallest. Does this sound right?

 

I had a second set of Millenias so that's what I used instead of buying more wheels.

Just grind the center bore out and they fit fine. Then I put some used cheapo skinny tires on there.. the smallest I could find on short notice at the time were either 185's or 195's, can't recall which right now. Total wheel weight was 26 lbs a side. Jimes RX-7 wheels with motorcycle tires might be a bit lighter - I can't remember what he said they weighed - but I didn't want to spend the extra money and on the back it's just static weight reducion as Neal said.

EDIT: I think what I used were 195's

 

I think you should go with the setup I have, which is, 11lb 1994 Mazda RX7 16x4 spare wheels with 9lb 110/90V16 Metzeler ME33 Laser motorcycle tires.

I've run this setup many times at the track with great success. One tip... don't think every motorcycle tire is light. Some weigh 18 or more lbs each!

 

Well that is definitely lighter... IIRC Jime runs motorcycle tires in the rear too, I believe he's mentioned it before. Perhaps it might be worth switching...

How much did the rims and tires cost you? Did you get them all used? Any issue with the center bore on the rears like with the Millenias?

 

Yes, Jime does run this setup. He's the one that told me about the motorcycle tires on a maxima. I then found out that RX7s use them on the fronts alot at the track.

The setup cost about $100 for two used spares that were in almost brand new condition. I found them on the RX7 forum. And they fit easily on the 3rd gen Maxima on the rear. I didn't have to increase the diameter of the center bore.

For weight and rolling resistance, it's worth it to someone like me and Jime.

 

Tall and narrow, IMHO.

 

4th and 5th Gens' will have to grind out the center of the RX7 wheels for the rear like the Millenia's only they are much thicker material so lots of work. Aaron you are lucky the 3rd Gen doesn't have to.

I didn't use them much last year because I didn't swap my rear shocks but this year I am so will go back to using the RX7 setup.

I got mine wheels for $30 each on car-part.com and the tires were free from a local motorcycle dealer. Pretty cheap setup.

 

... I am cut from the same die-hard cloth but only recently started getting serious with my car

And for how little you guys have paid I am definitely leaning towards following in your footsteps on this... I suppose I could have looked into this more back when getting the Millenias but I was short on time and just grabbed some cheapo tires with the rims I already had. Didn't want to hunt around at that point for different wheels, but this year's a different story.

 

I just measured the 1994 RX7 spare wheels, which I know are different than the ones you have. The center bore measured about 66mm in diameter. I have no idea what the OD of your rear bore measures, but this measurement might help you determine if the 94 RX7 wheels are better for the 4th gen.

 

from memory i think the 4th gen centerbore is 66.1mm, that's what bejay1 said the other day I think.

 

Mine were definately much less than 66 but they were from an 87-88 so if anyone is looking for some make sure you get the 94's cuz boring them out is a real biatch.

 

That sounds like it's in the ballpark... 66 or 67... I measured mine when I bored out the Millenias but it's a while now and I'm forgetting too...