:thumbup: A slightly taller tire would make the speedo read correctly in most cases. Speedometers are generally calibrated to the full diameter of the standard tire. In theory, this is fine, but the weight of the machine and the rider makes the tire "squat", reducing the effective diameter. This is called the "rolling diameter", and it is a bit variable depending on conditions such as tire pressure and passenger weight, so the engineers don't use it. It is determined by marking the tire, rolling one complete revolution, then dividing that measurement by pi.
Your new tire apparently has a rolling diameter that is very close to the full diameter of the stock tire, so it effectively corrects your speedo reading. How is that tread pattern in the rain?
The Spyder was build for a 225/55/15 tire?Actual Speed: 60 mph 100 km/h
Speedometer1: 57.8 mph 96.3 km/h
Speedometer Difference: Speedometer Difference: 3.734% too slow
Diameter Difference: Diameter Difference: 3.6%
If the speedometer is off by 3.734% on a stock tire is the odometer also off by the same percent, thus giving us a longer warranty than actual miles driven.
You can't really make this assumtion. The speedo and the odo are not nessesarly directly related. If you change tire size it will affect both the same way but just because the stock speedo reads fast does not mean the odo reads high (in your case it seems that it does but it does not always work that way.):roflblack: Good point.
I thought about this as we rode and then it struck me--- if the speed is off then the mileage would be off too.....:thumbup:
There is no mileage limit on the Spyder warranty, just a time limit.If the speedometer is off by 3.734% on a stock tire is the odometer also off by the same percent, thus giving us a longer warranty than actual miles driven.
:thumbup: A slightly taller tire would make the speedo read correctly in most cases. Speedometers are generally calibrated to the full diameter of the standard tire. In theory, this is fine, but the weight of the machine and the rider makes the tire "squat", reducing the effective diameter. This is called the "rolling diameter", and it is a bit variable depending on conditions such as tire pressure and passenger weight, so the engineers don't use it. It is determined by marking the tire, rolling one complete revolution, then dividing that measurement by pi.
Your new tire apparently has a rolling diameter that is very close to the full diameter of the stock tire, so it effectively corrects your speedo reading. How is that tread pattern in the rain?
I want to know how is that tread pattern and tire with the turbo?![]()
Well if the 225/55-15 is the magic tire there is a problem, tire selection. There just isn't anything to choose from. However if you step up to a 225/50-16 this tire matches the magic tire almost spec for spec (see link) and at the Tire Rack your choices go up to 36 just in summer performance tires more if you include all season. Yes you have to get a custom rim made but look at the options it opens up. :2thumbs: I think this would be the route to travel down IMHO.
:chat:
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalcold.html
But where do we get a 16" rear wheel for the Spyder?
I can only see TCS becoming a problem if you are running too big at the back with stock sizes at the front. Now I'm not even close to being an expert here but if you are running the same diameter at all three corners it shouldn't be an issue. Yes/no?
While this isn't necessarily the most common situation, you are absolutely correct with some GPS units or geographical locations. The GPS measures your movement relative to the satellites. It more or less assumes you are traveling in straight segments on a flat plane. If you go up or down hills, your road distance is greater than the distance "as the crow flies". If you go around corners, the update time comes into play, as the GPS assumes you went in a straight line between each update interval. Again, your road distance is greater. The number of availablle sattelites and the signal strength affect accuracy, too.Don't always assume your GPS is 100% accurate, it isn't. I have done tests with the speedo, GPS and radar and have found that both my GPS's (Garmin and TomTom) read low compared to the speedo and radar. In fact, our Spyder and Victory speedo's are within 1% of the radar readings while being roughly 3% higher than the GPS.
All I can assume is the GPS refresh rate effects the calculation to the slow side while the Radar and Speedo do not suffer from that limitation.