What Tires and sway bar for track days
 

I bought a extra set of wheels (16's) and want to mount a set of tires for track days. Any suggestions on brands? I hear so much of the Bridgestone s02's. Good enough for track days or go r compounds. Bought my car used with Fuzion's. No trailer so i would have to drive them to the track, bout 350 miles round trip to Sebring my favorite track. Other s2k drivers said front sway bar change is a must for track. All i find is autocross adjustable sway bars??
suggestions?

Been there, done that :).

If you stick with OEM S-02s (not a bad idea), you will not need an aftermarket swaybar. You may wish to have the tires shaved down to 4/32-5/32" to reduce squirm. These are excellent tires to learn on. I don't recommend going to track tires until you've done several track events as tire slip angles are more difficult to feel with them.

The only time that you need an aftermarket bar is if you go to non-standard tire sizes. For example, when I was running Kumho V700 tires (225/50/16 front & 245/45/16 rear), a stronger front bar is necessary to reduce oversteer tendencies with that setup. If you decide to go with R-compounds, I recommend the Comptech adjustable swaybar. They are pricey, but nicely made and are adjustable.

I'm at Sebring a lot with Chin Motorsports. Please look me up the next time we're both at the track - I'll be there on August 26th. I now drive a white Miata with red stripe and red hardtop.

If you decide to stay with street tires initially, these Sumitomo HTRZ's ( http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.jsp?mak...tirePageLocQty= ) have been proven to be very good on the track, esp. when shaved, and they are cheap! There are probably several other newer street tires that are good also, but these are proven (raced in OTC '03 and '04) and Tirerack will shave them.

Also, I believe with an '03 you don't really need the bigger front bar for running 225 front / 245 rear, though with less experience you might want to first try the 205 front / 245 rear (remember that the 225 rear SO2's are really 245 size in other model tires).