Autocross Tires

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Bartron8000

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1999 Protege ES
Ok so I bought my friends wheel and tire setup for dirt cheap last summer, and did a lot of autocross events on them. The set-up is Kosei K-1 Racing wheels (15x6.5) and Kuhmo Ecsta SPT. They were pretty good tires on the street but really lit me down on the track. So my question is what do you guys recommend? I'm looking for a tire that will still be comfortable on the street but not let me down of the track. My suspension set up is Tokico HP Blue Struts, Eibach Pro-Kit Lowering springs, AWR 21.5mm rear sway bar, AWR adjustable endlinks all around. My same friend let me run on his Potenza RE-01Rs which are like glue but their stiff sidewall made everyday driving painful. Any help would be great. Sorry if its confusing but I'm writing this between classes.
 
If you think the Potenzas are too rough, you won't be happy with any of the other "ultra-high performance" tires. The main ones that STS guys use are the Bridgestone Potenza, the Toyo Proxy R1R, and the Falken Azenis. These are all great tires for autocross, but may be a bit noisy or stiff sidewalls for daily driving. There is always a compromise when trying to choose a tire for autocross and daily driviing. This is why so many people just use an extra set of wheels and change them out before/after events. With a street tire like the Bridgestone, you could switch them out at home before the event so you don't have to lug around all the tire changing gear.
If daily driving comfort is that improtant, than I would highly recommend going with two sets of wheels/tires. Up front it will be more expensive, but down the road, both sets of tires will last longer doing their single duty. Its much more fun to autocross on stickier tires.
 
For 'mixed' use with the primary focus being street, I recommend the Hankook Ventus RS2 Z212s. Good street tire, great in the rain, and they're decently sticky too (It's no RE-01R, but not bad). They're a little noisy but they're not terribly stiff either/

But I agree w/ what Jason said, get another set of wheels so you can get GOOD street tires and GOOD autocross tires.
 
There's also the Dunlop DiRezza Star Specs in that class. I used them last summer for a daily driver/autocross tire and was very impressed. No problems on the street and a championship on the track. Can't beat that!
 
The RE01 is actually somewhat softer in the sidewall than the Dunlop Z1SS or the 615 Falken; the new Kumho XS and the new RE11 (replaces the RE01) are also supposed be much like the RE01 sidewall-wise. I am sure both will be quite fast.

The Hankook Z212 is also being replaced (supplemented?) with a newer design--the RS3...which is likely to be much stiffer.

There are plenty of good choices for UBER street tires nowadays...

Based on what the OP is looking for, I would think that the new XS Kumho would be a nice choice...priced good too.



Barton--you run with MAC?
 
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If you bought your friend's wheel and tire setup last season, then can we assume you have your stock 15x6's lying around?

Throw the SPT's on your 15x6's for the track. Then get a set of decent all-seasons or what have you for the Kosei's so you can ball on the street. :)

For the record, I have run SPT's, Z212's, and MX's as daily drivers at some point or another and I felt they all were a pleasure to street around in.

Van
 
Yeah I would love to do 2 sets of tires, but being a college student I cant afford 2 sets so thats out. And I'm using my OEM wheels with my winter tires. I could possibly switch between my winter tires and my autocross tires, but again I can't afford that. I guess I'll have to continue with more research in the next couple of months until its time to pull out the summer wheels. Thanks for all the advice and info guys.
 
I'm a fan of Falken RT615's, they do good on the track and hold up well on the street.

I think my next set is going to be a full race compound, but I've also thought of using the Victoracers. I've heard great things about those as well, but they will be lacking on the street.

I say it all depends on how many miles you're looking to get, how much water you see, and how big you're piggy bank is.

Gmac
 
how much wheel gap do you have in the front and back?..i have the same set up as you with 15" rims
 
Both the OEM wheels and Kosei's are 15". I don't know the actual measurement is for the gap, but i do know I can get about half of my hand between the very top of the fender to the top of the tire in the rear. The front is about 1/2" more. I don't know if that answers your question at all.
 
yeah mine is about 3 finger gap in the front and 2 in the rear..im still urging to go lower. I guess coilovers will solve that.
 
I dont know all info like some of you guys, but i used Yokohama Parada SpecII tires last year and i loved them. They where pretty quite to my standards and they worked out well in AutoX. Just another tire to throw out in the mix, but as far as knowing how the stiff the sidewall is? No clue lol.
 
I have had both the Falken 615's and the new Dunlop star specs, Hands down the Dunlops win!

The falkens get really greasy after a few runs where the dunlops are still gripping strong plus for a DD the falken are not very good in the rain.
 
Yea I use the Dunlop *specs and they took me to a win in STS last season so I heavily recommend them. It looks like they'll last a full 2 seasons of autox and summer daily driving, I have a second set for the winter months.

I would say stay away from the falkens they're are old new now if you want to stay competitive. It's really between the Dunlop *specs, Bridgestone Potenza's, and Kumho XS's in my mind.
 
So I have been doing a lot of research on that Dunlop Star Spec and I think that is what I going to go with, TireRack rated it really good, its ranked #1 for extreme performance summer. I'll keep my eyes and ears open for anything else that may come up but I really like what I'm hearing about these Dunlops. Thanks again to everyone for your inputs.
 
Keep in mind that the Z1 comes in a 195/55-15, not a more common 205/50...used to have a 205/55-15 too...but seems that is no longer offered.
 
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