Street tire choice for AutoX

[Leigh]

My OEM RE040s are starting to look a little loved around the edges - I figure they'll last fine through the remaining April events & can be nursed through most of May, but will probably be pretty much gone heading into June. Starting to think about what I want to put on the car next(what can I say - I'm neurotic about planning ahead).

I'm not really wanting to switch to r-comps yet so I'm trying to figure out where to go with fresh streets. I've heard the 225 Azenis rub... so unless someone wants to correct me on that I've been looking at either g-force T/A KDs or F1 GS-D3s. I also hear good things about the Ecsta MXs, and they certainly would be easier on the budget... plus if rumors prove true and the Azenis come out in 215/45/17s at the end of the year I'll probably be moving to those.... making a small part of me say go cheap.

The rest of me just want's to kick the pants off this one ITR that always beats me and figures a little extra right now on better rubber's no biggie.

Anyway - opinions? Other suggestions?
Also - does anyone know what kind of fitment problems might crop up moving to 225s? Even if the Azenis are a problem, they're oversized so I was holding out hope I could get away with a 225 on another tire.... I suck at figuring out sizing stuff though...

 

[DistantTea]

If you want stock size goodiness you want the Kumho MX in 215/45/17. Best STX level tire you can buy that isn't a falken. It has advantages over the falkens especially if you live in a hot area... Texas isn't hot is it?

Get the damn Kumho MXs and you'll be freaked out by the grip level... seriously.

Otherwise all you have to do is get a set of 1/4" spacers and the falken 225/45/17 azenis sports will fit just fine... maybe.

 

[scapamouche]

The MXs should be great. If you have a little more budget, the Pole Position S-03s are also great, better than the Azenis for the street and better for wet autox or really bad lots, but not as good as the Azenis in the dry or on a smooth surface.

 

[CRDMS1]

Good deal on the 215/40/17 Kumho MX at tirerack.com - $102 each. You can probably get your local Discount Tire to match the shipped cost including tax, mount & balance. Call them up! The slightly lower profile won't hurt and will improve your gearing a tiny bit.

The Toyo Proxes T1-S is also a very good street tire but much, much more expensive.

Peace...(hippy)

 

[DistantTea]

Keep this a secret... but I've been thinking about 245/45/16 Bridgeston S03s for STX. Oh yeah thats alot of tire...

But if that happens it will be quite a few months away. The real race season around here dosn't heat up for another couple weeks and then its nonstop until the leaves fall.... maybe once I know those cold wet september races are coming I might try the monster thick bridgestones...

Don't worry, I'll make'em fit.

 

[scapamouche]

Here's another thought: the S-03s are better in heat than the Azenis. They LIKE heat...

 

[Leigh]

doing well in heat is good - I'm not just in Texas - I'm out in Houston. We can reasonably expect 90+ weather at the begining of June and it gets up over 100 over the blacktop pretty early in the year - I don't want to know what the surface temps were last summer here - but you couldn't sit on the ground at a few events.

How would the MXs hold up in the heat comparitively?

 

[DistantTea]

The MXs can take a huge amount more heat than the falkens. The bridgestone S03 and BFG T/A KDs actually perform better with more heat (finally slopping off nearly a hundred degrees hotter than a falken can take!)

By compairison the MX will do as good as the S03 and KDs right out of the box on your first run but will most likely only see marginal grip increases with higher temps while getting greasy at EXTREME high temps... but even as a two driver car you should never, even on a 100 degree houston day, see temperatures that can grease an MX.

Now the falken... your ambient temperatures start the falken off in its perfect heat zone... then once the tire reaches 140 degrees it will start to get sloppy... then it will have heat retention issues and its virtually useless. Thats why all the falken drivers at hot events have water sprayers at the ready after EVERY run. Falkens have the highest grip levels but at the cost of horrible heat retention issues.

I tell ya though, those S03s are damn nice daily driving tires... the falkens and kumhos are not and neither run in the heavy rain very well.

Thats all just my opinion though. I usually claim I'm right until Andy corrects me.

 

[scapamouche]