Autocross Tires

[muenzer]

I've got into autocrossing my PR5 and I'm totally hooked now (just got back from my third event today). But I'm starting to think I may want to get a little better rubber. I'm still going to be racing novice for awhile which in our club doesn't allow race tires. Should I even look at anything besides the Falken Azenis for street tires? How big a tire have people been able to fit in their Protege's? Also any recomendation on a second set of wheels?

-muenzer
(blackp5)

 

[cjstringer]

Run Azenis. There is nothing that even compares in performance or price. They pretty much have cornered the market. The best street tire out right now, hands down.
I'd say you could fit 225s under there if you get some decent 7.5" wide rims. Not sure if you ar ewanting to run stock or what, but if you are going STS, go for 225s if you can afford another set of rims. It's a blast and well worth it. In the long run, having a seperate set of racing and street tires is actually less expensive then racing on your street tires. I know it sounds like crap, but it actually works that way after a few years.
Mostly, HAVE FUN! Nothing better than a great day at the course with some fun people and kick ass cars!

 

[dolphin]

Welcome to the club. If you do a search, you will find a lot of discussion on autocrossing. If you must run street tires then the Azenis is as good as it gets. Always assuming they come in your size. They don't make them to fit the MP3.

http://www.cardomain.com/id/protegemp3

As for wheels, I found a set of the stock wheels and tires for sale and got them. If you want something else, try to find something lighter than the stock wheels with the correct dimensions.

 

[70]

Speaking of tires for autocrossing, the last issue of Grassroots Motorsports did a tire shoot out for DOT approved tires that work well for autocrossing and then R-Compound DOT tires.

They tested a few tires, the liked the Kumho Ecsta 712 I think, better.

 

[cjstringer]

At Nationals I didn't see many if anybody in STS or STX running the Kuhmos. The Azenis pretty much dominated the field. Not to say that the Kuhmos aren't a great deal also, and are a little better as an all around tire, but theose Azenis are damned nice if you can get a size that fits.
Either one is a good choice, but I think the Azenis do a little better on concrete. On asphalt, I'd say it's anyones guess.

 

[dolphin]

cjstringer,
So what was your impression of National's? Did you write it up and I missed it? I had a buch of friends there but I have not seen most of them since the National's to ask them.

 

[cjstringer]

Nationals was pretty cool. To me it just seemed like a big CENDIV event. The CENDIV races are very well organized and ran, so Nationals wasn't much of a change from the style I was used to. Some of the people were saying how different it was.
The cars were sweet! The "stock" classes weren't so stock though. EVERYONE that finished well had about every mod legal, and many of them seemed to be trying to push the limits of the rules, but I didn't care, it was just for fun to me.
The surface was good, but the track layouts favored HP. I don't care what anybody says, even the tight course was an HP course. If anyone wants a true handling and driver skill course, they need to come to a Columbus, IN or Indianapolis event. You'll learn the true definition of TIGHT here. The MP3 shines here as the speed and power aren't usually the main points in a course, but the handling is highly accented.
The MP3 was way outclassed nationally. The celicas, BMWs, and even a few neons have so many more options for suspension it's incredible how lacking our cars are. They also are quite a bit lighter. I know I'm not the best driver in the world, (yet) but I know I'm not as bad as the car made it look. Finishing 31/43 was embarassing.
Though the winner was on Kuhmos, most of the other top finishers were on Hoosiers. We can't run Hoosiers because we can't run enough camber stock. (They require at least 2deg.) Still working on getting crash bolts to add another 1/2-3/4 degree negative. Just have to convince Mazda to put out a TSB for the shop manuals on it.
Overall it was a great event, and I'd love to do it again next year, but I'm going to try and co-drive with somebody that has a competitive car. I can't afford the shocks for my car yet (about $1200) and the suspension and weight issues are still huge.

 

[dolphin]

CJstringer,
I understand what you mean about STOCK. I have only run one event in the MP3 with "R" tires the rest have been on the stock street tires.