"Affordable" autocross tires- suggestions?

I know the title is an oxymoron but I ran the SCCA/Evolution class yesterday and may get into autocrossing. I ran the class on my daily driver 225/18 Conti Extreme Contacts DWS's which were ok but seemed really squirmy. I also don't want to kill my DD tires and I have a spare set of 17" wheels laying around so I was looking at "Max Summer Performance" tires on Tire Rack (can't afford Star Specs) and was wondering if anyone had experience with-

 

Hankook Ventus V12 evo's

Kumho Ecsta LE Sport's

 

I don't need anything awesome seeing I'm a newb and tires aren't going to be a big game changer at this point.

 

Thanks

hmm

Do you need wet traction or not?

 

Krzys

I heard good things about the ventus

 

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I will probably get flamed but I've heard people say that federal 595 tires perform fairly well on tracks. I've only read this but it's worth looking into they won't be as good as the big name brands I am sure. I might try them because they are so cheap and I can't afford to burn through 800 dollars in tires every summer. Onlinetires.com has them for under 100 a piece. If they are really terrible it's not a huge waste of money.

all the suggestions in this thread thus far stink at autox. Max performance tires are not good enough.

 

OP if you have a spare set of 17's for autox, get the bf-goodridge g-force rivals. the are THE best autox street tire you can buy and at only $149 per tire, the price cant be beat.

 

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=g-Force+Rival&partnum=245WR7GFR&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

 

I runt this exact size on my MX-5 and they are downright spectacular. I reccoment nothing less. Noob or not, dont skimp on tires.

I've seen these in action first hand. These are definitely amazing tires

 

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Sorry for thread-jacking, but…if I want a tire to dd in the summer but also use for autox what are some good options? I'd like to go with the conti extremecontact dw because of the price and I've seen generally good reviews. Is there any better option that isn't a lot more $$?

 

And roundthirteen, you should have come to the actual autocross today at the Silverdome. I'm sure the school was pretty cool though.

most any extreme performance summer that is good for autox is also good for DD.

 

the short list-

BFG g-force rivals

Dunlop ZII

Bridgestone RE-11A

hankook ventus R-S3

Toyo R1R

Yokohama advan AD08

 

anything less, and you fun level will be compromised.

Sorry for thread-jacking, but…if I want a tire to dd in the summer but also use for autox what are some good options? I'd like to go with the conti extremecontact dw because of the price and I've seen generally good reviews. Is there any better option that isn't a lot more $$?

 

And roundthirteen, you should have come to the actual autocross today at the Silverdome. I'm sure the school was pretty cool though.

 

I have the conti extreme contact dws's (can't imagine a huge difference between DWS and DW) and they're a decent tire especially for daily driving but they tend to squirm. I have the cooked edges on the front tires to prove that happened yesterday. The only option is pump them way up but then you lose contact patch.

 

If I start to do like 4+ events a year I might look at better tires but for now I just need something a little better than what's on the car that I won't go broke over, won't kill my drive to work tires, and will let me see if this is something I really want to keep doing.

Hi, nice chatting with you the other day at the school.

Given your current mods, I'd just focus on learning to drive the car as is (unless you were within less than a second off your Evo instructors who drove your car). Just pump the tires. You'll get more grip in corners that way. Less rolling onto the edge, more rubber on the road. It works and save your tires. Once you think your tires are limiting you - get something else and maybe adjust your mods to pick a class you can have someone to compete against.

Adding too much grip right away is not the way to do right away, unless you're in it just for lateral Gs.

 

Oh, and there's a ton of difference between DWS and DW.

The latter is a very good summer tire and used to be (maybe still is) the tire to autox in the wet. In the dry it will be quick behind the latest and the best, but seconds ahead of DWS.

Hi, nice chatting with you the other day at the school.

Given your current mods, I'd just focus on learning to drive the car as is (unless you were within less than a second off your Evo instructors who drove your car). Just pump the tires. You'll get more grip in corners that way. Less rolling onto the edge, more rubber on the road. It works and save your tires. Once you think your tires are limiting you - get something else and maybe adjust your mods to pick a class you can have someone to compete against.

Adding too much grip right away is not the way to do right away, unless you're in it just for lateral Gs.

 

Oh, and there's a ton of difference between DWS and DW.

The latter is a very good summer tire and used to be (maybe still is) the tire to autox in the wet. In the dry it will be quick behind the latest and the best, but seconds ahead of DWS.

 

Ahh Mr. Blue BRZ ! (never caught your name). I ended up with a low 28 second run and the instructors ran low 27's so I know my driving needs work, but hey it was my first time Autocrossing. I need to get over the fear of breaking the car. The second set of tires would just be so I didn't kill my daily driving tires.

I have dws and I put 50 in the front and 52 in the rear

Ahh Mr. Blue BRZ ! (never caught your name). I ended up with a low 28 second run and the instructors ran low 27's so I know my driving needs work, but hey it was my first time Autocrossing. I need to get over the fear of breaking the car. The second set of tires would just be so I didn't kill my daily driving tires.

My name is on the sheet they gave us

 

You'll just kill softer rubber faster. I don't know your current set-up, but I'd get more front camber (and caster too) first. Get like ~1.5-2 degrees/zero toe and keep rotating tires front/back and you should be fine for quite some time.

 

How wide are your 17" rims? The spec is a heavy car, could really use some wide rubber. And OEM wheels are very heavy, you'll feel the effects of lighter wheels. Which reminds me, I still have a set of 04 STI rims from my spec.b, coated darkish gray and looked really good on QSM. They have a set of old Bridgestone RE01Rs (235/40 I think) mounted which have some camber wear and are nearing street-legal tread depth, but are just fine for another season of autox. I was gonna kill them on the track with my BRZ, but I doubt that's ever happening since I enjoy the car 100% more with OEM rubber than some sticky one. So I can let them go if you'd be interested. I think I still have a pic of how they look on a QSM spec.

RS-3's are a great bang for the buck tire! Great grip!! Of course short life. The Hankook tires have softer sidewalks than many other tires but grip really well in the dry!

My name is on the sheet they gave us

 

You'll just kill softer rubber faster. I don't know your current set-up, but I'd get more front camber (and caster too) first. Get like ~1.5-2 degrees/zero toe and keep rotating tires front/back and you should be fine for quite some time.

 

How wide are your 17" rims? The spec is a heavy car, could really use some wide rubber. And OEM wheels are very heavy, you'll feel the effects of lighter wheels. Which reminds me, I still have a set of 04 STI rims from my spec.b, coated darkish gray and looked really good on QSM. They have a set of old Bridgestone RE01Rs (235/40 I think) mounted which have some camber wear and are nearing street-legal tread depth, but are just fine for another season of autox. I was gonna kill them on the track with my BRZ, but I doubt that's ever happening since I enjoy the car 100% more with OEM rubber than some sticky one. So I can let them go if you'd be interested. I think I still have a pic of how they look on a QSM spec.

 

I'd love a set of BBS's but it depends on the asking price (PM me) if the cost is the market price I can't swing that at the moment. My suspension set up is pretty much stock, fresh Bilsteins 5000 miles ago, H&R springs, and a white line roll/rock kit. My 17's that I currently have my snow tires on are 17/7's nothing great but lighter than the OEM 18's.

PMed.

I would not recommend spending dough on soft tires for 17x7 rims. You'll just eat those quickly.

most any extreme performance summer that is good for autox is also good for DD.

 

the short list-

BFG g-force rivals

Dunlop ZII

Bridgestone RE-11A

hankook ventus R-S3

Toyo R1R

Yokohama advan AD08

 

anything less, and you fun level will be compromised.

From that list, I wouldn't get the R1R as they don't seem to work too well on heavier cars while the AD08 is a bit pricey.

 

But any of the rest will be comparable for a rookie driver.

 

On my Corolla autocross car, I have Bridgestone RE11s on them and I leave them on all season as I drive them to and from the event.

 

The 17s are going to work better than the 18s for autocross as they are going to be lighter and slightly shortly geared, which will help improve the acceleration coming out the corner.

 

Towards the end of the season after the national championships are over, I'll take my wagon to one event just for grunts and giggles.

 

If you've already got a set of second wheels, there's no real reason for you to buy a compromised set of street tires.

From that list, I wouldn't get the R1R as they don't seem to work too well on heavier cars while the AD08 is a bit pricey.

 

though i agree about the R1R and heavy cars, they are still a fine choice for a novice if the price is right. I ran them for over half a season last year after my r-comps corded and they did just fine.

 

 

To the OP, look at the list i gave above and pick the cheapest tire on it in the size you need. you will be very happy you did.

To the OP, look at the list i gave above and pick the cheapest tire on it in the size you need. you will be very happy you did.

Yup this is true and find the one that suits your size best if you want to adjust your gearing otherwise follow the stock size but typically we go wider and shorter than stock.

I will probably get flamed but I've heard people say that federal 595 tires perform fairly well on tracks. I've only read this but it's worth looking into they won't be as good as the big name brands I am sure. I might try them because they are so cheap and I can't afford to burn through 800 dollars in tires every summer. Onlinetires.com has them for under 100 a piece. If they are really terrible it's not a huge waste of money.

 

Idk why people talk trash on these. I'm running these as my daily summers/track tires first time around and i love them. Gobs of dry weather traction, very predictable and ages ahead of the v12 evos which i used for two summers. Wet weather traction is sketchy sometimes but i love these tires.

Compare them to any of the tires i listed and your see that they are substandard for competition driving.

Idk why people talk trash on these. I'm running these as my daily summers/track tires first time around and i love them. Gobs of dry weather traction, very predictable and ages ahead of the v12 evos which i used for two summers. Wet weather traction is sketchy sometimes but i love these tires.

They are not bad tires just they are also not great tires either. Given that you don't change your tires every month, and if your tires last you a few years you might as well spring and buy some more competitive tires especially if you're racing them. Why let your tires (the most important thing) be your crutch? Given the scenario below, I'd go with the Bridgestone RE11s.

 

Example:

225/45-17

Onlinetires.com

Federal 595 RSR - $458

 

TireRack

Bridgestone RE11 - $574

Hankook RS3 - $624

Bridgestone RE11A - $705

Dunlop Direzza ZII - $712

a set of BFG-rivals, the best street tire for autox currently, is $596 a set

 

they are made with pixie dust and unicorns.

 

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1081905_bf-goodrich-g-force-rival-tire-puts-the-competition-on-notice

I ended up paying about 700 installed for the RSR's paid for them locally at 140 a piece plus tax came out to 625. When they're toast I'll hopefully have more funds to spring for better tires.

I put Z2s on my M3. I have a really hard time breaking traction in the rain with them. I have to really get on it hard for them to spin.

 

I have the conti extreme contact dws's (can't imagine a huge difference between DWS and DW) and they're a decent tire especially for daily driving but they tend to squirm. I have the cooked edges on the front tires to prove that happened yesterday. The only option is pump them way up but then you lose contact patch.

 

Increasing tire pressure alone won't cut down on the wear on the outside of the tire. You need more negative camber.