I currently own a set of Kumho Ecsta Mx tires and I like them. But I think I want to try different tires for my next set. How do my current tires compare to Falken Azenis Sport, Michelin Pilot Sport, Yokohama AVS Sport and BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2. I'm seriously considering Azenis cause I hear they're really good for the price. And the G-force gets top marks from the TireRack. Oh, and what about the g-Force T/A KD. Cheers.

 

MiniPoo,
Why don't you give Randy Webb of Webbmotorsports a call and ask this question. I know he uses and sells the Flaken Azenis Sport in 15" and 16" sizes for autocross. It isn't going to hold up as nicely for track use and isn't durable enough for street use. For Autocross it isn't bad and the price is good.

The other person to talk to is Alex@tirerack.com
I don't know many MINI owners running Yokohama AVS sport tires- a size problem-just not available in a useful size for the MINI? I have seen some running on Yokohama Parada Spec 2 tires- aggressive tread design, noisy and good traction.

 

>>MiniPoo,
>>Why don't you give Randy Webb of Webbmotorsports a call and ask this question. I know he uses and sells the Flaken Azenis Sport in 15" and 16" sizes for autocross. It isn't going to hold up as nicely for track use and isn't durable enough for street use. For Autocross it isn't bad and the price is good.
>>

I have asked Randy how the Kumho Mx and Falken Azenis fair against each other and he tells me they're about on par. But if Thread wear is an issue with the Azenis, then I'll have to pass.

 

how agressivley do you drive?

How important is water traction?

how important is road noise?

Alex

 

I'd also mention this to Mark Ferguson, in ProSolo last year he started out on Falkens and then moved to the MXs and said he felt they handled the heat much better then the falkens. I'd drop him a PM and find out what his other comments on them are. I'm not sure what other tires he has run, but may be able to compare to a few of the others as well.

 

My selection of tires was due to my involvement with SCCA Solo 2 and Pro Solo. When we (my codriver and I) first prepped the car for STX classification we started on Falken Azenis. What we found (and have received similar feedback from other Solo 2 competitors) is that for a two driver car the tires overheat very quickly (ie - they don't handle heat well). As soon as they went over 140 degrees they started to get greasy and we couldn't get better runs out of them. Almost without fail we had our fastest runs the very first run we did.

Late in the season we wanted to make a change and switched to 15" wheels and moved to Kumho Ecsta MX's as we had heard they tolerated heat better. What we found is that they did but took much longer to get scrubbed in. In our case it felt that it took about 500 miles before they got sticky...until then they are pretty slippery.

As far as wear autocrossing they are both similar and hold up pretty well. Pricing on each is similar.

My recommendation is that if you want tires exclusively for the street I would go with the Kumho's. Same if you are planning to autocross as the pricing is cheap enough that you can replace them when you have chewed them up. Pretty much everything in your list is more expensive but are all good tires. If money isn't an object and you aren't planning to autox the Pilot Sports and KDs are both great tires.

With any of these just keep in mind that they are sticky and have pretty low tread wear ratings. Given this you'll use them up pretty quickly if you are an agressive driver.

Hope this helps!

Mark

 

>>how agressivley do you drive?
>>
>>How important is water traction?
>>
>>how important is road noise?
>>
>>Alex

I drive very aggressive and road noise and water traction isn't important. I want the most dry traction I can get out of any set of tires. Would moving up to the more expensive tires be worth it or are the Kumho good enough - for the money? Thanks.

 

How many miles do you put on your MINI a week? If you want grippy tires and do not care about road noise and H2O traction, why not use a full depth Kumho Ecsta V700. I know of a few hardcore drivers that use R compounds on the street. The Yoko A032R may be a good choice for you without compromising grip for wear. This is just a suggestion and if you become addicted to crazy amounts of grip, it is not my fault.

 

>>I drive very aggressive and road noise and water traction isn't important. I want the most dry traction I can get out of any set of tires. Would moving up to the more expensive tires be worth it or are the Kumho good enough - for the money? Thanks.

I would ask if you'd concider modifing you fender lips?

Are you willing to trim for 225's?

Alex

 

Would like to hear about Pilot Sport Cups on Minis. I would use them for track only, maybe with 15" wheels.

 

I spoke to alex@tirerack about these tires not long ago.
They are expensive- $206 each for shaved and heat cycled 205/50-15 tires.
They are best for lapping and track use, not for autocross- they need heat to work well.

Otherwise a highly rated tire with excellent test results on tirerack.

 

I have Yokohama AVS ES-100s. They improve ride quality over runflats, are great for track days, get great wet traction and are cheap in the stock size.