So i'm going into my second summer of Auocross and just installed a catless down pipe and will have the access port tune soon bumping me up into whatever class. All I know is I want the tires to go along with the mods. I can probably get 4 or 5 events in this summer and currently have Hankook Ventus HR II. I have my stock 16" rims to mount the tires on and I wanted to avoid spending over $800. Any suggestions to which tires to look at? or if I decide to save a few pay checks and spend the big bucks, then which should I check out?

 

You should first decide which class you are going to compete in. That will define which tires are legal to run.

Street tires: Dunlop Star Spec, Kumho Ecsta XS, or Bridgestone RE11.
R-compound: Hoosier A6.

 

I like the Star Spec, and the Bridgestone's are a little up there in price. Is there much difference between the two? Regardless of what class my car would be in (which I sent a message to my local group to find out) are the R-compound tires hard to get to the right temp. or anything that goes along with keeping them at the proper running temp.

 

I run the Kumho Ecsta XS in 205/50/15 on 15x7.5 Konigs with 30 offset on my '03 JCW MCS.

So far they have been great. One thing I really like is that they are not unidirectinal. I can cross rotate left to right and front to back so they wear really even.

They don't take a whole lot of time to warm up and give me very predicable grip.

These are great if you are on a budget and still want a very sticky tire (treadwear is only 180). The only weakness is autocrossing in the rain. The Dunlop Star Spec is significantly better in the wet. I really could care less because I live in sunny Florida and we usually have perfect weather for our events.

 

The Star Specs start giving up some grip when air temps reach 90. On the other hand they are better than most when the temps are cool. There are people in street touring classes with Star Specs, RE11's, XS's, and Toyo R1R's mounted on separate wheels for every possible weather condition.

No street tire can compete with the Hoosier A6. It heats up quickly and will not overheat if sprayed with water between runs on hot days. You'll want to heat cycle them once or have Tire Rack do it before competing. And, of course, they'll blow your budget.

 

My class will be D street prepared or street modified, both are open tire classes. I think i'll save up my money and go with the Hoosier. I'm sure when I hit the track i'll be beyond happy I spent the money.

 

should be fun...

just remember the back end will have very little grip on the 1st run...

 

FYI... this is also my second year autocrossing a MCS... I did not go with Hoosiers because I can learn how to become a good autocross driver a whole lot cheaper. You simply are not going to beat the good drivers until you become expereinced regardless of the tire used!!! I went with the Hankook RS3 225/50 16 - $105 each from the tirerack. I have already driven them once and I liked them a lot. I will know myself when it is time to step up to the $$$tire... when my times are consistently only 2+ seconds slower than the best drivers in a similar car with real rubber! Good luck!

 

I am track oriented and just ordered a new set of rims and tires for mainly traack use and maybe soem dry summer running. Konig ECO 1 Rim in Matte Black. Look like Feathers but the soke is thinner and more curved. 14.4 LBs.
I had been looking at OZ Racing for twice the price. I would have ordered them but the centering ring are on back order until May. I order mine from Discount Tire Direct with Nitto NT01's mounted on them no sensors. I went with 215/45 17's. I will be at ThunderHill later this month so I will let you know how they do. I also upgraded the brakes to match. CarbonTech X10 up front and X8 in the rears. Had them set up to accept the factory sensors and
paid to have them factory bedded. Will be interesting the see the difference
from stock.

I ran stock day one last month and with a Jan Tune on day 2. Stock brakes and Dunlop Rf's. Brakes had about half left but Thunderhill is not a heavy braking track in my opinion. Only a couple of spot where you really stand on them. The rest you are just strubbing speed to set up for a corners. I think with the big ducts on the JCW bringing cool air in is a big help, the huge brakes do not hurt either. My big surprise was the RF's at the track. They are expensive tires but they do preform like it. Ride on 17" is a caddy compare to
16" on a reg. S. i was shock. Ont he track they were predictable once you got them warmed up and held together over 2 hard track days. I though they
would be trashed after the Weekend. Keeping them for street tires and stock rims.

 

Island, an FYI. If you run r-comps, Carbotech recommends ct12 in the front and ct10 in the rear if you drive in the advanced groups. You should be real good with the brembos.

Nt01s are heavy and noisy but a decent track and autox tire. Most track maniacs recommend the BFG R1 over nittos.

 

I know that using top knotch equipment won't make me a better driver, but I did well last summer with my regular tires. Case in point: One day a regular cooper with koni yellow's and R-compound tires had at leas 4 seconds on my times (the driver is an instructor for state troopers and teaches the Evo class here in New York) I know it's all relative to the other's autocrossing for the day, but I ultimately do it to beat myself and to always be shaving time off my runs. And I am definitely buying tires so instead of buying nice street tires this year and then stepping up next year I can just save myself some money in the long run and have one less set of tires to store

 

I'd respectfully suggest that 205 is as wide as will work well with the 6.5" wide rim...

Wider is only better if the contact patch is flat and well supported by the shape of the tire carcass.

Just sayin'

Cheers,

Charlie

 

JCW rims and the new Konigs are 7" wide. If you go past 225's you need 7.5 or 8.

I saw the Nittos do was 23 lbs which is on the heavy side but I am saving weight on the wheels. They are 1lb lighter than my current RF's. Looked at
Hoosier R01 and Hankook has a new tire size available in a few weeks. For the price of the Nitto's I figured I would give them a shot. Noise I do not care about on the track. They might see a little summer driving to and from the track when it is dry. At least I can run them on the street if I choose where
race only tires are track only. I will most likely move to race compound tires the next time around as I try to improve my times.

As far as the brake pads go I talked directly with Carbontech and based on what I am doing with the car they suggested X10 in fron and X8 rear. I hope they are right becausse they are cutting them to accept the sensors and bedding them too.

 

In rethinking a little, I think you are good with the CT combo you have now given your brembo brakes.

I am only talking about track days. The noise i am talking about on the Nittos is a noisy low drone that sometimes confuses me in turns because it is so loud I think I am at my limits but I am not. The broad shoulders of the tires makes the tires feel heavy at initial turn in, feeling like it does not want to turn as well.

NT 01s are a good tire for the price. I have run it quite a bit and may move the the R1 sometime this year. I like the nitto better than the yoko 048 I used to run as those transmit too little feedback before they break loose.

 

i would suggest the dunlop star specs also...very good tires in dry or wet. Maintains grip well in wet events

 

Dunlop Star Spec and Kumho XS maybe the Falken RT-615 (not the best, but cheap)