Hi all, I have just returned from out first auto x for 2005! I swapped from Hooisier A-So3's to Avons due to the limmited number of event that I was able to get on the Hoosiers.
Background :
I have a JCW with the 2005 upgrade and the Phantom grip LSD, Camber plates up front and the camber bars in the rear, a madness rear sway bar on full stiff, riding on the original springs and shocks with 32k miles on them. 225-50-16 Avons on factory 16" rims. It was very cold for north Florida today high was 40 degrees with a 21mph wind the low was 28 at 7am the concrete temp ranged from 34-48 degrees. as a comparison I have ran in ASP on a set of V-700s lasted 5 events 4-6 runs ea and 1 school corded them:smile: , and hoosier a-so3's 7 events 5 @ 4-6 runs ea, 2 @ 10 runs ea (co-driver) and have run Kumho MX's in STU. The Avons had every reason not to perform half as well as they did, after watching the first run group having traction problems, and recieving comments like "my tires feel like rocks" I'm happy to report that the Avons performed very well in the cold! I was able to get the temps to 95 front/80 rear, the side walls seem very stiff to me even coming from the Hoosiers, tire pressures will surely need to be adjusted in differing conditions but I have a tendicy to overdrive the 180 degree turnaround ( we compete on a runway) and roll the edge over not a problem today! I have actuall broken the bead on V-700's with 40 + lb of air before the rear bar addition :smile:
I initally started at 37front/35 rear then lowered to 34 front/32 rear by the 4th run, the traction was awsome, no slipping and drifting around like most of the other cars were doing, the traction was good enough to point out a looming problem - I smelled the cluth slip on the last 2 runs as the tires were warming up and gripping at the launch after doing the LSD myself I am not looking forward to the 12-16 hour install time for the clutch
I give the Avons a big for the cold weather performance and hope to report on some much warmer performance next month.
At the end of the day and 8 - 39-43 second runs (co-driver) on coarse concrete, the tires have a nice scuffed look to them, not ragged looking like the Hoosiers after an event on the rough surface. Has anyone else ran the Avons yet?

 

Glad to hear about your Avons.
They seem a good choice but maybe only about 60% as durable as Kumho Victoracers, certainly more durable than Hoosiers or Kumho V710s.

We have a modded MCS in Street mod class running SSR comp 15x7 rims and Avon Tech R in 225/45-15 for autocross, driving events, and track lapping sessions. While they hold up very well for autocross and driving events, after several lapping sessions one of the tires wore out and chunked. So while they are not bullet proof, they are quite good for general autocross and track use.
The MCS has a 19% pulley (intake, Miltek header/cat-back exhaust), front camber plates and adjustable lower rear control arms, H-sport springs and Maddness rear bar with autocross alignment.

 

Are you still running the factory shocks? That is most likely my next mod if the clutch holds up, if not clutch then shocks :smile:

 

I have 3 autocross events on my 225/45-15's for a total of 44 laps (the wifie drove the last event also so double the laps at that one). I have camber plates, rear bar and H-Sport springs on the stock shocks. All the events I've been to were held in San Diego, Ca (with BMWCCA) to give you an idea of the weather. The first two events on the tires were without the camber plates and I found that starting psi worked best at 28 front and 32 rear. With the camber plates I changed to 29f and 31r before I ran out of laps to play with. Next time I'm going to go same front and rear and see what happens.


The tires are wearing very good and they still have a lot of groove in them. They stick to the asphalt like glue. I really have nothing to compare them with since I just started autocrossing 5 events ago and the first two were on 17" Yoko specII's (yuk).

Results are 4 firsts and 1 second in class (Mini). First event was a 1st place Mini and 18th overall (out of 80) on the Yoko's. Second event was a 2nd place Mini and 20th overall on the Yoko's. Third event was 1st Mini, 5th overall (beat all the 4 cylinder modifieds) on the Avon's. Forth event was 1st Mini, 5th overall (beat all 4 cylinder modifieds) and the last one was 1st Mini and still waiting for them to post the overalls but I'll be lucky to get top 8 'cause I had my head up my a$$ during the timed runs. I went faster during practice. Still beat the 4 cylinder mods though.

When the tires went on the results increased dramaticly. Well worth the money!

 

225-50-16 on the factory rims? That's encouraging to hear. No clearance problems?

 

After the event while removing the tires I found a slight rub on the lower arm in front of the rear tire just enough to burn the paint, cant find a mark on the tires though so it must be slight if a 45 was available in 16's it wouldnt rub in my opinion.

 

I will be interested in hearing what experience guys in stock classes are having with the Avon Tech R's on our camber-challenged MINI's. Here in Ohio, no autocross until April.

But at least that gives me plenty of time to think about tire buying decisions.

SforSusan

 

[QUOTE=SforSusan]I will be interested in hearing what experience guys in stock classes are having with the Avon Tech R's on our camber-challenged MINI's. Here in Ohio, no autocross until April.
QUOTE]

SforSusan,
If you are in a H stock MC then you can use stock 15x5.5 holey rims and 205/50-15 competition tires like Avon Tech R or Kumho Victoracers. Even though front camber is likely to only be -0.5 degrees and both tire companies recommend at least -1.0 degrees front camber (optimally -2.0 to -3.5 degrees for full use of the tire), you can still get good autocross performance.

Wear on the tires will be a bit more on the outer edges due to a lack of camber. Inner edges won't heat up as much.

In my area we have one H-stock MC using Victoracers and finishing in the top 3 places PAX overall consistently. I'm sure that Avon Tech R tires would work as well but maybe not last quite as long as Victoracers.

 

I ran them for two events before I got the camber plates and they worked great. I started with 28f and 32r psi. With the plates they only got better and the pressures will be the same f&r to start next time.

I have +38 offset on my 15's and there's not a whole lot of room between the tire and the rear trailing arm. That's with the 225/45's.