I need your expert autox advice on tires
10-13-2004, 01:45 AM
#1
Pro
Thread Starter
I need your expert autox advice on tires
I am looking for rims and tires for autox. Should I go with all 17 or ? I have a 99 FRC that is lowered. What is a good autox tire? I have the kuhmo supra on the car now but burned them up after one day in st augustine. Thanks. floridaintel@aol.com
Last edited by I-SPEEED; 10-13-2004 at 01:54 AM.
10-13-2004, 06:15 PM
#4
Pro
Member Since: Jan 2004
Location: Plantation FL
Posts: 605
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hey---------there is a CFR autox in Deland on Sunday you going ?
As to tire choice ---------do you want to get a dedicated set of wheels and tires for autox ?
If you run ASP for SCCA you could go with pretty much anything----
however I know from experience that stock z06 wheels with tires fit inside your car ---------no trailer needed---(are you man enough to change tires)
ultimate autox tire for z06 wheels 295/40/17 front, and 315/35/18 v710's------------not for rain, and not on the street---------
How fast do you want to go ?
As to tire choice ---------do you want to get a dedicated set of wheels and tires for autox ?
If you run ASP for SCCA you could go with pretty much anything----
however I know from experience that stock z06 wheels with tires fit inside your car ---------no trailer needed---(are you man enough to change tires)
ultimate autox tire for z06 wheels 295/40/17 front, and 315/35/18 v710's------------not for rain, and not on the street---------
How fast do you want to go ?
10-13-2004, 09:27 PM
#5
Le Mans Master
After running on stock C5 wheels (and pricing replacement tires for 18" rears 
), I've just started running a set of repo ZR-1 wheels I bought for $375 off Ebay: 17"x9.5" front, 17" x 11" rear. Tires are 275/40R17s up front, 315/35R17s in back.
The price difference between same width tires for 17" and 18" rims is so much that the wheels will pay for themselves in ONE set!
Fitment is no problem, as long as you get the correct offsets: 53mm front, 50mm rear (I think).
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
), I've just started running a set of repo ZR-1 wheels I bought for $375 off Ebay: 17"x9.5" front, 17" x 11" rear. Tires are 275/40R17s up front, 315/35R17s in back.The price difference between same width tires for 17" and 18" rims is so much that the wheels will pay for themselves in ONE set!
Fitment is no problem, as long as you get the correct offsets: 53mm front, 50mm rear (I think).
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
10-14-2004, 01:56 AM
#6
Pro
Thread Starter
I am thinking about going with the wagons or the zr1 replica's. I would go sunday but i have to work in tampa all weekend! The next event I plan on attending is the open road course in gainseville. join me? I think the event is in november, I will post when I know for sure.
10-14-2004, 09:15 AM
#7
Le Mans Master
To help you decide, go to tire rack and price the tires you want to run and the sizes you want to run.
Very few folks run the stock tire sizes (245s f, 275s r). I ran my first events this way, and the car pushed like crazy. Could I have changed my driving techniques? Sure, but I don't know if I would have been quicker.
Then I went to 275s all around (on stock wagon wheels). No more push, now I'm into oversteer on corner exit. Getting the power down too soon? Yeah, that's why I had to work on throttle control.
Just this last event I went to the ZR-1/GS wheels with 275s f, 315s r. Now I'm back to getting a little push, not near as bad as in the beginning, and I get virtually NO throttle oversteer on corner exit.
And here's the kicker: the 275s for 18" wheels are a TON more expensive than the 315s for my 17"s.
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
Very few folks run the stock tire sizes (245s f, 275s r). I ran my first events this way, and the car pushed like crazy. Could I have changed my driving techniques? Sure, but I don't know if I would have been quicker.
Then I went to 275s all around (on stock wagon wheels). No more push, now I'm into oversteer on corner exit. Getting the power down too soon? Yeah, that's why I had to work on throttle control.
Just this last event I went to the ZR-1/GS wheels with 275s f, 315s r. Now I'm back to getting a little push, not near as bad as in the beginning, and I get virtually NO throttle oversteer on corner exit.
And here's the kicker: the 275s for 18" wheels are a TON more expensive than the 315s for my 17"s.
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
10-17-2004, 05:15 AM
#8
Burning Brakes
Member Since: Jul 2003
Location: San Antonio Texas
Posts: 1,072
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I just posted some thoughts on this in the sticky AX thread. 
I am running 305/18/30 on all four. My advice is to learn the car on street tires first. For one thing, unless you run comp tires on the street all the time, you'll be better prepped if you ever need to use the handling aspect on the street.
Tires are good for about 3 seconds (slightly more if running runflats). The goal I was told was to get w/in 2-2.5 seconds of your goal, then get comp tires.
When you do go with comp tires, I was told that Kumhos are more forgiving, and thus cheaper to learn on. If you are tearing up your streets, you'll be tearing up your comps. I had about 50-60 runs on my Pilot Sport runflats and still had the nubbies on the sides.
VetteDrmr: I had that problem on my streets too; the pushing. So I boosted tire pressures to compensate. I ran 2 pounds higher in the front than in the back. Pushing went away immediately, time improved as well.
I am running 305/18/30 on all four. My advice is to learn the car on street tires first. For one thing, unless you run comp tires on the street all the time, you'll be better prepped if you ever need to use the handling aspect on the street.
Tires are good for about 3 seconds (slightly more if running runflats). The goal I was told was to get w/in 2-2.5 seconds of your goal, then get comp tires.
When you do go with comp tires, I was told that Kumhos are more forgiving, and thus cheaper to learn on. If you are tearing up your streets, you'll be tearing up your comps. I had about 50-60 runs on my Pilot Sport runflats and still had the nubbies on the sides.
VetteDrmr: I had that problem on my streets too; the pushing. So I boosted tire pressures to compensate. I ran 2 pounds higher in the front than in the back. Pushing went away immediately, time improved as well.
10-19-2004, 03:18 AM
#9
Pro
Thread Starter
So what is the difference between the kuhmo exta supras and the mx? which one is better for auto x? And about how much cheaper would the kuhmos be on wagons as opposed to zr1 replica's? If the price was not that different I would prob go with the wagons. Thanks
10-19-2004, 08:58 AM
#10
Le Mans Master
The ECSTA Supra 712 is a cheaper, lower performance tire that makes a really good value street tire. The MX is a higher performance tire that also works well on the street.
Both will work on the autocross circuit for learning, but, logically, the MX will have better performance and both will probably wear about the same.
One problem street tires tend to have is chunking on the outer part of the tread, mainly due to excessive heat. The Victoracer V700s are R (race) compound tires and can handle more heat. They also wear out more quickly, but not as much faster than street tires than you would think.
Cost? There's a huge difference in cost of tires based on wheel size. For example (getting these prices off of Tire Rack's website):
Kumho 712 275/40/17: $113
275/35/18: $167, a difference of $54!
You'll find this true across the board.
Ok, wheels. You can find a set of wagon wheels for around $150-250, BUT, you'll pay a >$100 premium for running those 18" wheels per set of tires. As you've already experienced, street tires tend not to last long, and as you get quicker, they last even less time!
I bought (a good deal) as set of ZR-1 repos (17x9.5f, 17x11r) off of Ebay for about $500 shipped to my door. I'll be running 315/35/17s on the rear for $181 vs $228 for 305/30/18s (ECSTA V700) if I was running stock 18" wheels.
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
Both will work on the autocross circuit for learning, but, logically, the MX will have better performance and both will probably wear about the same.
One problem street tires tend to have is chunking on the outer part of the tread, mainly due to excessive heat. The Victoracer V700s are R (race) compound tires and can handle more heat. They also wear out more quickly, but not as much faster than street tires than you would think.
Cost? There's a huge difference in cost of tires based on wheel size. For example (getting these prices off of Tire Rack's website):
Kumho 712 275/40/17: $113
275/35/18: $167, a difference of $54!
You'll find this true across the board.
Ok, wheels. You can find a set of wagon wheels for around $150-250, BUT, you'll pay a >$100 premium for running those 18" wheels per set of tires. As you've already experienced, street tires tend not to last long, and as you get quicker, they last even less time!
I bought (a good deal) as set of ZR-1 repos (17x9.5f, 17x11r) off of Ebay for about $500 shipped to my door. I'll be running 315/35/17s on the rear for $181 vs $228 for 305/30/18s (ECSTA V700) if I was running stock 18" wheels.
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
