Autox on new 5 year old kumho XS?
 

I haven't found any scrub A6's or V710's for my 90 so I found some 295/35R17 kumho XS tires that are brand new, but they are from 2008. I will probably go through them in 2 seasons or less. Should I have any concerns? Also tirerack says that the recommended wheel width is 10-11" and my wheels are 9.5", would that pose any problems?

A 2008 date on XS?? Thought the XS first appeared in 2009?? If the tires have been setting inside where temps and humidity have been somewhat controlled, they might work for autocross. I don't think I would use them for track days and probably not for street use. Definitely keep checking them for any signs of cracking between the tread and on the sidewalls.

As far as wheels, you may be OK with a 9.5" wide wheel but you will have to experiment with tire pressures to try to keep the sidewalls from flexing so much where they could roll under. Try to run as much negative camber as you can.

From what I have read, they are not the best wet tire.

You may want to look at the Nitto NT05 as an alternative tire. I picked up a set of 4 last year in 275/40-17 for $600 delivered to my door from Discount Tire Direct.

I would run either tire. I am basically looking for the best deal between the 2 and right now it is the kumho's. They are also wider. I just went to DTD's website and they NT05's are going to run me $652 shipped which is almost $100 more then I can get the kumhos for. I will most likely just use them for autox events. I can't afford to do track days and the only street these tires would see would be possibly going to the track or if I had a flat.

How did you like running the NT05? I only have .1 degree neg camber on the front. I was running Nitto NT555 in the front and I was pushing them in the corners a lot so I'm really focusing on finding the stickiest tire I can so I can pick up some speed.

if they were stored properly the age would not pose any issue

they will feel sluggish and lack crisp steering response do to the incorrect wheel width but, i have seen people do much worse.

we run 295/35-17 A6s on 9.5" wide wheels all the time. That's no worry IMO.

As others have said, if they were stored properly they should be ok, but I wouldn't do a track day on them.

And we've had people here use them ( the XS ) in out street tire index class for autocross and everyone's commented on how bad those are in the wet, so be careful. Might be worse in an older tire.

I've heard and read that, but I wonder what people mean by "wet". Does wet = surface is wet, or does wet = standing water?

My dad runs the XS on his 90 ZR-1. He runs 295 on 9.5" front wheels and 315 on 11" rear wheels. He ran Autobahn last year during a down pour and a lot of standing water. He said the car felt very planted even at that point. He loves the balance of the car with this setup for autocross. He has a normal street alignment with maybe .5* camber.

This is something that I have been wondering as well. I have done some research and people love the grip in dry conditions, but a lot have mentioned that they are bad in wet conditions. I'm not sure if it was during rain or just a wet track vs. puddles or run off water. I have also seen some people say that they aren't a problem in the rain. I'm not sure if it is solely the tire or if it does loose some grip and people are expecting it to grip better like it would on a dry track. It is like someone that just runs street tires and then gets a tire like the XS or NT05 and says how they are like R comps. I guess it is based on what you are used to if that makes any sense.

My experience with the XS. Great tire in the dry but as the tire wears so does grip. By the time you are within 1/32-2/32 of the wear bar the tires are shot. In the wet for everyday use the tires are safe, but one the track they are very unpredictable. I am talking just a wet surface here.

Overall they don't compare to a r-compound tire but may be just about the fastest street tire out there. I here good things about the RE-11, better in the wet but have not tried them.

It's mostly a heat issue I think.

I took my set out when they were new in the pouring rain for a session (wipers on max, no other cars on the track, big downpour for about half an hour). They were still hot from the last session and worked pretty well. Parked it for lunch, went out again on a damp track with cold tires and they were back to useless/scary.

Very hard to build heat in the tire in any sort of dampness and these things need pretty serious heat to develop good grip. For what it's worth last years tires were early 2008 build dates on the rear, and they still seemed to work.

Check the diameter on those. If they run like the V710 the Kumho 295 is MUCH taller than the Hoosier.

I believe they are 25.0 inches in diameter. That is smaller than the 275 40 17 that I would normally be running which is 25.7 inches in diameter.