I've been looking at tires for my new set of 17x9 wheels for auto-x next year. This past year I was on stock Potenzas and it showed, I spun out and pushed their limits until they were corded. This next season the plan is to go to the evolution driving school, compete in a lot of events, and learn the limits of the car and myself better.

The available tires are pretty endless, but I've narrowed it down a little through searching. I'm competing in B Street Prepared so there aren't any limits on tires.

RT-615 (sticky...but sticky enough?)


NT-01 (read that they take a while to heat up)


V710's (worried about tire life lasting all season)


Hoosier R3S05's


Toyo RA1 (might have a lot better life than other R comps)

 

I asked the same question last week, check out the thread....

https://my350z.com/forum/autocross-road/236694-go-big-or-not.html


I just bought 4 of the Falken RT-615s (265/35/18") to autocross on. If I didn't have to drive the car to and from events, I would have gone with some Hoosier or Kuhmos. The RT-615s were a compromise for streetability.

I too ran the OEM Potenzas and I did pretty good on them, winning some events in BS. I also ran my street wheels/tires (Michelin PS2) and are just blown away how much better those bigger tires were. In the last event, I had 2nd fastest time of the day, beating out four S2Ks running on street tires too. Usually those guys beat me by 2-4 seconds while they're on R-compounds. I figure the wide rubber of the RT-615's will allow me to hang with the big boys a whole lot better than the OEM tires did.

 

The question is, how much compromise are we talking? I don't have to drive mine on the street, but the track is less than 2 miles away and it would be easier to change tires in the garage instead of the parking lot.

Thanks for posting the link, I actually pulled it up with the search yesterday. Very helpful info...guess I just need to decide on a tire.

 

Right now I've pretty much narrowed it down to the RT615, the RA1, and the V710. Just need to figure out which one is going to last longest and drive the hardest.

 

I don't know how much of a compromise I've made. I'll let you know in a month or two.

Locally, the Hoosiers and Kuhmos are the most popular R compounds. I've overheard various good and bad about each but not enough to recommend one over the other.

 

I wouldn't recommend the RA1s. They take at least a 2 minute lap to get warm enough to act right. They are definitely better than street tires but if your main focus is being competitive in BSP I'd think about going with a Hoosier. You're probably going to kill a set per season though.

 

It depends upon whether you've got a second set of wheels for your tires. With a second set of wheels, 710s are your best bet -- hands down.

If you're going to be using them as your street tires as well, you're going to be looking at a compromise for both the street and the events -- and the 710 probably won't be for you.

 

I ran on RT-615's for about six months. In that time, I used them as street tires for about 8,000 miles, ran four days of HPDE's, and did maybe 5 autocrosses. I replaced the rears today, and the fronts have a few more months left on them. All in all, not too bad for an all purpose tire. As you mentioned, I was being beaten by 2-3 seconds on autocrosses compared to guys running R compound tires.

I just bought a dedicated set of 17x9.5 wheels and mounted track-only Kumho 710's. I have heard a lot of good things, including longevity. Guys are doing 100 autocross runs on a set. One guy with a Miata (Brian Peters) has a record 200 runs on his, but his car is much lighter than ours.

For my purposes, it makes more sense to use a higher mileage tire for the streets. For the track, it seems like the RT-615's and the Kumho 710's last about the same amount of time. The only downside for the 710's is that you can't drive to a racetrack any distance from home without having a support vehicle or trailer.

 

I have a set of 19's with Toyo T1R's on the street, the 17's are brand new and I won't even get to drive on them until I put on track tires. Basically, if I got the Azenis I would drive to and from the track (maybe 2 miles), if I an R compound then I'll put them on at the course.

How much does a set of the V710's run compared to the $150/tire RT615's? The sizes would probably be 275/45/17 and 265/45/17.

 

I should also add that I will be running a staggered setup so I won't be able to rotate them. Would the V710's still last all season and a driving school?

 

Unless the road is wet, you can drive on the 710s to and from the track.

Shoot, I used to drive on my DOT-R tires 10 miles (each way) to events and I think that ULLLOSE drives even farther on his 710s to and from local events.

 

If you want the 615's I have 5 275/40R17 for sale. Two are brand new with less than 500 miles on them and the other 3 are less than a year old with 80%tread left.

$450 shipped for all five.

 

if you are going to get on r-comps, the ra1 or the nittos or any other tire other than the kumho or hoosier is not the way to go. you gotta pay to play! these tires will NOT last you a whole competitive season. you might be able to scrape by if you do <10 events/year and only get about 4-5 runs at each autocross. factor in a driving school, with 4 30 min sessions. it will probably reduce the life of your tires by 1/4-1/3.

get the v710s though. you won't be unsatisfied.

 

I also run at BRC when I can. I guess you were one of the Z's this year in BSP so wheel size doesn't matter unless you are moving back to B Stock.

Forget about anything but Kumho or Hoosier R-Compound tires. I ran both last year. I only got 55 runs on the Hoosiers because the camber challenged Z will wear off the outside edges. They had to be flipped after 20+ runs to get full use.

I ran 2 sets of Kumhos this year and they lasted 100+ runs each. The 285s are at 107 and should last through a test & tune before I change them in 2007. They are competitive until about 90 runs and then start to loose grip somewhat. At that point in our region I'm toast. Tennessee Valley Region's B Stock is a tough competitive class.

Move back to Stock for 2007 so we can compete together at ALSCCA.

 

Dunno if I can move back to stock, I have lowering springs, sways, and my wheels aren't stock sizes. If you're Mike you did meet me this year, this is Buddy with the black Z. Glad to see you on here... you should check out www.alabamagz.com sometime.

 

I wasn't sure who posted this but I sure do remember you. I'm aware of the Z site but this autocross jones doesn't leave much time for anything else. Come up to Huntsville and run if you get a chance. We are hosting a National Tour in June this year also. So much fun and so little time....

 

I'm going to try to make it up there for some this year, going to try to get around a lot next year. Want me to give you a shout if the evolution school comes around? ... looks like they'll be in Nashville March 18th for phase 1, May 1st for phase 2.