Looking to order some tires. I need a set for the rear. My fronts are Z1 star spec 245/45/18s on the stock wheels. I'm looking at purchasing a couple of Advan A048's or some Z1 star spec. Any input? This will all be used next year for autox and a lot of summer spirit driving. Need it to be great in dry weather and decent in wet. The Z1 star specs are excellent for both, but I love the tread pattern on the Advan and think it may be closer to an R comp than the Z1 star spec. I don't want an R comp because I'd rather spend more time maxxing out my driving skill on these tires first and learning the limits of the car. Thanks though.

 

Star Specs.....save some money and just buy the two rears to match the fronts.


/thread.

 

A048 is an R comp, stick to the Star Specs

 

As terrasmak pointed out, A048's are R-Compound. I ran my first event on the Hankook RS3's and really liked the way the car handled (no rain).

I have never run the Star Specs but heard good things about them for both wet/dry compromise.

 

Another vote for this

 

What about nitto Nt05 by comparison?

 

There is also the Kuhmo XS but I believe the Star Spec gets the vote because of dry and wet handling capabilities which is mentioned by the OP

 

For the ST autocross category the top three tires are the Star Specs, the RS3s, and the Toyo R1R - with the R1R being the quickest but the most prone to overheating.

 

^Agree.....the R1R is really suited to lighter cars.....hence the overheating issues. Very, very quick on miatas and the like though....

 

Love them, i get about 10 days on the track before they are heat cycled out. Very predictable if i get into a slide, and if you get them greasy it only takes a corner till they are good to go again.

 

RS3's and federal 595 RSR's. You will never look back at star spec's, R888's, A048's, or any other R-comps. The other only tires worth buying are hoosiers.

 

Stick with the same make/model as you have on the fronts. Putting different tires front/rear is just asking for trouble (just ask Marty!)

IMHO, stay off r-comps until you put a roll bar and harnesses in the car.

 

seemed like a good idea at the time

 

I believe the Kumho V710 is a nice combination of grip above those tires, cost below the Hoosiers, and longevity beyond the Hoosiers.

 

V710's are great tires especially for auto-x. For longevity and ultimate road racing, auto-x, and street use, the tires I mentioned cannot be beat. The V710's and hoosiers are limited in their use to dry conditions mainly.

 

The idea that the V710 lasts longer then Hoosier is kind of a myth leftover from the V700/A/R4 days. If you look at lap times or course times the V710 and the Hoosier A/R6 fall off after almost an identical series of heat cycles. And when talking about the V710, which construction are you talking about? Kumho released them with different shoulder and compound designs.

 

I had the NT05 before switching to the Star Specs, and they require a lot of heat to get them to perform well at autocross. They do extremely well at the track though, but poorly on slippery/sandy parking lots.

I also tried the Kumho XS and didn't like them. IMO, they take too long to heat up, and the traction in the rain is downright scary. I would recommend the XS for those hot and dry days on smooth/grippy surfaces for autocross.

I would stick with the Star Specs because they are well rounded tires that can be used in cold/hot weather, dry/wet weather, and on asphalt/concrete!

 

Hmm, I'm only aware of the difference in shoulder geometry, not the compound. Here is an excerpt from TTR:

The original size lineup of Ecsta V710 tires featured a rounded shoulder profile and overly generous section width dimensions. Ecsta V710 tire sizes introduced beginning in 2007 (as well as any new sizes introduced in the future) feature a squared shoulder profile and less generous section width dimensions. There is no overlap in sizes between the two designs. The original sizes with the rounded shoulder design are not expected to be converted to the squared shoulder design. Both designs share the same internal construction and tread compound.

Regardless, all of my experience with them is from their 2007 and beyond design. I am comparing the number of heat cycles from a set of 285s that I ran from new to death to a set of R6s of the same. Fairly, that's only one data point.

 

There was a change in compound and its indicated by a different code on the sidewall. But it was a while ago and was in response some delamination concerns. Those older tires are probably long gone by now.

 

In 2010 we ran our car in T3 class on 245 x 18" Goodyears. The smaller tire is new to us as all our Nissan experience has been on 285 tires. Once we found the proper suspension settings we have been very happy with them. We had conversations at the PRI show with both the new sports account manager and the design engineer - race tires and were told that Goodyear will be working hard on the DOT tires which we are required to use. We hope to have the opportunity to test some of their new designs. They will also have rain tires available by end of March. Goodyear will also have a soft "autocross tire" that will be good for qualifying. Now that SCCA has taken some weight out of the car we might do a test to see of that tire will last for a full race.