So, I'm trying to decide on my tires for autox next season, and it looks like I've come down to these two. I'm wondering what experiences people have had with either of them? Also, it would help if you posted what size wheels you were running, because I'm trying to figure out how wide of a tire I can reliabally race on with stock 17" wheels (I'm gonna do some tire jockeying between my current set of stock 17"s and another set so I'll have 17x8 on all four courners).

Specifically, I'm looking at 275/40/R17 for the hoosiers and the same for the Kumhos.. that seems excessively wide for a 17" wheel but apparently some people are doing it? What size would you all recommend?

Oh, and another option: kumho victoracer 700's.. they would be a little bit cheaper, and I'm on a tight budget. Thoughts on these?

 

Definitely 275/40/17. Just need a front wheel that'll clear a BBK if you have one. I run 275/35/18 r-compounds but I think I may go with 17s if I can find the right front wheel to clear a BBK.

The V710 is a better tire value over the course of a season. The Hoosiers are stickier but the tread doesn't last as long or the grip fades sooner over the life of the tire and are really expensive. Most people in our region get 710's for the season and will switch to the good stuff (hoosiers) at nationals.

 

BBK is not a factor for me. And tread life is... I definitely can't afford to buy a bunch of sets of tires. I was hoping I could get through the whole season with one set; our site is pretty easy on tires.

It seems like 275/40/R17 is the right choice, but I still have doubts on whether it'll fit on a 17-8" wheel. According to the kumho site, it won't, but some people have said there are people on this site that run that tire size on stock wheels; I've yet to find any though.

 

People may do it on their street set but I prefer to go with what the manufacturer says. And on an 8" wheel how much of the 275mm am I getting on the road or is it curling up just to fit on that wheel? And with autox cornering loads I wouldn't want to chance it. But that's just me. LOL.

 

a 275 works fine on an 8" wheel. if you are looking for life... you are going to have to sacrifice some stickiness. seems like i'm budgeting to purchase 2 sets of v710s for one season. go with the victoracers. they are great tires!

 

I think a 17x8 front will bump you out of BS. I also recommend the 710's.
Will

 

you are right on that part. i've seen a 275 on a 7.5" before....

haha. anybody know of a correct offset, lightweight 17x9 or 10 that would accomidate a 295? i'm going bsp next season and i'm trying to get as much rubber as possible.

 

Hey I am looking for the something too. The biggest tire I found is 285/40/17 for the 17X10 rears at least for street tires. I was hoping that I can get 295 but I am not sure with the +12 offset of my 5Zigen 17X10 rear and they only make them in drag Redials for 295/40/17 Kumho V710. So any body know if a 265/40/17 for the front on a 17X9 with a +15 offset would fit?

 

Not an issue, I'm already in BSP

 

There are plenty of posts from guys running stock 17s with 275/40-17s (fronts are 7.5)... they say there's no problem running them. I'm stuck with running 18s in B-Stk and wish I had gone with a model that came with 17s.

My experience running Hoosiers (due to limited size options in 18"; I'd like to try the 710 if they had a size that would work), over the past couple of years has been the Hoosiers stick like mad for the first 4 events and start trailing off after that. It's not a case of short tread life! I'd gladly trade some tread life for some more compound life. I run one set for a season, including some practices. Towards the 3/4 mark in the season, I start wishing they would cord so I could have a good reason to toss them.

My 275/35-18s on 18 X 8s eventually cord on the outside edge (flipping them at about 40 runs), after about a 100 runs. The tread face of this tire is so stiff, the narrow wheel does not crown it. The first time I had a set mounted, the installer was concerned (and nervous), but they fit fine. Ignore the Kumho site's install guides, their lawyers have no doubt covered their butts thoroughly.

I've considered going to a different class. If I did, from what I can see... I'd go with a 17 X 9.5 and a 275/40-17 710. Another list member did a ton of development work on the Z for SM2. His research ended up with 17 X 9.5s, the front fitment limited the wheel width.

The Victo 700s are fine depending on where you want to be in terms of your competition (varies for region to region, they wouldn't get me there in our region). They represent a compromise in your equipment, trading performance for budget, if that's acceptable to you, you'll be happy with them.

BC

 

Yeah, I'm still up in the air with the victoracers... I mean, it's a $250 difference between 710s and victoracer 700s, that would take a big chunk out of 350evo sway bars (if I can still find a set somewhere)!

My regional competition is a guy with a C4 in BSP. He's also a HPDE instructor; very good. He consistantly runs -4 seconds from what I run, on a typical 80 second course. I really don't expect to beat him, but I'd like to cut a few seconds off that. That's why I'm considering the victoracers; I don't need the absolute best tire out there.

EDIT: I checked out tire rack again, and it's actually only a $120 difference between the 700s and 710s for 275/40/R17. So I guess I'll go with 710s.