Good AX tires, VAlue ? Options

[sixaddict]

Need some AX gumballs ......Could go 15 or 16 but prefer 15.

Flared six car so 225 50 or 245 for rear . Seems 205 55 or or 215 55 for front ....but looking for input ( A6 or C71) and good source ...Looking for used if possible but not used up.
Thanks
Terry.

[grantsfo]

Most AX rules put clear class defintions around 3 types of tires. Street tires, DOT R tires and race slicks.

Each tire class has its pluses and minues. I'll outline basics of each one from my expereince.

Streets

Street tires are going to typically be most durable, most resistant to flat spotting and not require extreme alignment settings to maximize their performance in autocross. A new breed of street tires emerged about 5 years ago that come close to performance of DOT R tires but still cant meet top running DOT R tires like Hoosier. The Dunlop Direnzia Star Spec, Yokohama Advan A008, Falken Azenis Sport 615, Bridgestone RE11 all are top notch AX street tires. I'm running a set of the Yokohamas and have been blown away by their dry grip! Big benefits? You can drive these on the street and drive to the event without changing wheels! Minuses? You wont stick quite as well as DOT R clad cars but will be darn close! SOrt of fun to drive to event and beat race slick clad cars with your street car!

DOT R

DOT R tires have a wide range of options. From treaded tires that can pass for street tires to pure slicks that are designed for AX only. Treaded DOT's such as Toyo 888, Toyo RA1, Nitto NT01 or Michelin are better suited for track driving but will be slightly better than sticky street tires mentioned above in terms of grip. The class leader in AX slicks is Hoosier with very sticky slick tread. Kuhmo 710 is also a slick but is just a hair off Hoosier in terms of grip. Things to know about Hoosier, they wear quickly (usually good for 50 to 60 AX runs) they require signficant amounts of negative camber (min of about -3) to get optimum performance and they are expensive! If youre just out for fun I'd reccomend treaded DOT R tire like Toyo as a tire that will provide higher levels of grip yet last a long time and it will do OK with street alignment. Pluses better stick than street tires, less expensive than race slicks, more punture resistant than race slicks. Minus - you really cant drive the extreme DOT R tires on the street.

Race Slicks.

Most slicks come in road race compounds now. This means you need to get tires warm before they really start sticking. You have to determine if you want radial or bias plys. Radials will want lots of negative camber while bias plys can run pretty well with typical street alignment settings. There are a few soft compounds left. Good Year R250 is soft enough for AX but will suffer on cold days. Hoosier R35 compounds are typically sofest race tire you can practically find from Hoosier. Race slicks are more prone to flat spotting, puntures and they also tend to heat cycle a little more quickly. So you lose ultimate grip far before they are ready to wear out. Also know that autocross rules with most sanctioning bodies heavily penalize race slick clad cars. SCCA you immediately go to Prepared class if you have slicks. Most PCA classing schemes punish you as well.

You can get used race slicks however you can get all the other tires used as well. Used race tires can be a mixed bag. Some used race tires have wear patterns set by original user that sometimes lead to early wear out. Also know that your running on tires that have already been heat cycled a couple times usually at a track where tire truly gets hot so grip can be impacted. Still will grip far better than most street tires however on colder days they will be slipping and sliding. Finding used tires in same size consistently can be tough too. John B ran out of cantilevers a couple times past couple seasons. Again if you are just out for fun used cantilever slicks in 23x9x15 are a real bargin if they still have most of their tread. Almost worth buying a set of wheels if you dont have 15x7's around.

Once you decide on a catagory then size and application start dictating what you have to chose from.

This post has been edited by grantsfo: Sep 30 2010, 03:41 PM