I just recently got into the autocrossing scene and I am in love... My only major problem was the lack of traction. At first I thought that I might actually benefit from the lack of tread because they are so bald that I figured I would have more contact, this was not the case .

Right now I'm running falken Ziex 195 60 r15's on some accord EX alloys and I'm looking to get at least two tires that I would occasionally use on the streets. I have another car that I use on a daily basis so the tires that I get don't have to be too streetable.

What do you suggest? If it comes down to it I might just get the same tires because I can get them brand new for $65 each mounted and balanced, but I would prefer to have something that works better on the track and satisfactory on the road.

Please let me know what you guys would do in this situation. THANKS!

 

What class are you in?

 

The tires you have are fine.

The best thing you can do to improve your ability is to learn to drive what you have. Don't change a thing, and work with the traction you have. No matter what tire you have underneath you you will always have a physical limit.

Since you have tires with a lower and more progressive limit of adhesion, these are the perfect tire to learn on.

Have an instructor drive your car, ride with them when they do so and take mental notes.

Give yourself at least 10-12 events, or one year on street tires. It will pay dividends in the end. It forces you to be smooth and get every stinking bit of adhesion you can out of what you have.

 

Ziex's suck...get some Azenis and have a blast.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gabebauman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ziex's suck...get some Azenis and have a blast. </TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Save your money, and use for entry fees and a helmet.

When your tires wear out... buy some more... nothing too fancy.

you will regret getting sticky tires early on.

 

Thanks guys, there is a lot of valuable feedback here.

I was in DSP for my class but I'm still a little confused on the whole rating system, I know I put an "F" o the side of my car, does that help?

As for practice, you're right. I need it. I don't know if I am willing to use one of the few runs that I get by letting someone else drive my car, but maybe I'd ask them to ride along with me...

As for how I actually did, I was very impressed to see the consistant improvement. My first run was a 79.7XX and my last was a 73.6xx and every run I had I lowered my time (except for my second run). I only hit two cones and that was on my second run when I almost lost control (well okay, lost control momentarily).

I already have a helmet, and I have plenty of money for the entry fees. My tires are non-existant at this point, so that is a must.

Azenis you say? I will look into those, anyone else have suggesstions?

Thanks again!

 

You're looking for tires you can run on the street also, right?

These are the top 140+ treadwear street tires that win ST_ classes, debatably arranged from best to worst, but any of them will kick *** vs "normal" street tires:
Bridgestone RE01R
Yokohama Advan Neova AD07
Falken Azenis 615
Hankook RS2 Z212
Kumho MX

Everyone always says "learn how to drive before you spend money on tires", but if you need tires, you need tires! Get the widest tire you possibly can under there and have fun.

Note that the Street Prepared classes allow DOT R-compounds, so with any street tire you're not running an optimal setup anyway. Kumho V710 or Hoosier A6 are the R-compounds you really want. Is your car the Prelude in your sig, with those mods? I think that's all DSP legal. Add an LSD and you're set.

 

I Literally HATE driving my 210whp K20 swapped EG cpe at autoXs on 205/45/16 Hankook RS2s. The lack of grip just sucks.

Get the stickiest and widest street tire you can.. .

You are probably going to have to buy some better rims

For a prelude, you can do 235/40/17s. For affordability, rock Azenis RT-615s.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Crazydave &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Save your money, and use for entry fees and a helmet.

When your tires wear out... buy some more... nothing too fancy.

you will regret getting sticky tires early on.</TD></TR></TABLE>
X2

 

I was at a point too... where I needed to get new tires... but instead of getting the stickies, I just got some decent street tires...

in the past however, I made the jump too soon to R-Compounds.. then I found my self overdriving the car... and wasting money by eating up my soft sticky tires.
I went through 2 or 3 sets in the first year of auto-x!


I am now back to running on street tires

 

Slight tangent
Does anyone find that when they are on "lower grip" tires they tend to toss the car?

for the past few years I ran old tires and started to develop some bad habits, I learned a lot about car control, but I still have to really concentrate on smoothness to unlearn the pitch and catch that I started to do while on the crappy tires

(I have been autocrossing for ~7 years, mostly on R's
thoughts?