Capital Driving Club Discussion Forum

Hey guys,
I'm planning on getting back into autocross next year after only doing a few events in the past couple of years. I'm a little out of the loop and I need some help in deciding which is the best "street" tire these days for autocrossing. I will be showing up and driving on the tires that on the car (88 e30 M3 on 17" wheels") no switching tires for me . What were the fastest "street" tires last year? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, Fernando.

Below 75....Dunlop Star Specs. Above 75...Hankook RS3's.

03threefiftyz wrote:Below 75....Dunlop Star Specs. Above 75...Hankook RS3's.

Someone missed Toyo's outright domination at the Nationals this year.

I am aware.....R1R's are another great option. Basically all the new gen extreme summer tires are excellent. For the average autocrosser you are splitting hairs really.

If you're running 17s on an E30 bmw it's going to be more about which ones come in a size that'll fit on your car...

all the tires mentioned are good, so are RE-11s and kumho XSs

eage8 wrote:If you're running 17s on an E30 bmw it's going to be more about which ones come in a size that'll fit on your car...

all the tires mentioned are good, so are RE-11s and kumho XSs

From what I've read, looks like 215 40 17 will fit best and 235 40 17 will fit fine in the rear and have "some" rubbing up front.

eage8 wrote:If you're running 17s on an E30 bmw it's going to be more about which ones come in a size that'll fit on your car...

all the tires mentioned are good, so are RE-11s and kumho XSs

I was about to say, in tests the Kumho XS has reported the highest "lateral grip" but suffers in feel and braking and acceleration.

From everything ive seen, the RE11 is the dominant tire...if you can afford it.

The dunlop was used by me because its 98% the grip of an RE11 or R1R but half the price. If money is no object, the dunlop shouldnt even be a consideration.

These two statements are why I use the Star Specs on my daily driver/ax car.

D_Eclipse9916 wrote:

eage8 wrote:If you're running 17s on an E30 bmw it's going to be more about which ones come in a size that'll fit on your car...

all the tires mentioned are good, so are RE-11s and kumho XSs

I was about to say, in tests the Kumho XS has reported the highest "lateral grip" but suffers in feel and braking and acceleration.

From everything ive seen, the RE11 is the dominant tire...if you can afford it.

The dunlop was used by me because its 98% the grip of an RE11 or R1R but half the price. If money is no object, the dunlop shouldnt even be a consideration.

hepcatz wrote:These two statements are why I use the Star Specs on my daily driver/ax car.

D_Eclipse9916 wrote:

eage8 wrote:If you're running 17s on an E30 bmw it's going to be more about which ones come in a size that'll fit on your car...

all the tires mentioned are good, so are RE-11s and kumho XSs

I was about to say, in tests the Kumho XS has reported the highest "lateral grip" but suffers in feel and braking and acceleration.

From everything ive seen, the RE11 is the dominant tire...if you can afford it.

The dunlop was used by me because its 98% the grip of an RE11 or R1R but half the price. If money is no object, the dunlop shouldnt even be a consideration.

Money is ALWAYS a consideration!!!!! Thanks for the input guys, does anyone have any input/experience with the new Falken Azenis RT615 "K"??

Book'em wrote: does anyone have any input/experience with the new Falken Azenis RT615 "K"??

To quote The Who: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Falken makes trash. I fought with Falkens last season, being pig headed, thinking I could beat the tires. It was a massive waste of time, I should have moved on.

I would highly recommend either the Star Specs or the RE-11 for your car. The XS feel kinda smushy to me and don't handle heat as well and the R1R is best suited for small, light cars. If you see the results for nationals, most of the miatas, civics and crxs ran the R1R. I think the same will and has been said for the new RS3. In STU, the Star Specs were more dominant which are on heavier cars like the STi's/Evo's and what not.

I've been running the RE-11s on my car for 2 full seasons, probably about 50+ events and hundreds of hard runs. I don't drive on them daily but they have lasted quite a while and I might be able to get most of next season out of them. They haven't even heat cycled out yet surprisingly.

Ran RE11s on my car all season and they've been great. I got mine about a week before Tire Rack jacked up the price $20 each and I'm not sure if I'd have got them at $117 each vs. $97 each though.

Ran Kuhmo XS sometimes and didn't like them as much.

Getting R1Rs next spring unless something new and awesome comes down the pipe. Looking forward to getting on the same stuff that dominated Nationals last September (one less excuse for my going slow).

When I ran the older Azenis 615 I had no complaints but I was just starting out and had lots to learn, it'd be interesting to see how I'd do on them these days. No experience with the "K" stuff.

My bro ran Kumho Ecsta XS at summit point and they held up to two days of hard track sessions without any chunking, overheating, or apparent wear. This was on his 2000lb CRX. The Kumho is a good tire.

Don't get the Falken's if you plan on road coursing as they don't handle heat too well... even autocrossing in the middle of summer could be an issue unless you wet them between runs.

D_Eclipse9916 wrote: From everything ive seen, the RE11 is the dominant tire...if you can afford it.

Not in 17" or on a heavy car. IMHO in the heavy car bracket it's between the AD08s, the Z1s and the RS3's depending on desired temperature range. Dunlops have won STU the last two years.

For the OP: staggered tires on a BMW, IMHO, suck. There is a guy running an E30 M3 at the national level who runs a 245/255 stagger but only because he can't fit 255s in the front. If you are dailying or not going for super aggressivity, 235's all around should do the trick, plus they'll give you a little better acceleration than something taller. If you are willing to experiment with fitment it may be worth going bigger.

ButtDyno wrote:For the OP: staggered tires on a BMW, IMHO, suck. There is a guy running an E30 M3 at the national level who runs a 245/255 stagger but only because he can't fit 255s in the front. If you are dailying or not going for super aggressivity, 235's all around should do the trick, plus they'll give you a little better acceleration than something taller. If you are willing to experiment with fitment it may be worth going bigger.

yeah, last year I ran a 225/255 stagger on the FC and hated it. I switched wheels and am now running 225s all around for street tires (the wider wheels now have r-comps on them) and actually like it a lot better, it rotates better and doesn't understeer nearly as badly... and my FC has 270 whp.

I would recommend getting the biggest tire you can up front and putting the same tire in the back. Do a bit more research on aggressive tire fitment. spacers are easy on bmws too because you don't have to replace studs...

eage8 wrote:

ButtDyno wrote:For the OP: staggered tires on a BMW, IMHO, suck. There is a guy running an E30 M3 at the national level who runs a 245/255 stagger but only because he can't fit 255s in the front. If you are dailying or not going for super aggressivity, 235's all around should do the trick, plus they'll give you a little better acceleration than something taller. If you are willing to experiment with fitment it may be worth going bigger.

yeah, last year I ran a 225/255 stagger on the FC and hated it. I switched wheels and am now running 225s all around for street tires (the wider wheels now have r-comps on them) and actually like it a lot better, it rotates better and doesn't understeer nearly as badly... and my FC has 270 whp.

I would recommend getting the biggest tire you can up front and putting the same tire in the back. Do a bit more research on aggressive tire fitment. spacers are easy on bmws too because you don't have to replace studs...

Unless you convert to studs :p

ButtDyno wrote:

eage8 wrote:

ButtDyno wrote:For the OP: staggered tires on a BMW, IMHO, suck. There is a guy running an E30 M3 at the national level who runs a 245/255 stagger but only because he can't fit 255s in the front. If you are dailying or not going for super aggressivity, 235's all around should do the trick, plus they'll give you a little better acceleration than something taller. If you are willing to experiment with fitment it may be worth going bigger.

yeah, last year I ran a 225/255 stagger on the FC and hated it. I switched wheels and am now running 225s all around for street tires (the wider wheels now have r-comps on them) and actually like it a lot better, it rotates better and doesn't understeer nearly as badly... and my FC has 270 whp.

I would recommend getting the biggest tire you can up front and putting the same tire in the back. Do a bit more research on aggressive tire fitment. spacers are easy on bmws too because you don't have to replace studs...

Unless you convert to studs :p

well then they're still screw in lugs aren't they? they're not press in... I can't replace the rear lugs in my FC without tearing the wheel bearing apart...

I'm happy with my RE-11. Great street tire. I don't think I'll ever set FTD with them. Whichever tire you choose, get them shaved to 3/32nds for max auto-x performance. Full tread depth is for the street, not the parking lot (unless it's raining cats and dogs).

kyle.bowker wrote:I'm happy with my RE-11. Great street tire. I don't think I'll ever set FTD with them. Whichever tire you choose, get them shaved to 3/32nds for max auto-x performance. Full tread depth is for the street, not the parking lot (unless it's raining cats and dogs).

Some of us are cheap-asses and run full tread depth tires. My dunlops have already lasted 13 autocrosses, 6 track days, time trials, and general jackassery and they still have a bit of grip in them, although I definitely noticed they are off what they used to be especially when cold (oh hello there grass!), but they still have 40% tread on them and damn if ill throw em away before ive used every bit.

I ran the R1Rs on the Miata (turbo'd). Initially, they were great. About half-tread, they started to wear the outer blocks in an unusual pattern (cupping or gatoring?) where the leading edge built up a "lip". It causes a lot of road noise and the car doesn't feel as stable at higher speeds. Might be better for the lesser-hp cars, like NA Miatas/CRXs.