tire help autox/dd

[pinoiballa14]

hey guys. i just bought a set of rims and i can't really figure out what tires i should buy. i want to start auto x this summer, but i also want to use the tires for dd use too. which tires do you guys recommend. i was thinking hankook ventus. i know theyre good dd's but idk if they are good for street/autox. so gimme your tire inputs. =DD

 

[MistahJuice]

What size are the rims, and I'm assuming you just want some good sporty summer tires?

If you can't use google then just go here and look at reviews
http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/wtpack.jsp

 

[civexspeedy]

Hard to have the best of both unless you like spending money...

What's your budget? What tire size? Approx how many miles do you want to get out of them? Any winter driving (I can tell you now any tire used for winter would not be great to autox on)?

 

[pinoiballa14]

i used google. i have a few tires in mind. i just wanted ur guys opinoins. tire size i want is 205-50-15. i wont be doing alot of autox. but im only goin to use the tires for summer and autox. i already have a set for winter. i was looking at the yokohama s drives and dunlop dirrezza. i dont care about road noise or anything like that. i just want a dd tire with a once-in-a-while beat on.

 

[civexspeedy]

i used google. i have a few tires in mind. i just wanted ur guys opinoins. tire size i want is 205-50-15. i wont be doing alot of autox. but im only goin to use the tires for summer and autox. i already have a set for winter. i was looking at the yokohama s drives and dunlop dirrezza. i dont care about road noise or anything like that. i just want a dd tire with a once-in-a-while beat on.

Are you talking about the Dunlop Star Specs? Those and the S.Drives are 2 very different tires. The Dunlops are a very good tire for regular, competitive autox use. Whereas the S.Drives are more of a true street tire and cannot compete with the Star Specs as far as overall grip does. Out of those 2, the Star Specs take the cake.

If you're only using these for warmer weather and won't be ranking up a bunch of miles on them, you could probably get away with a couple years using the better autox street tires. Such as Dunlop Star Specs, Bridgestone RE-11's, Toyo R1R's, and Hankook RS3's. For those, I'd say your biggest determining factor would be price if you're not a serious competitor. All of those are very good tires.

The best all around tire for dry and wet grip would be the 195/50R15 Toyo R1R's for our cars. They do make a 205, but the 195's are single compound and are more consistent with grip and are better than the 205's.

If you want something a little cheaper, that'll last longer and more appropriate for regular street use, then those I listed probably aren't what you want. The Yokohama S.Drives are nice, I have them currently as street wheels for my black race car. I found my last set of street tires for that car, Kumho SPT's, to be a tiny bit better than the S.Drives, but close. Other than those 2, I wouldn't really go with anything else for a decent mix of regular street use and autox fun.

 

[MolassesMyCivic]

Are you talking about the Dunlop Star Specs? Those and the S.Drives are 2 very different tires. The Dunlops are a very good tire for regular, competitive autox use. Whereas the S.Drives are more of a true street tire and cannot compete with the Star Specs as far as overall grip does. Out of those 2, the Star Specs take the cake.

If you're only using these for warmer weather and won't be ranking up a bunch of miles on them, you could probably get away with a couple years using the better autox street tires. Such as Dunlop Star Specs, Bridgestone RE-11's, Toyo R1R's, and Hankook RS3's. For those, I'd say your biggest determining factor would be price if you're not a serious competitor. All of those are very good tires.

The best all around tire for dry and wet grip would be the 195/50R15 Toyo R1R's for our cars. They do make a 205, but the 195's are single compound and are more consistent with grip and are better than the 205's.

If you want something a little cheaper, that'll last longer and more appropriate for regular street use, then those I listed probably aren't what you want. The Yokohama S.Drives are nice, I have them currently as street wheels for my black race car. I found my last set of street tires for that car, Kumho SPT's, to be a tiny bit better than the S.Drives, but close. Other than those 2, I wouldn't really go with anything else for a decent mix of regular street use and autox fun.

Hey civexspeedy, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to settle on the z1 star specs for my 95 coupe, but i just wanted to check with experienced autocrosser on where I should go from where I am.

My 95 civic currently only has a full set of Koni Yellows, which I love, but I'm trying to narrow down what I should be looking at next. Tires? Strut bars? Sways? I mean to stay in stock for at least another year, though. I also have a full extra set of wheels and tires, so wear on the autox tires wont be a big issue.
Thanks.

 

[civexspeedy]

Hey civexspeedy, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to settle on the z1 star specs for my 95 coupe, but i just wanted to check with experienced autocrosser on where I should go from where I am.

My 95 civic currently only has a full set of Koni Yellows, which I love, but I'm trying to narrow down what I should be looking at next. Tires? Strut bars? Sways? I mean to stay in stock for at least another year, though. I also have a full extra set of wheels and tires, so wear on the autox tires wont be a big issue.
Thanks.

If you're trying to stay in stock class, there's not a whole lot you can do. The Star Specs would be a good tire to run, esp with the new "Road Tire Stock" classes that SCCA now has this year. I also heard now for stock classes they allow front OR rear aftermarket swaybars(before it was only front aftermarket allowed). So, since you already have the Koni's and are going with the Start Specs, I'd say your next best bet is to get an aftermarket rear swaybar. The only problem is, the '92-'95's rear LCA's don't have endlink holes. BUT, I do believe either Progress or Suspension Techniques (maybe both) make rear swaybars for these cars that mount the endlinks to the shock bolts, thus not requiring aftermarket rear LCA's. Look into them, those would be a good option. A slightly more aggressive alignment can also help but that would wear your normal street tires down a bit faster.

Only other things you can do for stock class is exhaust and intake filter(not full intake) which both aren't very helpful for this car.. Strut bars aren't necessary and would put you in STC, which is what my car's are in. Many more mods allowed for that class.

 

[MolassesMyCivic]

Are you sure about the strut bars? I was reasonably sure that they were allowed in stock... :/ I'll definitely look into the sways, tho.
Edit: I lied. you're right. I'll look into sways. Did you ever do much in stock class? Or did you jump to ST quickly?

 

[civexspeedy]

Stock strut bars are allowed if they came from the factory. Integra Type-R's have factory bars and are obviouslly allowed in stock.

I never ran stock because I had already done a couple mods which put me in ST* class before I ever started autoxing. Looking back though if I could do it over again, I'd definitely run stock for about a year before building for another class. It's always best to learn on a stock car to hone in on your skills and not rely so much on your mods. If your times are fast in a stock car, it's because your fast. If your times are fast in a heavily modified car, it's likely because of the car not you lol.

 

[MolassesMyCivic]

Stock strut bars are allowed if they came from the factory. Integra Type-R's have factory bars and are obviouslly allowed in stock.

I never ran stock because I had already done a couple mods which put me in ST* class before I ever started autoxing. Looking back though if I could do it over again, I'd definitely run stock for about a year before building for another class. It's always best to learn on a stock car to hone in on your skills and not rely so much on your mods. If your times are fast in a stock car, it's because your fast. If your times are fast in a heavily modified car, it's likely because of the car not you lol.

I agree. I'm very thankful for the 5 or so races that I ran dirt stock. Now, with the Konis, I'm planning to step it up...I have some insane competition in H-stock, though; A mini Cooper and two National placing drivers race with me every event. That particular mini has won 2nd place in Nats for a couple of years with a couple of drivers...I'm sort of excited to get to the top of stock class and step into Civic territory in ST.