Thoughts on tires/wheels for autocross?

"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
05/19/2014 at 19:52 • Filed to: None

Okay, I've decided I should get a new set of wheels and tires for autocross. My all seasons are crap for it and if I'm going to burn up tires at autocross I might as well burn up tires that perform better than 3 year old running shoes glued to the outside of a wheel.

I don't want to (read: can't) spend a whole lot of money. I'd love to get some nice lightweight wheels with Pilot SuperSports, but that's not exactly cheap. Here's what I've come up with playing on tirerack as a really cheap set

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on closeout, $79/wheel

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

and

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! tires, $71/tire with a $50 rebate for ordering a set

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Brings the total to $600 before shipping, with shipping being *gulp* $146. So more or less $750 for a set of autocross wheels and tires.

Another option is to go down to 16" wheels. These wheels are 3lbs lighter. The setup would be

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! $89 per wheel

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

and

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! $80 per wheel with $100 rebate.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

That puts the total after rebate and shipping a little less than the 17" option, right around $725ish

Thoughts? I'm leaning towards the 16" option because it's lighter, but since I know pretty much nothing about wheels and tires I wanted to see what you guys thought.

Also, side note, fuck GM for putting 5 X 105 bullshit pattern wheels on the Sonic...

DISCUSSION (18)

daender > Jayhawk Jake
05/19/2014 at 19:54

Edit: derp

daender > daender
05/19/2014 at 19:55

Dunlop Z2's are pretty epic but you might have to rush since they're stopping/stopped production and they're on sale. They're great on light cars and the Miata field loves them now that the Toyo R1R's are doomed next year.

jkm7680 > Jayhawk Jake
05/19/2014 at 19:57

SUMITOMO TIRES AND THEY GOTTA BE RUN FLAT

Serious note: Do the 16 inchers. They look better also.

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > daender
05/19/2014 at 20:11

Can confirm. I am happy to have a second set of wheels for my DD Miata so I can get a second set of Direzza's mounted before they all disappear.

Jayhawk Jake > jkm7680
05/19/2014 at 20:12

That song was amazing. And fitting. Can't pay my rent cause my money's all spent...

Jayhawk Jake > daender
05/19/2014 at 20:16

Too expensive unfortunately. It's like $300 more for the set! If I hadn't just spent a ton on RC airplane stuff, I'd get them, but as it is I can't

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Jayhawk Jake
05/19/2014 at 20:41

I'd lean towards the 16" too, not only will the 55 profile absorb any jerkiness you might have in the steering.. you could always drop down to a 50/R16 and get better acceleration because smaller rolling diameter.

I haven't been autocrossing much though so I'm talking about my butt as much as anything

willkinton247 > Jayhawk Jake
05/19/2014 at 21:17

Hoooooooosiers.

But fr real. They're great.

Jayhawk Jake > willkinton247
05/19/2014 at 22:21

I'd be surprised if I could get them in the right size, and they'd be waaaay too expensive.

Neither my car nor myself are good enough to justify Hoosiers, bro

willkinton247 > Jayhawk Jake
05/20/2014 at 00:13

Haha that's probably true. They're like, $1k a set?

That being said, an SSM Miata in Hoosiers is about 2-3 seconds a lap faster than one in Toyos at VIR. So there's that.

Squid > Jayhawk Jake
05/20/2014 at 00:49

You should make sure you check prices for tires in 17 and 16 inches. The 17's may be cheaper than the 16's even though the 16's are lighter and are the better choice weight wise. Just go down to 15's. . . . super light weight and many performance options.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > Jayhawk Jake
05/20/2014 at 02:59

This year I put on a set of Andros Spec D and Potenza RE-11 tires on my car. So far I cannot recommend these tires enough. I haven't owned PSS tires myself, but I have heard from someone that tried them (after being very acclimated to the RE-01) that they don't live up to their reputation.

Jayhawk Jake > Squid
05/20/2014 at 07:50

The first option is 17 and second is 16. 16 is a little cheaper.

Jayhawk Jake > willkinton247
05/20/2014 at 07:52

If I was going to spend $1000 on tires (and another $500 or so on wheels) I might as well just buy a cheap Miata on CL and run that.

Squid > Jayhawk Jake
05/20/2014 at 07:58

From what I understand, the market for performance tires are limited in the 16 inch sizes. But go with the lightest and stickiest tires you can go for. I learned not to cheap out on tires and you are better off getting the best that you can afford. If you are going to autoX regularly you'll probably be needing new tires at the end of the season anyways. But I dunno get what you can afford while trying to shed any unsprung weight you can, your brakes and steering rack will communicate much better with you.

Jayhawk Jake > Squid
05/20/2014 at 08:20

At this point I'm not looking for the best performance, I just want a second set of tires that are a bit better than my all seasons so I can burn them up instead of burning up my all seasons.

Next autocross season I'll switch to a higher performance tire

Squid > Jayhawk Jake
05/20/2014 at 08:28

Well just get you the lightest wheels you can that will still have a selection of performance tires available. Go light, unless you are left with shitty tire options.

Jayhawk Jake > Squid
05/20/2014 at 09:33

There's slightly more options in the 17" wheel, but I think for my purposes I'd prefer the lighter weight of the 16". The stock wheels are 17, so if I want a higher performance 17" tire I can just have it mounted on the stock wheels and put all seasons on the 16" and daily them.