Sure i know some of you spend a lot of money on expensive tires for an autocross season or even one race. I'm thinking a cheap set of tires that still have good grip for autocrossing. Any brands you recommend?

I'm sure this will be helpful to others!

5/17/2006 11:23:26 PM

falken azenis

[/thread]

[Edited on May 17, 2006 at 11:26 PM. Reason : 215 or 615]

5/17/2006 11:26:22 PM

Get some cheap ass tires in the correct size. Halfway to three quarters worn is best; tread makes 'em wiggly. Mix you some xylene and diesel fuel in a 50/50 ratio. Paint tread with said mixture and sit in sun for a couple of hours. Repeat a couple of times.

Result: soft tread.

5/17/2006 11:51:33 PM

falkem NG-R/S

5/17/2006 11:57:09 PM

Quote :

"falken azenis [/thread]"

Kevin nailed the thread on the head with this one

^^I bought my Azenis for $55/each. I think that qualifies as cheap ass.

5/17/2006 11:58:22 PM

^I think you're right. I'd rather buy the Azenis than do the diesel trick, unless I was down to my last 10 bucks and buying old used tires.

5/17/2006 11:59:58 PM

Azenis RT-615

5/18/2006 2:54:11 AM

leave it to Dan to embrace his African heritage on a track day

5/18/2006 2:56:19 AM

you cot-damn rite.

Now I'm going to sleep. I hope. I slept all day...got a nice sore throat/pock-marked tonsils.

5/18/2006 2:59:17 AM

Azenis??? y'all fuckers scared to put some R's on that shit?

5/18/2006 6:52:54 AM

Quote :

"^I think you're right. I'd rather buy the Azenis than do the diesel trick, unless I was down to my last 10 bucks and buying old used tires. "

if you're down to your last $10, you probably shouldn't be autocrossing anyway.

5/18/2006 8:42:11 AM

Quote :

"Azenis??? y'all fuckers scared to put some R's on that shit?"

they're not scared, they're just broke college students

5/18/2006 8:43:26 AM

it's too bad the 615s got more expensive than the 215s. they are pretty much in the same price range as the kuhmo MXs now. the kuhmo's are another option if they don't make the azenis in the size you need; not quite as good as the 615s, but pretty close.

5/18/2006 8:44:01 AM

the 215s are discontinued, but vulcan tire still has some stock and you can still get maybe a half-dozen different sizes...

as far as r-compounds go, he did say "a cheap set of tires"...

5/18/2006 8:53:28 AM

yep, Azenis RT-615s. my 255/40-17"s were $131 a pop. thats not too bad

5/18/2006 9:09:31 AM

my 15" RA-1s are like $120. but i bought a set used. for $200 for all 4 with a lot of tread left.

they were never shaven down, which i actually like because since im not competing or since i cant afford tires like that, i can use them longer.

5/18/2006 8:10:40 PM

uniroyal all-season's

5/18/2006 8:40:10 PM

BFG
KDW 245/45/17
KDW2 225/45/17

5/18/2006 9:20:55 PM

Goodyear Eagle LS bitches. WHAT!

5/18/2006 11:24:51 PM

if you are interested in the kdw, it is cheaper right now for some reason.....

i got 2 about 6-7 months ago
the 2 that i picked up this past week cost me about $30 less than last time

5/19/2006 3:08:03 AM

I autocrossed on Azenis 215's and 615's today. The 215's are cheaper and faster than the 615's, but the 615's are easier to drive on (more progressive at the limit). Either one is great.

Kumho MX are also good, as well as Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212. They'll ALL be 2-3 seconds slower than Kumho 710's or Hoosier A6's on a 60s course, but they're good for learning, or for a tire class.

It's true that they'll be squirmish at full tread, but if you're driving them on the street it's a waste to shave them.

5/21/2006 8:40:24 PM

yeah.. definitely do not get r-compounds if you're a beginner.. at the edge of traction, they're a little hard to get used to.

5/22/2006 9:07:43 AM

^^ interesting. i think GRM tested them and found the 615s to be faster than the 215s. i've never personally driven on the 215s.

5/22/2006 11:20:28 AM

215s are awesome.. i've never driven on the 615s...

everyone says the 215s get greasy, but i never experienced this... even at cmp.. of course, i was driving a pretty light car (gutted rabbit)

5/22/2006 12:37:53 PM

I won the 2001 G-Class title in SC on BFGoodrich Touring T/As

5/22/2006 1:06:01 PM

My dad and I are running "Turbo Action" tires... they suck, but I say they are making me a better driver in the long run. For a first season I would find some used POS generic tires and learn how to drive with less grip first. When I mess up I don't have to worry about flat spotting $500 worth of tires.

5/22/2006 1:55:26 PM

Hmm.... if I recall correctly the GRM article proved that the old 215's were faster. My testing yesterday seemed to agree with that, although I obviously didn't do as thorough of a test as them, since I had a limited number of runs. Many of the top autocrossers bought up the old remaining stock of 215's for a reason!

The 215's get greasy when they get too hot. They heat up very fast, so you should spray them after each run. The 615's are a little bit better with that, but they still overheat.

In comparison with the Kumho MX... I'd say that *probably* the Azenis are faster. There was another car in the same class yesterday running on MX's. His car was far more prepared than ours was, but we still beat him by a couple seconds. Another very good driver took his car for a spin and we still had them by over 1 second.

[Edited on May 22, 2006 at 4:40 PM. Reason : ]

5/22/2006 4:38:50 PM

Quote :

"everyone says the 215s get greasy, but i never experienced this..."

that includes autoxing a 3000# fwd vw...

5/22/2006 4:43:04 PM

my understanding is that the 615s have more overall grip, but have softer sidewalls so are less responsive

5/22/2006 4:45:39 PM

softer sidewalls, but also lighter.

the 615s have a nylon sidewall where the 215s had a metal one

5/22/2006 5:16:44 PM

i dailyed/tracked/autoxed 215s for quite a while on my old e30. They're great autox tires, but always seemed to push prematurely on track. First couple of laps they felt great... but once they had heat in them I agree that they do become greasy. This held true at both VIR-N and Rockingham. I don't feel like I was over-driving the car, instead that these tires are designed for autox... not track use. They're fine/cheap tires to track, just a little frustrating.

[Edited on May 22, 2006 at 5:22 PM. Reason : .]

5/22/2006 5:21:21 PM

The only time I've used the 615's at the track (VIR) was when it was snowing, and they were *excellent*. I don't think I'd ever use them in dry weather though.

I'm not surprised that they have softer sidewalls... I did feel a "floatiness" in the car yesterday that I'd never felt before. I think it might be better to go with a bigger, lightweight wheel so that you can use a lower profile tire. In STS and STS2 most of the pros seem to be moving to 16" wheels over the 15" that everyone used with 215's.

[Edited on May 22, 2006 at 5:38 PM. Reason : ]

5/22/2006 5:37:47 PM

here is a snippet of that article i found somewhere online. it's cool because this is a good list for this thread:

Quote :

"Grassroots Motorsports tested six tires in their August 2005 issue, and guess which test car they used? 2004 Nissan Sentra SE-R SpecV -> Nismo S-tune suspension -> Nismo front anti-roll bar -> Nismo rear anti-roll bar -> Nismo brake pads -> Nsimo catback exhaust -> Nismo 17x7.5 wheels The following tires were tested by two seasoned autox drivers, both with extensive experience competing in Topeka at the nationals. The size used was 225/45R17 for all six tires. Five runs were taken by each driver in the SpecV, here are the final results: 1. Falken Azenis RT-615 2. Falken Azenis RT-215 3. Yokohama Advan Neova 4. Hankook R-S2 Z212 5. Kumho Ecsta MX 6. BFG g-Force T/A KD "

I've run the MX's quite a few times and I'd say the 615s are noticeably better. The MXs are really good, but they have very squishy sidewalls. On my 3600lb. car I have to put a shitload of air in them to keep them from rolling over. Maybe on a lighter car, the sidewall flex wouldn't be as big of a deal.

I'm surprised no one on here mentioned the KDs. They are a bit pricey I think, but considerably better than the KDW or KDW2s.

5/22/2006 6:47:05 PM