Good Tires for Autocross?

[Q_BMW]

hey guys
I went t my first Autocross event this weekend and had the best time of my life. I did farewell although I was driving with my snow tires. I was thinking about getting street tires and rims but cannot spend too much on them esp since I can only get 4 more events for this season.
Can anyone suggest what tires to get and would normal summer tires do the job too ? any place that sells those ugly factory rims wiith tires so I can put them on when i go for autocrossing ?
thanks for the help guys
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[Kevin325i]

Kuhmo MXs if they'll never seen snow. Or Azenis, I can't remember the brand. When you're at the next event, look at everyone's tires, I guarantee 90% of the street tires (non race slicks, or R comps) will be one of those two. When I need a new set of tires, I'm going for the Kuhmos.

[Q_BMW]

cool
thanks kevin...any place to buy cheap ass non fancy ugly rims ?
so that way i could sit the kumhos on them ?
thanks
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[Kevin325i]

Well, if I were you, I'd get those tires you've got for the snow remounted on the crappy rims, then put the kuhmos on the 16s you've got now. I think that's what you meant to say. As for cheap crappy ones, try tirerack.com. You can also order the tires through them in just about any size you want.

Another possibility would be to buy a set of the 15 inchers when somebody upgrades their wheels. You could probably get a set off ebay for like 300 bucks.

[Autotechnica]

I don't know why so many people use Kumho, honestly I can't stand any type of Korean tire. Hankook has to be the best example of a very poor quality Korean tire company. My pacemark winter tires handle better in the dry than my so called "high performance" Z rated Hankook tires. Anyways, after I got rid of those god awful tires, I replaced them with Dunlop SP Sport FM90's, very good track tires, haven't tried them at auto-x this season though. Lots of tread life, plenty of grip, very predictable. I've also heard great things about Yoko ES-100's.

My friends have had lots of problems with Kumho, mostly accelerated tire wear. They don't even last one season. The only good thing I've heard about them is the good wet traction, something I don't really care about. Why would you be speeding around in the rain anyways?

Bry

[Turbodefrost]

Toyo Proxes are very good. I have them, and have never had any traction problems while taking very hard turns.

[roguesniper1]

Yes, toyo's are super tires, but they also cost fucking arm and length. Personally, I would go with Falken azenis or Yokohama ES-1 for perfect balance. They act very good and cost accrodingly. If I was rich, I would toyo's as they are the ultimate tires. PERIOD. P Nero Zero are good too, but again they are expensive than the ES-1 and Azenis.

[El Presidente]

if you'd have posted this about 2 weeks ago you could've had my old tires. They had one or two serious autocrosses in them before their final farewell.

[Q_BMW]

hey
thanks guys....el presidente u got rid of them ? for how much just so i have an idea of what i should pay...thanks
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[Q_BMW]

hey
i have 16" now with the sport package, if i buy 15" wud performance be worse ...pls lemme know cuz someone is sellin 15"s
thanks guys
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[El Presidente]

yeah, i just sears keep em. I was just wanting to make a buck off em. Would've gone 30 for all four.

[roguesniper1]

also, don't go smaller in autocross, it will affect the handling in the negative. For extreme performence, I would recommend 17,s or 18. It will slow your acceleration for couple tenths, but will give far more superior handling around corners and better brake response.

[Q_BMW]

hey
thanks for the reply but i had a question. Some people had told me that 17" are great for performance and 18" might be too big for like autocross...this is just a statement i inferred from some people but have not directly been told this. What do you guys think ?
Also I currently have 16"s with the sport (lowered) suspension and I do not plan to do any suspension mods in the near future, the rear end sits really low so 18"s wud look decent but the front end might lift up ? would I only need to change springs to lower then and assuming I do mod the suspension in a yr or so would this be the ideal way to go for autocross ? or 17"s would be better?
thanks a ton guys
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[Autotechnica]

17" wheels are the ideal size for performance. 18" wheels are more for show. You won't really get the full benefits of using low profile 17" tires until you lower the car more. You want to have more -ve camber so when you're conering your tires will stay flat as a millpond.

Bry

[Q_BMW]

so in that case wud u recommend i just buy a set of 16" tires and use the factory rims....should be good enough ?
what size tires should i buy ?
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