Just went auto-x'ing, how much difference do tires make?
 

Well, I went auto-'xing today. They put me in class CSP.

There were 2 other NA FC's in it both running around 45-46.xx. My best time was 49.xxx.

They told me that some new racing tires would take off about 2 seconds from my runs.


They, of course, were hardcore racers running nearly full open exhaust, K&N intakes, stripped down interiors, ToKico 5-way adjust shocks, and racing tires. one had 4+ years expirience too :eek:

Is the tire REALLY gonna improve handling that MUCH?!!?

Right now I have stcok size (P205/60/VR15) BF Goodrich tires I got at Sam's Club for cheap ($30/ea) all with about 80-90% tread left. I'd just like to say oversteer out of every corner is VERY fun. :D

short answer yes.. it also helps to have a burly suspension like oversized sway bars and beefy shocks. a set of kumho victoracers should take off about 2- 2.5 sec off the average car if you can drive it right :D

Hell yes.....Tires will make all the difference, until you get really involved and start with suspension mods.

The grip is determined mostly by tires. Tires make ALL the difference. The only problem is, with all that grip, handling will get worse because the suspension was not designed to cope with the MUCH GREATER lateral loads. You can kinda drive your way around the transient problems but you can still have problems with the suspension bottoming out.

Basically, YES GET SOME GOOD TIRES. You will see immediate and incredible gains. It will also amplify your suspensions' shortcomings, but you'll at least be a lot faster.

Sweet, thanks! :cool:

well i normally get my ass handed to me by my buddy that drives a 99 Si. full suspension, actually sponsored by suspension techniques, full energy suspension set up, beefy ass spring rates, with tokikos in all four corners. kuhmo victoracers all teh way around. there were the smaller tighter courses though. as we opened it up from a change of location(i get up to 70 mph now) i can easily sit right next to him. i am of course driving a stock FD touring(must be the stock wing i added). with suspension and tires i should be right next to the man with the top times of day. fully gutted 240Z . he is killer. i am BROKE
kris

Seat time will lower your times the most. If this was your first auto-cross, you need to keep coming back. Walk the course, drive slow. When you start out you need decent tires. But don't break your budget on a set of heat cycled tires to cruise around on. If you decide to stay and play seriously, get another set of rims and a set of GOOD TIRES for race only.

It really depends on the surface.

Some surfaces just SUCK with street tires, but some are ok.. But yes, regardless of the surface, race tires will give you a big improvement.

I was at a street solo this weekend, and everyone in the street tire class was having problems getting a clean run. The course was just too fast, and the surface too smooth. I didn't get a clean run, and I spun once. I wish I had race tires. :P

So you think it'd be better to get race tires....

or should I drive on these ones for the next few auto-x's to improve my driving skill?

Unless you are dripping money forget the race tires for now and stick with decent street tires. You don't know it yet but you have all sorts of bad habits and once those are fixed you are going to be suprised how fast you and you car on street tires can go. Drive, drive, drive, experience, experience, experience.

If you get tires now, yes you will be faster but you will not be exploiting the tires capabilities either. You can learn just as much on streets, and after you develop some then buy the race tires. I would not even consider buying race rubber until at least 10 events. For what you'd spend on wheels and rubber you can do two Evolution classes and I guarantee that is money better spent; it can transform you in a weekend.

Evolution Autox School

I hope I don't come off "holier than thou" but I can tell you from experience this is the way to go. First prepare yourself, then prepare the car.

All that said it's real darned fun ain't it???:cool:

Yeah, it was my 2nd time auto-x'ing.

This time, i REALLY got the heel-toe thing down. It's awesoeme to just fly out of a corner already in gear :cool:

TONS of fun. I recommend it to anyone who is too afraid or whatever.

i second damonb's opinion.

mike

Ditto. Learn how to go fast first. Then go upgrade. I'm still not nearly as fast as I could be in my FD. I think that's why I haven't spent the money on those new Kumho's yet ... and the fact that I'm broke.

But, to answer your question, most people see a 2-3 second difference when they go to race tires.

By far tires are the absolutly number one most important part of making your car handel better... period. all the suspension in the world means little or nothing if your tires cant keep up with it.
Do take the advice given earlier and just stick with what you got unless you have bunches of money and are going to try and go for the championship. just practice with what you got.
on my completly stock 85 rx-7 I picked just under 3 secs at my last autocross meet. was running b/f goodrich r1 dot tires.

Not to mention that the BFG R1's are not as sticky as Kumho's or Hoosiers. Also, when you switch to race tires, there's a learning curve associated with them as well. You'll be able to go much deeper into corners and NOT have to lift. But as iterated earlier, if you can't push the car to its limits on street tires, you won't get the full benefit of having race tires. Take the Evolution school when it's available in your area. The best $200 you can spend towards auto-x.

The local SoloII series I've attended gives a 2 second break for anyone running true street tires. Your 49 seconds becomes a 47, and a little practice and you're all over those guys:p:

Damn.. I wish we had that 2 sec break up here.. ;)

Yeah, I think I'll keep on the street tires so my m@d sKillZ will improve... then I'll buy a set of race rims/tires :devil:

2 second break seems way harsh..

Up here we just put all the street tire guys in one class, and PAX them (assuming they WANT to be in that class).

i agree with martini. i run in the street tire class. so dre, you should be labeled as scsp for street tires. also street prepared classes are supposed to retain a full interior. so technically, they weren't even a csp. you can however get away with removing the spare tire, jack, sound deadening and other hidden weight. running r compound tires is a world of difference and also takes some getting used to as they react different and you will not be used to the grip or there silent break away characteristics.

I agree with all the previos posts. Tires are great but experience will shave lots.

As soon as I get my '89 T-II in good runnin order I'm aiming to take back top spots from redrotorR1.....getting tired of him beating me in my '86 CSP;)

Get "good" with experience...then get "REALLY good" with suspsension and sticky tires:)