I'd recommend giving the Kumho XS a shot. They're relatively cheap (i'm sure less than the PS2s) and very sticky street tires.

Just make sure you make a quality choice, as they say you've gotta pay if you wanna pay :D

What are your rim sizes and offsets?
Rolled fenders in front?

Will you be swapping a set of tires on the same rims or are you going to be getting different rims? I do not understand how it would make financial sence to pay someone to mount an balance a different set of tires every track day ( and risk damage to those expensive wheels). Because if you do many track days then it would be very expensive (swapping every time) and if you do not do many then it would be a waste to spend money on a set of tires that will not get used and will probably dry rot before they wear out.

The other solution (IMHO the best) would be wear out the PS2's and then switch to a cheaper tire for your street/track driving. Problem solved.

I think you are over thinking. I would definitely listen to Brent as he makes very good points use good street tires for the track, once you have consistent times then switch to something more sticky.


I also do think Dans post was civil, he asked good questions and brought up good points. If I made a thread asking this question I would expect a response from him just like that, in fact I think when I asked him about tires the last tack day I went to with him he told me just that:lol:.

^I thought he just told you to 'ask Rich' :rofl:

^ Both of you know how I feel on the issue. I pm'd you about discord on the forum a few weeks ago and remain available to speak if you'd like.

How about a compromise? Delete the comments that have taken the thread off track. Leave Dan's comment but delete "The first question to ask is what track experience do you have? One track day and you're already in need of dedicated track tires?". Okay?

8.5X18 front +6.5 offset, 12.5X18 rears +7.5 offset
Rolled fenders on the front

Hadn't really thought through the details of this, was trying to get the basics first. I've got a local tire company right down the road from me that has offered to store the tires for me and to mount them and swap as needed.

The idea of having separate rims is appealing though and will look into this as well.

David,

Will you track your RX-7 or are these tires for another car?

No, not okay. The thread is fine just as it is..... let the mods decide what should and shouldn't be deleted. You are not a mod on this forum, sorry :)

This is a public forum, and people are offering you help in a civil fashion. As to why you're manufacturing drama, I have NO idea.

At any rate, with your rim sizes you're kind of limited on tire sizes. Maybe look into some more 'tame' wheel sizes. But then you'll have to deal with your rear fender flares.

Have you read up on the Kumho XS yet? Probably your best choice IMO.

For my car.

I haven't manufactured any drama here Rich. Just responded to one particular comment that I believe was not meant to be constructive and now this.

As the OP, I feel my perception of the comment is important, and as such, don't feel it is appropriate nor adds to the thread. The comment and then resulting replies simply continue to distract from a very simple question about tires and a thread that was going well. And if you believe I am manufacturing drama, please look at past posts and interactions and see if any of the posts are constructive. Enough is enough. Most of what Dan posted is just fine, it's just that one sentence that isn't and was meant IMO not to be constructive.

And I thought you and RenesisFD were mods, hence the ask. If you are not a mod for this section, then I'm asking the mods in charge to clean up the thread, you know, like you did with the Carlisi thread? Thanks for the equal consideration.

Now back to tires. The end result here is I have gotten some pretty good advice and I appreciate it. For newbies, the consensus is to use a street high performance tire like my PS2 and then when driving mechanics improve, to go to something more sticky.

As for me, and as Rich points out, my options are very limited due to rear wheel tire size. The Toyo Proxes R888 are the only other option it appears outside of the PS2s that would fit and save any money. The Kumos don't come in my size.

In any event, thanks again for the tire advice.

David not trying to thread jack this, but since the thread has seemed to turn into using a more aggressive street tire first I thought I would ask.


Has anyone ran/running the Bridgestone RE-11's as either their street tire or track tire or a combo of both. As in, a few uses at the track but mainly street tires....? I was reading a thread from a while back where Renton I believe mentioned about 4 or 5 tires that could be ran reliably on the street with occasional track use. The star specs and RE-11's were 2 of them.

^ No problems. Wanted this to be a helpful thread to all.

Regardless of the interpretation of the message, you should definitely be taking the high performance street tire advice.

How often do you plan on tracking your car David? Are we talking once a year or 10 times a year?

If you're just looking to continue dipping your toe in the track-water and will only do 1-2 days a year then I'd leave the PS2s and just deal with the decreased tread life. You may chunk them if you get fast enough, but it shouldn't be a primary concern.

If you're going to get into it more regularly, then I'd buy a set of dedicated track wheels (track pads destroy wheels anyway) and tires. You can then buy a more sensible size for the rear, and a bigger front in order to try to even the stagger front/rear. If you continue to track your car with almost a 100mm width difference between front and rear you're going to push so bad it won't matter what you've got on there. When you buy the new wheels, you can then get a nice high-performance street tire to put on them and then enjoy tracking them until they cord.

^ Good advice and thanks. My issue had not been with the street tire advice and that is the way I am going to go.

Would like to start getting out 4-6 times per year and go from there, depending if I like it and catch the "track bug" so to speak. I've got a great resource down my way that has offered to take me out for instruction. He's an FD guy that does Porsche and BMW instruction.

I also like the idea of getting a separate set of rims for track days. Am looking into that now.

For the time being, I'll just drive what I have and then see where my research and thoughts go.

Sounds like you can probably do another day on the PS2s without doing too much damage, just make sure you don't throttle up that 20b too crazy.

Dedicated track wheels/tires even if you're driving to the track on them is the way to go eventually.

Have you tried going to Tires at Tire Rack?? If you are willing to spend some time, it's full of great info on exactly what this thread is all about. You can search by the size you want and they give endless reviews/specs/ - Tirerack does their own and consumers who bought that specific tire write up their personal experience. Tire They even tell you car the make/type and where they live (to give you a general idea of the weather they encounter).

That is a great idea and yes I've done it. The reviews and articles are really good. Thanks.

I was thinking that since you have 3 piece wheels you can just change the rear barrel in the fronts to a wider size and therefore be able to fit a wider tire on the front to help even out your stagger. That is a cheap solution that will benefit you even on the street, with a wider tire you will be able to stop faster under all conditions.

You contradicted yourself above, do you have 9.5" wide or 8.5" wide front rims? Due to you running only a 245 I am assuming you meant 8.5. In which case you have plenty of room for a wider barrel.