autox tires for 2014

[barbaro]

Supersports did better than the RE11s. That does not surprise me at all.

 

[FullAhead]

I'm a little lost on what tire is actually wider. Check out the section width vs tread width on the 275/35 Rival and Z2 vs the 285/35 RS3.

Rival: Section width 10.9"
(275) Tread width 10.2"

Z2: Section width 10.8"
(275) Tread width 10.4"

RS3: Section width 11.4" (cool!)
(285) Tread width 10.1" (what?)

Particularly interesting since the Z2 has tested a touch faster, and I believe it has a stiffer sidewall which could benefit our heavy cars.

Full disclosure; I'm a noob.

 

[dontlifttoshift]

Some of the difference in section width is due to the measuring rim width being a 10" instead of 9.5 but that only accounts for .2" approximately.

The rest is manufacture variance. The 285 should be 10mm wider but it still puts the same tread to the ground.

 

[FullAhead]

Some of the difference in section width is due to the measuring rim width being a 10" instead of 9.5 but that only accounts for .2" approximately.

The rest is manufacture variance. The 285 should be 10mm wider but it still puts the same tread to the ground.

Ah, that would make sense. However it still doesn't explain how the 285 RS3 is 0.3" narrower than the 275 Z2? That'd be easy to explain if they both were the same size, or if it was the other way around.

It's probably a moot point because I'm not really willing to give up anymore overall height than I already have to with the 285/35. I'll be staying with my 3.73:1 for the time being, my local club runs small lots for the most part.

 

[jmauld]

...And 285/30/18 is a terrible size.

What's wrong with that size?

 

[csamsh]

What's wrong with that size?

Very short. You would run out of gear pretty hard on any decent sized autox.

 

[dontlifttoshift]

What's wrong with that size?

plus looks stoopid. You know that really fat girl from high school that had the really small ankles.....its kinda like that.

 

[jmauld]

You won't generally run out of gearing if you have the stock 3.31s. Plus, that is the only way to lower the CofG of the car without throwing off your suspension geometry.

 

[Sam Strano]

What's wrong with that size?

Yep, I only won one National Championship and one ProSolo Championship on a 285/30-18, then moved to 295/30-18's for the others in the Shelby (it was not really much taller but was easier to lean on). Gearing: 65mph was doable on both.

If you have a 3.55 or 3.73 5.0 you're screwed anyway. Even a 3.31 can only muster 65 on a 295/30-18, so I get that there will be times in some cars that it might be too short.

The Rival... Not my favorite tire, and frankly not really all it was cracked up to be. I drove it, I was the release party for it in New Orleans. It's not a bad tire, but I think there are better.

Z2's. Car and driver and size dependent. Hated them on my STX FR-S, work really well on a CS.RTR car though (smaller rims).

I still think the Hankook is the best choice overall for the cars.

 

[csamsh]

Yep, I only won one National Championship and one ProSolo Championship on a 285/30-18, then moved to 295/30-18's for the others in the Shelby (it was not really much taller but was easier to lean on). Gearing: 65mph was doable on both.

Were you shifting at all when you won?

 

[irishpwr46]

what car/setup did they use???

a track prepped crx. ill get the info posted later tonight


edit: heres a photo of the results.

 

[csamsh]

a track prepped crx

lol. There's probably no car that is more different from a Mustang!

 

[SilverMustangGT]

plus looks stoopid. You know that really fat girl from high school that had the really small ankles.....its kinda like that.

Who cares what it looks like. I'm more interested in winning.

I'm driving on 255/40/17 tires. It looks kind of weird, but is very fast on the small sealed asphalt lots that we use. Lowers the car and helps with acceleration out of the slow corners. Probably not good for nationals, but perfect for the regions in my area.

I drove on BFG Rivals this year, but drove on Hankook R-S3 last year. I think the Hankooks are a better tire for the Mustang. They withstand the heat better than the Rivals.

 

[lost won]

Priorities, Darn it!

Who cares what it looks like. I'm more interested in winning.

WHERE are your priorities?

First rule sez: If ya can't go fast, you hafta look good.

Look it up.

"I think the Hankooks are a better tire for the Mustang." Funny, I think the guy with all the jackets and 881 posts up there said almost the same thing. I think we're on to something. Thanks, Rob!

 

[irishpwr46]

lol. There's probably no car that is more different from a Mustang!

true, but it is a start as far as seeing results

 

[Whiskey11]

I can't tell you which tire is the best but you have to take magazine test results with a healthy dose of salt. How many of those tests set up the car to run those tires? Tires are sensitive to everything from pressures to camber to spring rate and without truly setting up the car to drive with each tire all you are getting is the "if nothing else were to change, this is how they stack up". I talked with more than a few people about street tires at Nationals and there was no one correct answer. Most of the folks who hated the Rivals were AWD, they loved the ZII's... the RWD guys were split and just as confused as I was but I saw a lot of ZII's and RS3's, the FWD guys LOVE the Rivals... probably because they are super tolerant of large slip angles like their sacred cow Toyos without the wear issues at those huge slip angles.

I've ran now only two Extreme Summer Performance tires and it's no surprise that I like the wider RS3's over my previous set of Star Specs.

What I would look for is a tire that multitasks pretty well. By that I mean one that does acceleration while cornering pretty well because the one advantage these cars have over their competition is going to be torque and power. Maybe not over the boost buggies in STU, but pretty close. If you can't find a way to use that power you will be slow. The RS3's comes in some advantageous sizes with slightly taller sidewalls that are a little more forgiving. That's why I ran with the 265/40/18's instead of the more common 265/35/18 tires.

The car has the potential to be just outside the trophies with a non-hack driver (read: not me) in STX on those 265/40/18's and the guy I had drive the car (different day, I know I know) won CSP this year and his only complaint was the car was just a touch too loose for his driving style and he would like a little better power down. Considering I have two softer notches on the Hellwigg/Strano rear bar I think I can oblige!

 

[dontlifttoshift]

Who cares what it looks like. I'm more interested in winning.

Well, are you?

WHERE are your priorities?

First rule sez: If ya can't go fast, you hafta look good.

Look it up.

Not exactly what I meant, but thanks for implying that I'm a hard parker. Given a choice I will run the tire that fits the car. So why run a 25" tire when there are plenty of other tires in a more appropriate diameter.

 

[Sam Strano]

Running a taller tire than you need makes the cG of the car higher. That matters if you are looking to be fast. Slamming the suspension lowers it, but at the cost of things working well geometry wise. Lowering a car with tires, if you can get away with it gearing wise is a free, no compromise drop in cG.

 

[dontlifttoshift]

Yep, and a taller tire will accelerate better than a shorter one.

 

[cito]

Yep, and a taller tire will accelerate better than a shorter one.

Could go either way. Given equal traction, the shorter tire will accelerate more quickly.

Sams point about tire height is excellent. My dad has a mild prep CP car, and we ran a full second faster by going with a 23.5 vs. 25 inch tire. Probably a combination of lower cg, gearing, and a multitude of other possible variables.