Looking at new sticky tires for autox and street driving
 

I can't make my mind up about a few different tires to throw on my NA. I am trying to find tire that will see maybe 5k miles a year on the street and a few autox events. I will be in SSM class but my car isn't competitive and neither is my driving skill compared to them.

My car is pushing 260hp and currently on BC coilovers. I'm running around 1.5 degrees of camber front and 2 degrees in the rear. 0 toe. I'm on 15x8 wheels right now and currently have an old abused set of 225/45 rs3s on it.

I've been looking at the RS3v2 and rival s but then the nt-01 and rc1 drew my attention. My question is what tire will do me best for autox in Florida temps as well as lasting well enough on the street. The reviews I've read keep pointing to different tires depending on the person reviewing and tire pressures.

Thanks for any help. I'm doing autox events just for fun but I want a tire that will keep me atleast semi competitive without dissolving on the street.

The RS3v2 was the autocross tire to have last year. The Rival S was one of the hot tires this year. I'm currently running the RS3v2 and have been pleased with their performance at autocross and on the track. They only see street miles to/from events, but I will say they're much better in the rain that the old Rivals (and probably the new ones since they're pretty much the same tread pattern).

A lot of people are saying that the Rival S is really fast, but also wears out really quickly, especially if you drive it hard for longer than a 60 second autocross. My RS3v2's aren't quite as fast, but they wear like iron so far.

If you're running a class that allows R-Comps and you're only doing a few events each year, get a second set of wheels and run Hoosiers. If Hoosiers are out of your budget, get the Hankook Z214 in the C71 compound. If you take care of them, they'll be fine for a couple years.

Is the RE71r available in your size?

It seems to be the new hotness.

EDIT: Just checked the only 15 they have is a 205/50

on 8" wheel only 205 15 Bridgestone RE71

I've done more research and have narrowed it down to 2 tires

205/50 RE71 (treadwidth 7)
Or
225/45 Rival S (treadwidth 7.8)

I would save about 80 bucks buying the RE71 but if that 80 bucks is worth it to switch to the Rival S, I'm okay with spending it. RS3s are still unavailable.

since I'm only on 15x8, will the extra .8 from the rivals still benefit me since I'm pushing 260hp or is the wheel not wide enough to make use of that? New wheels are out of the picture cause that's 2 sets of tires and a set of wheels. Still need money left over for corner balance and alignment.

I'd love a dedicated set of sticky tires but I'm too new to autox to drop that kind of money. I'm okay with these sticky "street" tires though because I don't hook on the street without them haha

595 RSR. Best bang for buck

I had them in the past on some 16s. I liked them but they aren't in the size I need and I did have an issue with the tread on those.

It sucks that the RS3v2 is sold out for the season and BFG doesn't seem to care about the original Rival anymore. I hope the RS3v2 doesn't get changed next year.

What about that new Kumho tire? If you're new to the sport, you're only going to have one set of wheels, and you're going to drive them on the street, you might as well just get the cheapest thing that will fit and spend your money on more seat time. I know all the cool kids are running Rival S's and RE71's, but the cool kids are also trailering their tires/"street cars" to events (at least in my area). If you're going to do all that, you might as well run R-Comps.

Autocross is 90% driver ability. The other 10% is split between tires and car prep. At the last autocross I went to, I let a top-tier driver co-drive my CSP/STR miata. He finished in the top 10 overall (on RS3v2's), I was mid-pack.

I complete agree on the seat time, I've looked at 225/45s and don't think I seen any kumhos. I think in 205s there are some. Since this car is driven maybe 3k miles a year, I'm just going to stick with the rival s I think