Well, after having the car down (and/or not driven to potential) for a long, long time, it's time to get new tires on the car.It's a high HP 2000 with limited slip, all the various frame stiffening and springs and shocks and such, 15x7" 12 lb Kosie rims.... Planned use: Light autocross, lots of canyon carving, but not any track use where the tires get hot and stay hot.... I don't want stuff getting greasy, but I'm willing to give up some endurance for medium temperature ultimate grip and good street manners.And I'd had Toyo T1S's on there some years back, loved them, tried falkiens and wasn't super impressed, then back to T1R's and found the wet weather (not that I have a lot of rain here) and sticky/break away characteristics were great - nice and quite and the sidewalls weren't too floppy with decent pressure and light rims.Anyway, now there's an R1R, but it's no longer a 60 or 70 dollar tire - more like 140!!! I've heard some people are pretty happy with the federals on other cars - is that still true? The BFG's look attractive price/performance, but I'm just so out of touch with the modern selection of tires.So... Suggestions?

 

Sigh. Phone/internet are bad friends. Can some mod fix thread title? Something like "Wanted: Street/Autocross Tire Recommendation".

Thanks. :-(

 

Kinda looking at trying the Federal RS-R, don't keep the little guy down....

 

The BFG Rivals seem to be shaping up to be The Next Big Thing, and i'm sucked into the hype, so that's what i'm going to vote.

They seem to be lasting longer through abuse than the others.

 

BFG. Made in the USA. Plus, my Dad retired from there.

 

Figure out what class you're going to compete in at autocross and go from there. Your wheel and tire choices will largely be dictated by that factor.

 

Not looking to win races, autocrossing is just a chance to beat on car safely and with some feedback from the clock. Car is definitely a weekend warrior.

Already bought the RSR's, we'll see how they go.

 

Sounds like ZIIs are the ticket for you.

 

But, they are $77 each. Seriously. :-) I'm worried about road noise, maybe. Worried about squealing when I take a surface street corner at the posted speed limit, and not the speed a cop might find agreeable.

Not too worried about how many miles I'll get out of the set, I am worried about them getting greasy super easy. Worried about them being sloppy. I dunno, we'll see. Aside from fearing the weight, I think these may work out.

 

Oh, if you want streets that wont squeal, the R1R is the only choice. Theres a reason we call the R1R the bad wife, she wont say a thing when she's mad at you until she tries to kill you.

 

595 RSR's are pretty good tires. They dont get greasy, seem to be fine in cold or hot temps and stick well. They dont last as long as some other offerings, but I got 1.5 season of autocross out of them and a fair amount of street miles before they were toast.

 

Just what I wanted to hear. The best, most detailed review I've heard of them was some guy in an NSX who beat them up on the track. He said they went greasy too quick.

Although, it's hard to find people running the tire in anything other than a 15 profile. I'm not convinced a 245/25/17 behaves the same as a 205/50/15.

 

im thinking a heavier, much more powerful car on larger tires is probably not an accurate comparison.

Ive run Azenis 615's, Kumho XS's and 595's. The 615's I didnt have very long, but they did get greasy and seemed to wear fast. The XS's lasted forever but unless it was 80+, I could never get enough heat in them for an autocross. The 595's were sticky enough that my co-driver compared them to mid-life Victoracer R-Comps.

I never tracked them, so I cant comment on the durability for sustained racing, but they did fine with a 2 driver car on a 60sec autocross for 8-10 runs.

 

The only times I've have grease issues was mindlessly dicking around in the hills - power slides on every corner, and autocross practice sessions where you're pushing the car flat out back to back to back. But in normal driving, even driving hard, you're not going to touch what happens on a track where you never have to worry about oncoming traffic or going off a cliff. Looking forward to new tires.

 

Seeing your from San Diego, my choice would be the Hancook RS-3 (untill BFG Rivals show they can win in AutoX, so far the testing has been on a track). I have over 200 runs on my cooks (STR Miata), and they are not even half worn. The RS-3 never over heat and are very competitive.

 

Thats a lie. I've over heated them on my NA, it makes them feel dull on un responsive. I don't think you can over heat the compound but you can certainly over heat the core. And once you over heat the core you're pretty much done for the day.

 

You on the otherhand suggested the R1R, perhaps the MOST heat sensitive AutoX street tire on the market (best for cold weather). RS-3's are well known to be one of, if not THE most heat tolerant street tires (but by your standards I'm a lier? Get real!)

GAMO made a good recommendation, figure out what class/wheel size first.

 

Well year, because he wanted a tire that didnt squeal. The R1R is the only street tire I know of that doesnt squeal.

 

That is true, and I have them on my wife's STR miata because it's daily driven and tires that work well cold are excellent for emergencies/accident avoidance. We also have a set of the RS-3's for summer months and hot AutoX days.