SHOspazz92
Banned
Choosing a tire.
A Subject that has been coming up a lot lately on our beloved forum has been “What kind of tires should I buy”. A good question with thousands of answers, hopefully this Post will help you narrow it down.
What kind of tire do I want?
When shopping for tires there are a lot of things you have to consider. First, what is the purpose of your SHO? Is it a daily driver? Is it a weekend cruiser? Is it a dedicated track car? Or maybe it’s a combination of everything. Asking yourself these questions can really narrow things down. For a daily driver you may want a tire with low noise levels and a low tread wear (300+). But Maybe that daily driver will get tracked every now in then, Time to find something in between! ...etc.
In my experience, having an “All purpose” tire to double as a street and track tire can be more trouble than it is worth. Having once used Dunlop Star Spec Z1's as my track cars Auto-X and street tire, I had to really watch my alignment, as events were generally 60+ Miles away and to aggressive of a alignment would wear the tire down quickly. However, not being able to run a more aggressive alignment hurt me on the Auto-X course. There was also the issue of keeping tire wear even. Say I were to pop one tire, I would have to buy 1 new one, hoping that it wouldn’t unbalance the car having a brand new tire in conjunction with 3 others that have been through multiple heat cycles. I got lucky and never had issues, but it can happen and it’s just something to consider.
Types of Tires.
All Season
Pictured: Continental DWS / BFG G-Force Super Sport.
For many of you NE/Midwest guys, an all season tire is a MUST. This category consists of Kuhmo ASX, Eagle F1 AS/C, Continental Extreme Contact DWS, etc. Do not expect to get performance that’s remotely close to a Max performance/Performance summer tire. All seasons are generally made of a much harder compound which limits traction (But last longer as a trade off). There’s a few manufactures who advertise their all season tire have some amazing performance and I’m sure that they do (for an all season anyways), but their overall performance just won't compare to the types of tires listed below.
Ultra High/Max Performance Summer
Pictured: Bridgestone RE-760 Sport / Hankook Ventus V12 / Continental Sport Contact 2
(200-350 Tread wear) This category consists of your Hankook V12 , Bridgestone RE-760s, BFGoodrich G-Force sports, Nitto NT-450, Goodyear Eagle F1...etc. The great thing about this type of tire is that they can be pretty well rounded. Great Tread Life, good grip, low noise and can even handle a track day or two. The down side is that all of those things have to be compromised in one way or another to even the other category’s out. Choosing between all the available options is simply the buyers preference and what you’re willing to pay. I would highly suggest reading as many reviews you can on a tire (The Tire rack has great reviews from customers to read through) before deciding which one is for you. You may be surprised to find the lower priced tire, can meet or even exceed your expectations, or something like that.
Extreme Performance Summer
Pictured : Dunlop Direzz ZII / BFG GForce Rival / Hankook Ventus RS-3
(200 Tread wear or less) This is where things get fun. This tire category consists of your Dunlop Direza Star Spec Z1’s, Bridgetstone RE-11’s, Hankook RS-3’s, Falken Azeni 615’s, BFGoodrich Rival's...etc. They are probably the closest thing you can get in regards to having a “Race tire” for the street. Generally not having more than a 200 tread wear, you may be lucky to get a solid 20,000 Miles out of these tires if you pay very close attention to how they are wearing. In adverse weather conditions, you may have to pay a lot more attention to how you drve. The tread pattern of some of these tires is not the best in hydroplane resistance and certainly are not meant for anything more than rain. However, some have reported that they handle rain fine and even use these tires as their “wet tires” in place of their slicks if its raining. It really comes down to how careful you are in inclement weather. It is also worth mentioning that because of the broad tread pattern and stiff sidewalls, these types of tires generally make the car ride a bit stiffer and increase road noise. If your car stays in the garage most of the time and comes out for weekend fun or Auto-X/Track days, this may be the type of tire for you. Grassroots motorsports generally has an article once a year, comparing these types of tires, I highly suggest searching out one of those articles to see if the tire you are looking at best suits your needs.
Here is an article from the August Grassroots Motorsports comparing the lastest offerings of Extreme performance summer tires. The article includes test on both a Auto-X course and a Road course. It's a VERY good read.
Extreme Performance summer tire shootout - Grassroots Motorsports.
Competition tires.
Pictured: Hoosier A6/R6 / Hankook Ventus Z214
You have finally decided to start tracking your SHO. You want as much grip as humanly possible without breaking the bank...well, sorry to tell you...you are going to break the bank. With rubber prices going up the price for your average 16’’/17’’ race slick is anywhere from 170-300 bucks. You have a few option’s here. Hoosier A6/R6, Kuhmo V710, Hankook Z214...etc. Many of these tires come in different compounds to suit your needs, whether you Auto-X or Road race. The one thing to remember with R-Comp/Slicks is that they can be very unforgiving. Unlike normal tires that squeal and make all kinds of noises at the limit, These kind of tires can at times give no warning before letting go.
Another important thing is maintaining these tires. Yes, that’s right – You have to maintain race tires. Storing the tires is pretty important. If you store them uncovered in a freezing cold garage during the winter, they may not be as sticky as they once were when you pull them out to race again. Keeping them stored at room temperature should save you from any trouble. Another thing to watch is tire temperature. It is possible to overheat these types of tires, causing them to harden and turn them in to fiery death rock hard round things. Watching your tire temps (Especially you Auto-X’ers!) and keeping them with in the manufactures recommended heat range (you can do this by spraying them down with water) can greatly increase the life of these tires.
This was just a quick write up I thought up because I was bored, Tire sizing, wheel size...etc is a whole different conversation but covered quite often on this forum. Hope this helps!
-Sam
A Subject that has been coming up a lot lately on our beloved forum has been “What kind of tires should I buy”. A good question with thousands of answers, hopefully this Post will help you narrow it down.
What kind of tire do I want?
When shopping for tires there are a lot of things you have to consider. First, what is the purpose of your SHO? Is it a daily driver? Is it a weekend cruiser? Is it a dedicated track car? Or maybe it’s a combination of everything. Asking yourself these questions can really narrow things down. For a daily driver you may want a tire with low noise levels and a low tread wear (300+). But Maybe that daily driver will get tracked every now in then, Time to find something in between! ...etc.
In my experience, having an “All purpose” tire to double as a street and track tire can be more trouble than it is worth. Having once used Dunlop Star Spec Z1's as my track cars Auto-X and street tire, I had to really watch my alignment, as events were generally 60+ Miles away and to aggressive of a alignment would wear the tire down quickly. However, not being able to run a more aggressive alignment hurt me on the Auto-X course. There was also the issue of keeping tire wear even. Say I were to pop one tire, I would have to buy 1 new one, hoping that it wouldn’t unbalance the car having a brand new tire in conjunction with 3 others that have been through multiple heat cycles. I got lucky and never had issues, but it can happen and it’s just something to consider.
Types of Tires.
All Season
Pictured: Continental DWS / BFG G-Force Super Sport.
For many of you NE/Midwest guys, an all season tire is a MUST. This category consists of Kuhmo ASX, Eagle F1 AS/C, Continental Extreme Contact DWS, etc. Do not expect to get performance that’s remotely close to a Max performance/Performance summer tire. All seasons are generally made of a much harder compound which limits traction (But last longer as a trade off). There’s a few manufactures who advertise their all season tire have some amazing performance and I’m sure that they do (for an all season anyways), but their overall performance just won't compare to the types of tires listed below.
Ultra High/Max Performance Summer
Pictured: Bridgestone RE-760 Sport / Hankook Ventus V12 / Continental Sport Contact 2
(200-350 Tread wear) This category consists of your Hankook V12 , Bridgestone RE-760s, BFGoodrich G-Force sports, Nitto NT-450, Goodyear Eagle F1...etc. The great thing about this type of tire is that they can be pretty well rounded. Great Tread Life, good grip, low noise and can even handle a track day or two. The down side is that all of those things have to be compromised in one way or another to even the other category’s out. Choosing between all the available options is simply the buyers preference and what you’re willing to pay. I would highly suggest reading as many reviews you can on a tire (The Tire rack has great reviews from customers to read through) before deciding which one is for you. You may be surprised to find the lower priced tire, can meet or even exceed your expectations, or something like that.
Extreme Performance Summer
Pictured : Dunlop Direzz ZII / BFG GForce Rival / Hankook Ventus RS-3
(200 Tread wear or less) This is where things get fun. This tire category consists of your Dunlop Direza Star Spec Z1’s, Bridgetstone RE-11’s, Hankook RS-3’s, Falken Azeni 615’s, BFGoodrich Rival's...etc. They are probably the closest thing you can get in regards to having a “Race tire” for the street. Generally not having more than a 200 tread wear, you may be lucky to get a solid 20,000 Miles out of these tires if you pay very close attention to how they are wearing. In adverse weather conditions, you may have to pay a lot more attention to how you drve. The tread pattern of some of these tires is not the best in hydroplane resistance and certainly are not meant for anything more than rain. However, some have reported that they handle rain fine and even use these tires as their “wet tires” in place of their slicks if its raining. It really comes down to how careful you are in inclement weather. It is also worth mentioning that because of the broad tread pattern and stiff sidewalls, these types of tires generally make the car ride a bit stiffer and increase road noise. If your car stays in the garage most of the time and comes out for weekend fun or Auto-X/Track days, this may be the type of tire for you. Grassroots motorsports generally has an article once a year, comparing these types of tires, I highly suggest searching out one of those articles to see if the tire you are looking at best suits your needs.
Here is an article from the August Grassroots Motorsports comparing the lastest offerings of Extreme performance summer tires. The article includes test on both a Auto-X course and a Road course. It's a VERY good read.
Extreme Performance summer tire shootout - Grassroots Motorsports.
Competition tires.
Pictured: Hoosier A6/R6 / Hankook Ventus Z214
You have finally decided to start tracking your SHO. You want as much grip as humanly possible without breaking the bank...well, sorry to tell you...you are going to break the bank. With rubber prices going up the price for your average 16’’/17’’ race slick is anywhere from 170-300 bucks. You have a few option’s here. Hoosier A6/R6, Kuhmo V710, Hankook Z214...etc. Many of these tires come in different compounds to suit your needs, whether you Auto-X or Road race. The one thing to remember with R-Comp/Slicks is that they can be very unforgiving. Unlike normal tires that squeal and make all kinds of noises at the limit, These kind of tires can at times give no warning before letting go.
Another important thing is maintaining these tires. Yes, that’s right – You have to maintain race tires. Storing the tires is pretty important. If you store them uncovered in a freezing cold garage during the winter, they may not be as sticky as they once were when you pull them out to race again. Keeping them stored at room temperature should save you from any trouble. Another thing to watch is tire temperature. It is possible to overheat these types of tires, causing them to harden and turn them in to fiery death rock hard round things. Watching your tire temps (Especially you Auto-X’ers!) and keeping them with in the manufactures recommended heat range (you can do this by spraying them down with water) can greatly increase the life of these tires.
This was just a quick write up I thought up because I was bored, Tire sizing, wheel size...etc is a whole different conversation but covered quite often on this forum. Hope this helps!
-Sam
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