Autocrossers: Check in here!

[TexasK20Z]

All right... it has been a while since I played on street tires and had to worry about buying them. I will be picking up a set of base RSX wheels (16x6.5) to use since I am on a wheel budget in the morning. What are "THE" tires to have in the 225ish width for the 16 inch wheels? Kumho MXs? Azenis?

The car is a stock 07 Si sedan if that means anything.

First race is the 24th, so I will be stripping the wheels and painting them soon to prep them for tires next weekend (the wheels are painted white... and supposedly pretty badly).

[honda93]

Originally Posted by TexasK20Z

What are "THE" tires to have in the 225ish width for the 16 inch wheels? Kumho MXs? Azenis?

When I ran in STS and eventually STX with my autocross-specific 1993 Civic, the hot tires were the Azenis due to their overall grip. If I were running in G Stock with your Si Sedan, I'd personally run the Kumho MX (or the new replacement due out soon) because the Kumho usually has better heat-resiliency properties compared to the Azenis... Especially on such an overworked and heavy front end like a stock Civic.

You'll still nedd to hose the Kumho's down between runs, but they won't get as greasy as quickly as the Azenis.

Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA

[BigDog]

[quote=TexasK20Z]What are "THE" tires to have in the 225ish width for the 16 inch wheels? Kumho MXs? Azenis?

The car is a stock 07 Si sedan if that means anything.
QUOTE]

I'm running 225/50-16 Azenis on my stock 16x6.5 wheels on the LX and I love 'em. I also drive 100 miles everyday on them. They're a little louder than the crap Turanzas that came with the car, but otherwise, they make the car much more fun to drive every day.

Now if I was you, I would get a set of 225/45-17 Azenis, or better yet, the Advan Neovas (better grip, better in the heat, not available in 16" sizes) for the stock wheels and get rid of the 16" wheels you got. They're not stock class legal anyway. If you're gonna run "street" tires, run them everyday. Save your money for a dedicated set of wheels and tires (like the Koseis and Hoosiers mentioned above) when you want to get serious.

[TexasK20Z]

Never mentioned anything about classes because the club I run with doesn't go by SCCA rules. The 16x6.5 are perfectly fine for the club and the car... I will be out-classed at the events any way since there are six classes... S2K street tires, S2K race tires, Miata street, Miata rac, other street and other race. Racing with this club helps keep my budget down since I can have a dedicated set of wheels without forking over all the money of some RPF1s or such. :)

[BigDog]

Originally Posted by TexasK20Z

Never mentioned anything about classes because the club I run with doesn't go by SCCA rules. The 16x6.5 are perfectly fine for the club and the car... I will be out-classed at the events any way since there are six classes... S2K street tires, S2K race tires, Miata street, Miata rac, other street and other race. Racing with this club helps keep my budget down since I can have a dedicated set of wheels without forking over all the money of some RPF1s or such. :)

Again, if I were you, I would consider running 225/45-17 Azenis or Neovas on the stock wheels. That way, you show up, clean out the car, adjust air pressures and race. You also have the benefit of running everyday on the tires you compete on. Dedicated wheels are great if you run r-comps, but I really think they are unnecessary if you run street tires. The time you take changing the wheels and tires out could be used on more productive things like an extra course walk, or bench racing:)

I'm having a lot of fun right now doing what I said above. I'm gonna screw it all up in the next couple of months by doing full National level prep on the car. I want to take a crack at the Nationals again this year, but after that, I'm going to go back to just running the local street tire class in the car.

Now, if you do run the 16x6.5 wheels, I'd suggest the Azenis. The MX sidewalls are just to sloppy to work on a narrow wheels and they are best shaved. The Hankooks just plain suck. The Bridgestone R01-R is an interesting tire. It's good, but is better shaved, and is very pricy.

I'm having a lot of fun right now on the 225/50-16 Azenis 615s on my 16x6.5s right out of the box. They don't heat up as bad as the old Azenis 215s, but do have a sprayer on hand and cool the fronts liberally (about a quart of water on each tire) after the second run and each subsequent run.

[OhMyRedSI]

OK, I just picked up my 07 Si Sedan which I plan on running in G-stock. Currently, I am leaning towards Kosei K1 TS's with Victoracers. This will be stretching the budget however. Does anyone know of a cheaper setup that would be comparable (slightly heavier wheels maybe)? I have been looking all over the net and can't seem to find anywhere other than Tirerack that sells r-compound tires and rims. Also, what are good alignment settings for this car? I wan't to take it for a performance alignment before the season starts in late March. Any advice would be appreciated.

[TexasK20Z]

What is a good starting point on tire pressures for the Falken 615s? I will be picking my set up next week and would like to have some clue as to where I should start. Thanks!

[Highrev1]

Originally Posted by OhMyRedSI

OK, I just picked up my 07 Si Sedan which I plan on running in G-stock. Currently, I am leaning towards Kosei K1 TS's with Victoracers. This will be stretching the budget however. Does anyone know of a cheaper setup that would be comparable (slightly heavier wheels maybe)? I have been looking all over the net and can't seem to find anywhere other than Tirerack that sells r-compound tires and rims. Also, what are good alignment settings for this car? I wan't to take it for a performance alignment before the season starts in late March. Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi once again, :) I would say check out edgeracing they may have a set of wheels cheaper that will fit into the GS class. I know enkei RPF's used to work and they were cheap. But I think they are sold out. Sam Karp may have an extra set, But ask him. CHEERS GREG :)

[etf]

If you're going to run R-compounds, Kumhos are quick...Hoosiers are quicker!

[Cookstar]

Nomar06 and I went to watch the autocross at Knights Stadium in Fort Mill, SC on Saturday. It looked like a lot of fun. I think I might have a new hobby soon.

[sick06si]

I was there, it was alot of fun. They had a few timing issues, but other than that, it was a pretty well-run event. I was in the NBP Si with bronze wheels.

[OhMyRedSI]

Thanks for the responses guys. I am considering the Victoracers since I have never run on r-comps before and have heard they can be a little more forgiving. I used to auto-x a '96 Miata that put me in CSP due to some mods (brake rotors, steel lines, springs, etc.) and I ran on Falkens. I was competitive with similar cars, but got killed in that class. That is why I want to run stock, but I assume I will need r-comps to have a chance there as well. I found a set of 5Zigen (sp?) 17x7 @ 15.5lbs for $180 which I am leaning towards now. The RPF1's are 7.5" wide so they won't work. Now, I just have to decide on tires......and find the money.

[reelbigfish241]

I have never autocrossed, but my cousin and I are hopefully going to Route 66 raceway here in Illlinois over the summer to take a few runs. Me in my Civic and him in his 07 WRX.

I'm pretty excited about it. and newby tips you veterans have?

[Cookstar]

Originally Posted by sick06si

I was there, it was alot of fun. They had a few timing issues, but other than that, it was a pretty well-run event. I was in the NBP Si with bronze wheels.

You were at the Knights Stadium autocross? We just saw a RR EX there.

Are you in the Charlotte area?

[toysrus]

Originally Posted by BigDog

As Greg tried to say, but he couldn't put the beer down long enough to type a coherent sentence :) , the wheels must remain "stock" in size but the tires are free.

Stock wheels means stock diameter and width and the offset must be within 1/4" (about .6mm). Type and weight are free. We will be running 245/45-16 tires in front and 225/50-16 in the rear when we go to r-comps. This on a Rota 16x6.5 wheel with a 47 offset which is 2mm from stock.

I'm confused, I thought you were running an Si in G Stock......wouldn't that limit you to a 17x7 ??

[sick06si]

Originally Posted by Cookstar

You were at the Knights Stadium autocross? We just saw a RR EX there.

Are you in the Charlotte area?

I was there on Sunday. I am in Charleston(Summerville). I talked to the guy with the RR EX, we were in the same run group. There is one in Savannah, GA this weekend if anyone is up for a road trip.

[BigDog]

Originally Posted by toysrus

I'm confused, I thought you were running an Si in G Stock......wouldn't that limit you to a 17x7 ??

I'm running an LX in H Stock, so I'm on 16x6.5s. An Si running in GS would be limited to a 17x7.

[BigDog]

Originally Posted by TexasK20Z

What is a good starting point on tire pressures for the Falken 615s? I will be picking my set up next week and would like to have some clue as to where I should start. Thanks!

I started at 45f, 35r and I ended up at 41f, 32r. Are you still going to run the 16" wheels and tires?

[TexasK20Z]

Originally Posted by BigDog

I started at 45f, 35r and I ended up at 41f, 32r. Are you still going to run the 16" wheels and tires?

Since I am not running in ANY SCCA events this year, yes, I will stay on the 16x6.5 for this season.... and then reevaluate my goals next season... this season is gonna be hectic just running the 6 S2K races (planning a wedding and buying a house), so I don't want to push for too much. I will be keeping my eye out for a set of 05-06 RSX-S wheels to use next season though... just in case

And thanks for the help!

[130R]

Originally Posted by Highrev1

Hi once again, :) I would say check out edgeracing they may have a set of wheels cheaper that will fit into the GS class. I know enkei RPF's used to work and they were cheap. But I think they are sold out. Sam Karp may have an extra set, But ask him. CHEERS GREG :)

Nope.

Looks like another year in GS for me. Cutting back drastically though. Maybe 12-15 events all year on R-comps and the rest on street tires in local classes. Ben is buying tires again (Hoosier's this year) and hopefully some off-the-shelf Koni's pop up mid-season.

I have decided that A.) I don't want to spend the savings account on custom shocks and still have the car be uncompetitive and be left with $3000 paper-weights because no one needs custom, stock-legal shocks. And....B.) I pay too darn much money for this car too have it sit idle at autocross events. And....C.) If I would switch to a Miata, it would be my 4th car in the last 4 seasons of autocross. At this time in the game, I think sticking to the same car year-to-year will improve my driving.

So it’s another year of trophy fodder in GS for me! I will likely make an appearance at either the MiDiv Divisionals or Alabama Tour (one, not both). I will also be at the Milwaukee Tour of course (guess I have too, I am chairman of it!).

As for the wheel discussion..... as Greg mentioned, edgeracing.com has a lot of deals. My Enkei RP02 deal last year must have been a mistake by them! 15.2lbs wheels for $99 each shipped! I attempted to go back to buy more after I got them (wanted to verify they were for real before buying more), but they already removed the deal. A few people got them though.

Edgeracing does have some deals on there now for some stock-legal Enkei A L Racing 387 wheels. They are 18.5lbs at $98/each. The Flik FTD's are lighter and the same price though (17.0lbs), just not the "main-stream" name.