As the time to get new tires is (again!) around the corner, what would you guys recommend to someone who does an occasional autox using his daily driver (for which he does not have a garage to store an extra set of wheels) ?


PS: I had so far Kuhmo Ecsta ASX and Toyo Proxes 4. I liked the first ones better, for some reason which is not clear to me (but has to do with being able to easier duplicate driving at the limit of the tires). It was tough to keep the pressure optimal between runs though...

 

I would take a look at the Pirelli Nero M&S. They are great dry tires as well as decent all season. My friend has them on his 2001 Prelude. You could tell a big difference in performance when he first put them on and they are pretty cheap.


If you want to go on the expensive side you can try the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position. They're probably the best performing all season tires you can get.

 

Kumho SPT is pretty durable and ok for grip.

 

SPT is not all-season. I knew b/c that's what I have on mine, in CA.

As for you, bxb40, forget about finding the all-doing all-season compromise, and just get the cheapast decent performing all-season, and put the saving toward the house w/ garage. Problem solved, buddy =)

Talk to me about your trip to SF this weekend! Got SD Tour videos to show you.

 

there is no such thing as a well-performing autox all-season tire

 

What about AVON Tech 550 A/S?

Comes in both 225/45/18 and 245/40/18 sizes and seem to be well-liked by customers and TireRack's testers.

 

I don't remember reading that all season was a requirement. The SPT is still a summer tire but much more daily driver friendly than other summer tires like the AD07 or RE-01R or RT615. Plus under 100 a pop in stock sizes, is hard to beat.

 

it's in the thread title....

 

The Kumho SPT is a great all around tire, not the best dry performance but overall a great tire. We had them as our rain tires at the solo natls and one of the top cars in the street tire class raced on shaved SPT's. We have about 20k miles on ours and they still have tons of tread and they ride great. We use a 245-40-18 on the stock size wheel.

 

I guess bxb40 forgot to mention that he lives in the wonderful Garden State - New Jersey, where I was held captive for the longest time until freed in California. Until the housing price sinks in out here, that is...

Anyway, SPT is not suitable for the climate in NJ - slush/snow in winter.

 

Well in that case then there is no dual purpose tire that will handle ice/snow and even be worth autocrossing on. That's like saying a Ford Lightning truck can haul stuff and is a great sports car. That much of a compromise ends up in being total crap at everything overall.

 

Time for winter and summer tires. No way to make one set do both jobs without one of them sucking.

 

All-season tires = no-season tires.

Get a spare set of stock wheels. You can find a banged up set for a good deal pretty frequently. When not autocrossing put a piece of wood across two stacked pairs, cover it in a bedsheet and you have a cheap coffee table. :D

 

with those tires, you will be slower than my escort

 

Since you're back to 2 set of tires anyway, l'd look at some cheap 17" wheels. More tire choice and cheaper tires.

 

+1 I picked up a set of 17X9.5 Enkeis from an Evo owner going to 18's for cheap and now 255/275 17" tires are cheaper than 245 18 inchers. Only thing is now you can't run stock class and if you want to run R's then you're thrown to the wolves in BSP.

 

Thanks, guys... I know all season tires suck in autox, I ran on the sets I already had few autoxes - oversteer and the tires looked like crap...
I was just dreaming that some miracle tires you guys know about came along. I guess not - I might go with the Pirellis next time around, lets see how much valuable seat time I can get with them.