Ozark Mountain Region SCCA

First off this is just in your opinion on tires and I know that. My car is roughly 2600lbs with me as driver fwd on the mazda bg platform. I run STC class modifications go as follows coilovers,struts,polly engine mounts, c-arms, trailing arms, stabilizer links and so on. Anyone have any suggestions on what I should run brand I was thinking a 205/50/15 I currently am running half wore out el cheapo 195/60/15's.

Tire rack sells the most popular tires for this class click here for the prices of 205/50-15. I have used the Kumho XS, Bridgestone RE-11, the Yokohama AD08, and have really like them all. Dunlop Star Specs and the Toyo R1R are also good choices.

Falken Azenis RT-615K is another option, they used to have better prices and more people used them back then.

I just bought some Federal 595 RS-R and plan to get them mounted up before the next event. They were less than $90 each ($406 I think devlivered to my door) so I thought they were worth a try. You have to call the website because they do not list the size even though they do sell them.

Nitto NT05 and Hankook RS3 are 2 other tires that are in this class but they do not sell them in our size.

Mainly you want to make sure you are buying Extreme performance summer tires with treadwear in the 140-200 range and large tread blocks so they don't "squirm" to much. I think that I have named all that are out there, does anyone know of others?

don't forget to have them shaved to 4/32nds of an inch and mounted on a different set of wheels if you want to do it the "fast" way...

On the bright side, they'll still last longer than R's

Matt do you dd your car with those tires as well?

usually you can find what the national folks are running on sccaforums.com

the hot tire changes year to year, but usually flips between those falkens, dunlps, bridgestones matt mentioned

1nitroustracer wrote:Matt do you dd your car with those tires as well?

Yes I drive on these tires everyday, but I must give the warning that you might not be asking the most practical person. You see this also means that you are asking a guy who drives a 25 yr old hatchback with broken A/C, loud exhaust, and spring rates high as most race cars his opinion on whether you should DD on these. I know they should be shaved and only used for competition, but I run them from full tread depth until they are bald. As Sam mentioned they last (better than R-compounds), but fewer heat cycles would probably help them be more consistent.

I have the Yokohama AD08's on right now and have been using them for ~12,000 street miles/10 SOLO's in the last 2 years. This is the fewest amount of SOLO runs (I lost my co-driver), but more miles on the street. They have directional tread so I have "flipped" them on the rims a couple of times, and this is probably why they have lasted more street miles. The Federal 595 RS-R is also directional and this was another reason I wanted to try them.

Do you have a second set of rims? I am assuming that the ones you have right now are 6" or less and from personal experience you will want something 7" or 7.5" if you can get the wider ones to fit. If you don't mind swapping rims then you could easily get 2 seasons I would think out of any of these tires. I have heard several stories about 130+ runs and am sure I had that many on the Kumhos with the EVO school and a full season of SOLO with Natasha co-driving a couple of years ago.

SilverYota wrote: you might not be asking the most practical person.

Do you have a second set of rims? I am assuming that the ones you have right now are 6" or less and from personal experience you will want something 7" or 7.5" if you can get the wider ones to fit.

Nor am I but I'm trying to be smart about it.

I do have a second set of wheels but they are stock steal 14inx5.5in wheels. the ones I have on it now are 15inx6in wheels I am trying to find more info about the width of wheels I can run on this car.(limited wheel space)

To the people at the board meet I talked with about running a 13/14 in wheel I know factory 14's will fit but 13's will not clear my brakes.

Also another question about class If a engine was offered in my car as an option but it did not come with this engine can I swap and still be in the same class?

looking at these wheels I still need to measure backspace.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BSW-47SH3625/

If you can fit a 15" wheel, it's going to give a lot more performance tire options than 14". There is only one "Street Touring" style tire available in 14" right now, the Dunlop ZI Star Spec.

The Star Spec is available in 195/60-14, but I don't know for how long. It will be replaced by the Dunlop ZII next year, and there's no definite confirmation if a 14" will be offered.

Concerning engines, update/backdate isn't allowed in Street Touring. Several years ago, guys were putting the EF Civic Si engine in a lighter EF Civic DX, and they closed that loophole.

JimR wrote:If you can fit a 15" wheel, it's going to give a lot more performance tire options than 14". There is only one "Street Touring" style tire available in 14" right now, the Dunlop ZI Star Spec.

The Star Spec is available in 195/60-14, but I don't know for how long. It will be replaced by the Dunlop ZII next year, and there's no definite confirmation if a 14" will be offered.

+1

Jim makes a very valid point here, and just because there are some tires now I also think there is a good chance you won't be finding any more after they update the Dunlop and Falken (they are also available in 195/60R14).

On the other hand a Enkei RFP1 14X7 only weighs in @ 8.5#'s and 195/60-14 Star Specs are only 19#'s meaning that your tire /wheel combination would be 3#'s lighter on each corner compared to the 15" package. The 14" option is also 0.8" shorter giving you a little better gearing for acceleration. If you were sure a new car is in your future and know you would never need another set, the 14" might be the way to go.