Sounds good, Make sure to bring all the essential tools. Also let us know how it goes.

 

Thanks, Ill definitely have some footage of the car in action.


While were discussing, anyone have some good tire recommendations? I typically run RT615's, but am open to other suggestions if there is a better tire out there now. I have run the star specs, but not long enough to get comfortable on them.

 

It all depends on the how much your willing to spend and what size rims you use. Also another factor to concider is what you will be racing, a great Road Racing tire is just a good Autocross tire due to the different temp ranges the tires work properly. Hooisers A6 is a great auto cross tire works at the 140-160 degree F range and a R6 is a great road race tire working in the 160-180 range. Toyo Ra-1 are decent in the dry and wet, shaved ra-1's are are sticker but are not as good in the wet. Your other option is to contact a SCCA World Challange ST team and see if they have take off tires (Pirrelli). Also a Contenental tire series team in the ST class would have take offs you might be able to pick-up. Race teams have piles of take off tires and this is the time to pick them up for cheap. Falkens are good also btw.

 

If you're looking for something streetable, similar to the 615, look at the 615k (same as the classic 615, but with a softer compound), the Dunlop Star Spec, Hankook RS3, Toyo R1R... I think those are the major players right now. RS3's and R1R's will blow your mind, pretty amazing for street tires.

 

I was planning on getting the RT615K unless somebody can talk me into something better.. Are all of these tires pretty similarly priced? I have ran the Star Specs on my s2000, grip was very good but I felt they had too much play in the sidewall, however I didnt have much time with them to get them handling the way I wanted.

 

Prices can vary a bit depending on size. The Falkens used to be universally cheap, but not so much any more. Star Specs are a bargain in some of the smaller sizes now. RS3's are a little pricier, but perhaps worth it if you're in tight autocross competition. I think the R1R is the best of all of them, but it's also pretty expensive.

For just something to learn the car and get some track time on, I wouldn't worry about it too much. ANY of them will work just fine. Shop for the best price in the size you want and run with it.

 

Kumho xs is another good dual purpose selection.

onlinetires.com actually has a sale right now for toyo r888s which arent bad for basically half off.

The Continental Challenge take offs are not a good tire for autox in my opinion, they take a good amount of heat before they start giving you any type of useable level of grip. They are made by Hoosier and a harder version of the R6.

Im not big on autox, if you want to road race it will help you intially but requires a much different type of driving. I would say its not a bad place to test and tune to a point but it really comes down to what your desire is.

I finished my build and needed to test and tune, I went to Sebring with NASA and dropped $300 for the day and had engine problems that ended my day after 1 session. This type of thing happens in road racing especially at a track like Sebring. I still was able to get data I needed for my next event at Roebling road which was very sucessful partly from the things discovered at Sebring. I have had other track days ended early as well and its just par for the course, you cant let the possibility of failure and losing a couple hundred dollars keep you from getting out there.

Road racing will expose any weakness you or your car may have.

 

Kumho XS FTW except in standing water. I have been very happy with my set for autox.

Nice written post.

 

Thanks!

Since you brought up XS tires as well I thought I would add to my exp. with them.

Wet tire? negative like chi town said.

Dry, these tires gave me a lot of confidence for HPDE driving. The tires didnt start to drop off until about 4 laps in at Sebring at which point they became very greasy! In comparison to a dot r tire they are not terribly far behind like you might expect but obviously no where near the same level of performance.

The only complaint I had was initial turn in feel seemed to lag ever so slightly.

I coulnt have asked for more out of a street tire in 90 degree heat at that track though.

I have never autox'd with anything other than some v710s which I thought were fantastic but I would imagine the XS would be very good for autox because they seem to get up to temp quickly.

 

I knew I'd forget one. Yes, the Kumho XS is a good choice for autocross or a "dual purpose" street/track tire.

Regarding autox vs. track, I always recommend a lot of autocross experience before heading to the track. At an autocross, you can explore the limits of the car and beyond and learn how to recover. (as well as what you can't recover from) These are not things you want to attempt to learn on a race track! But, they are skills and experience that will save your butt when you make a mistake on the track... or more likely will keep you from making the mistake in the first place.