(2009) Tire Thread

[mcoupemindy]

From a Bimmerforums post (note this was on an autocross course with 15" tires on a Honda Civic. Your heavy BMW on 17 or 18 inchers on a track may have different results.):

I'm not sure this really tells us much, tested in 15" sizes on an ST civic, and so not including any Yoks and on a much lighter car, but here are the results copied from miata.net:

For the June 2009 issue. Just got my Grassroot motorsports where they did some Extreme tire testing. Tires were tested in 15 inch sizes on a hond civic.

Here is a summary of times from worst to first.

6th - Falken RT 615 Mean time: 35.302 Sec Quick time 35.125 Sec.
5th - Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec Mean time: 35.209 sec. Quick time 35.061
4th -Toyo Proxes R1R Mean time: 34.522 sec Quick Time 34.452 sec
3rd- Bridgestone RE-01R Mean time: 34.478 sec Quick Time 34.430 sec.
2nd- Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 Mean time: 34.266 Quick time 34.238 sec.
1st - Kumho ECSTA XS Mean time :34.170 Quick Time 34.030 sec.

All tires were shaved to 3/32 nd and test performed on an Autocross set up.

Those results aren't really surprising to me ...

Those ECSTA XS's are really more of a comp and not a "street" tire IMO.

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

My car was .001 seconds off of winning STU today at Fedex. The XS takes heat un****ingbelievably well. If I had managed to get a proper alignment on the car (i.e. more than a pathetic 3mm of total toe in and -1 degree of camber in the back), Brian would have won the class. (In other words, his fast run had a huge slide going into the finish.)

It'll be interesting to see what the XS is like on a cold day, but in 100 degree weather, with two drivers, we could not get them to fade. I'm looking forward to the next event, where I will have adjustable rear lower control arms on the car to allow for a more decent alignment.

[mcoupemindy]

My car was .001 seconds off of winning STU today at Fedex. The XS takes heat un****ingbelievably well. If I had managed to get a proper alignment on the car (i.e. more than a pathetic 3mm of total toe in and -1 degree of camber in the back), Brian would have won the class. (In other words, his fast run had a huge slide going into the finish.)

It'll be interesting to see what the XS is like on a cold day, but in 100 degree weather, with two drivers, we could not get them to fade. I'm looking forward to the next event, where I will have adjustable rear lower control arms on the car to allow for a more decent alignment.

Good stuff!

(You guys are out playing, and I'm at home doing school work. FML!)

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

Those results do surprise me - I'm surprised that the Z1 is so far off the pace.

Brian tells me that his Toyo R1Rs are very comfortable on the street, so they are certainly worth looking at if you need more of a compromise tire.

[woodym3]

I understand your new Kumho XS did pretty good at the SCCA AX today.

Edit: oh, I hadn't read your ealier post.

[Reach]

Nick, were you driving the M3 in STU? Its allowed there this year, correct?

This rookie driver is going to be putting in more seat time this year. I ran mine in AS at the last event (blue crab stadium) as I had no idea what I was doing and had printed off the 2008 rules. It would be nice to meet up with you guys at the next ax inc event if you're going to do it. Unfortunately I had a family conflict and could not come today, but congrats on the good runs.

Sorry for dragging this off topic.

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

Yeah, I'm running STU. If the car isn't prepped, it really doesn't matter which class you're running, so I wouldn't worry about it.

As for the AI event, I won't be at that one. I should be at all the WDCR events, however.

[95Maxrider]

Wow, there's a lot of confusing information in this thread.

I drive a non-BMW and would like to stay in the street tire class. By the looks of it, these are my three best options:
Continental ContiSportContact 2
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2

My car is a nose heavy boat (~3400 pounds w/driver). I'm currently on (AS) Pirelli P-Zero Nero MS and while they served me well at the first auto-x in the rain, they were howling for dear mercy at the second event in the "dry". Right now I only have enough money for one set of wheels and tires to get me through winter, summer and auto-x in the DC region. I know plenty of people that run summer tires year round here, so I'm not too worried about that, but I need something that will last for at least a year and will also give me more grip at auto-x and can withstand the heat better than my AS tires. So I guess I'm wondering which of those tires would suit me best?

Thanks for the help!

[gbauer]

Wow, there's a lot of confusing information in this thread.

I drive a non-BMW and would like to stay in the street tire class. By the looks of it, these are my three best options:
Continental ContiSportContact 2
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2

My car is a nose heavy boat (~3400 pounds w/driver). I'm currently on (AS) Pirelli P-Zero Nero MS and while they served me well at the first auto-x in the rain, they were howling for dear mercy at the second event in the "dry". Right now I only have enough money for one set of wheels and tires to get me through winter, summer and auto-x in the DC region. I know plenty of people that run summer tires year round here, so I'm not too worried about that, but I need something that will last for at least a year and will also give me more grip at auto-x and can withstand the heat better than my AS tires. So I guess I'm wondering which of those tires would suit me best?

Thanks for the help!

Funny but I'm sitting beside my buddy Sam (green e36 325 vert) who's trying to figure out the very same thing with the same constraints.

PSII's are good tires but the price is a killer. I don't know about the other two.

I can tell you that Pilot Sport A/S's wear horribly in the center of the tire. The PSII's don't seem to have uneven wear. I drove on my PSII's last winter (front only: A/S's on the rear) and didn't have problems. But, knowing your car and your driving, I might lean towards the A/S's if only for winter. Let's face it: maxima's suck in snow! Bad!

Unless you can swing cheap snow tires on stealies for the winter that is.

BTW: if you need a spare tire, I have one for you in my garage (used once for 25 miles). I also have some other 5.5 gen parts that Corey claimed but never came to get. I don't know what would fit your I30 though.

[woodym3]

A couple of tidbits from the One Lap of America:

The winning car, a Nissan GT-R, was running (and sponsored by) Continental Tires.

Word was the Michelin PS-2 in the size for the front of a Viper (a 265/?-18 I believe) is made with the rubber compound from Michelin's R-compound tire - the Pilot Sport Cup.

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

For what it's worth, the one bit of feedback after additional time with the Kumho XS is that while the ride improves as they break in, the noise does not. Coasting at 75 on the highway, I'm at 80dB - slightly higher than the noise level in K's 325iX. They are definitely not a tire I would recommend for long highway trips.

(Anyone have a pair of used but decent 225/45-18 tires that they want to sell for cheap? I could use some trip tires this summer. I already have T1-Rs for the rear...)

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

A couple of tidbits from the One Lap of America:

The winning car, a Nissan GT-R, was running (and sponsored by) Continental Tires.

Word was the Michelin PS-2 in the size for the front of a Viper (a 265/?-18 I believe) is made with the rubber compound from Michelin's R-compound tire - the Pilot Sport Cup.

Wild. Is that publicly available? That could be the ST tire to have.

[woodym3]

I assume you're talking about the Michelins and not the Contis. Try calling Tire Rack and see what they say. Don't tell the SCCA or Jonathan Thayer.

[Neil]

From TireRack's site:'

275/35ZR18
Blackwall
OE Fitments for This Tire/Size C1 (Dodge Viper) Serv. Desc: (95Y)
Price: $363.00 (each)

Estimated Availability:
In Stock

Neil

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

From TireRack's site:'

275/35ZR18
Blackwall
OE Fitments for This Tire/Size C1 (Dodge Viper) Serv. Desc: (95Y)
Price: $363.00 (each)

Estimated Availability:
In Stock

Neil

Yeah, but whether or not the compound that ended up on that Viper is the one that TireRack is currently selling is a separate question...

Anyone want to buy one so we can stick a durometer on it?