Rallycross Tires for the Road

Finally figured out my engine issue with my MR2. Its near to being on the road and I need to start thinking tires. The current tires look good but have spent many a year sitting on the car outside. So I'm expecting lots of dry rot and cracking once they actually start moving. My goal is to rally cross the car but I also would like to drive it around, take it to work and such. Bonus points if I can drive it on the street in rallycross trim. I'm nearly convinced to find a set of BMW bottlecaps from an E30 they look great painted in white to match the car very rallyesque and they are dirt cheap. So what I'm looking for if it exists is a tire that would work for rallycross, won't chunk or shred itself on the road, and will fit a 14X6 wheel. Does any such beast exist?

best case scenario is driving to/from rallyx on snows

rally tires are one trick ponies, even worn hard compound ones are going to be horrific to commute on at best

CPTMULLER wrote: rally tires are one trick ponies, even worn hard compound ones are going to be horrific to commute on at best

They also look cool. You want to look cool, right?

You might try grooving a set of all seasons, whatever is cheap with deep tread.

I'll probably start with a set of the elcheapo douglas xtrac IIs from walmart. Ridiculously cheap, available in many sizes with warranty, decently aggressive tread pattern for dirt. I'll run a slightly taller size than stock at 185/65/14 it will be about an inch taller. Not too worried about the speedo being off the cable is snapped somewhere in the sleeve and doesn't work. The budget rallycross world says the sidewalls are stupidly soft so need to run them high pressure and this does give you a higher risk of debeading them but they'll work for the time being. This won't be my regular commuter car, more of when I feel like driving in Florida with no interior or ac in a really really loud car, I don't mind if the tires add to the harshness really. I've got my X1 when I want to be civilized.

Rally tires!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/gBUbqdxJFg4

(five minutes of ~10-12 hours driving on rally tires from Omaha to Cleveland. Yes, I wore earmuffs. Also, the car managed to still get in the 30mpg range, which is crazy)

In reply to Knurled:

well they're tall so that final drive will help with the highway MPG. Regarding all seasons and snows, get the stiffest sidewall that you can find that still maintains a decent tread pattern. Honestly if I were looking to run a tire daily that I'd also be rallycrossing and for some unknown reason a second set of wheels with rallycross specific rubber wasn't an option, but tire price wasn't a concern, I'd opt to run 185/65R14 90 H Nokian WRG3.

The sidewall stiffness of an H rated tire with a 90 load rating should be fairly resistant to debeading in the 36-38 PSI range, they shouldn't chunk as some snows will when it's above 80 degrees on harder dry clay surfaces, and the turn in with an H rated sidewall and 90 load rating should be responsive as that's going to be a properly stiff sidewall with a 90 load rating on a 14" diameter, the person mounting them likely won't be the biggest fan of them.

(It's the pattern on the left)

I'm actually finding them online for under $100 per a tire right now, which is the lowest I've seen, I may consider picking up a set myself at that price to save for when I'm able to run the 323.

In reply to captdownshift:

Rally tires doesn't equal tall. My RX-7s rally tires are smaller in diameter than its street tires. That Neon was riding on, I think, 185/60-15 or maybe 185/65-14 tires. It was wae's car and he has the specs. I'm thinking 185/60-15 because they were Hankooks and that was a popular size at the time for Spec Focus.

In reply to Knurled:

most of the cast off used 15" i've run have been taller than the comparable 185ish/65/14 that were the factory size that came on most of the cars that i've run, I was making the assumption that would be the case for most 2wd competitors, though I was also basing that comparison off of a 15" gravel tire as I'm yet to pick up a set of 14" to try (though I do have 13"s ready to go!)

In reply to Knurled:

You're a really really long way from normal. I'm not sure I'd ever use you as an example of how things should be done.

In reply to mazdeuce:

that being said, don't ever change. I bet that rally tires in the rain on pavement gets "Exciting" at times

Kylini wrote:

CPTMULLER wrote: rally tires are one trick ponies, even worn hard compound ones are going to be horrific to commute on at best

They also look cool. You want to look cool, right?

well, you've got me there

All I can say is that BMW bottlecaps painted white do look really cool. I like 'em a lot on my Hyundai.

captdownshift wrote: In reply to mazdeuce: that being said, don't ever change. I bet that rally tires in the rain on pavement gets "Exciting" at times

Not really. Now, rally tires on snow, THAT is "exciting". Rally tires are high performance summer tire compound. Rally tires get gummy and sticky when hot. Rally tires turn into Big Wheel plastic tires when cold. I got stuck in a (paved) plowed parking lot on rally tires once.

I used to run on castoff rally tires. Unless you have 300+hp and 400+ft-lb of torque, you not only don't need the big 65cm tires, you should not run them and you will be better off with properly sized snow tires. I picked up a lot of speed and grip by going to smaller tires, and I'm making relatively high power. As a bonus, I was paying $50-60 for used tires. You can buy new Black Rockets in the US in sane sizes for $130-150 each.

Hell, the multi-time MA national champion is running on narrow 62cm tires. That should be a clue and a half.

In reply to Knurled:

you're really going to have me ordering the WRG3s today aren't you.

In reply to captdownshift:

You know, as umimpressed as I am with the Altimax Arctics in winter driving, I had a ball with them when I borrowed a pair for the RX-7 one year. Then I debeaded for the first time ever. But they had mad grip on the Ohio clay and they didn't really chunk.

My Volvo has been on the same set of Arctics since I bought it in November 2014, roughly 17k miles ago. Never took them off for summer. They're only moderately worn. They also make the most hilarious noises when I corner hard on dry pavement, not really a squeal as much as a deep shuddering howl.

In reply to Knurled:

I was fortunate enough in 05 to be able to do a comparison of 7 different snow tires on clay and than on an ice rink. While all could handle the conditions the turn in response of the nokians was vastly superior, the Nokians were the only option that weren't T or R rated. The sidewall stiffness or the carcass made all the difference in my mind. If General, Michelin, Bridgestone, Hankook or any other manufacturer were to make a snow tire in an H rating or better in smaller than a 16" diameter, I'd likely be there. Until then I'll be brand loyal, due to the specs and sidewall stiffness, of the Nokians. I just wish their 13" offerings had a stiffer sidewall, as I'd run my 13" wheels if they did.