Small race tires or large street tires?

I can find used r-comps in 205/50/15 somewhat easily, but not the 225's I'd rather have. However, there is the RS3 Hankook (in 45 series) and Nitto NT-01 in the bigger size. Which would bring better autocross results? New, large R-comps aren't in the budget.

What class are you contemplating? I think you'd be better off with new 225/45/15 RS3's than used Hoosier/Kuhmos

For what wheels? The 225/50R15 V710s are pretty pinched on 7" wide wheels. I expect marginal gains due to the extra tread width. I might gain more from the larger overall diameter.

FWIW: I paid $300 shipped for these used. These will be much grippier than new RS-3s.

205/50R15 V710s on the same rims last year.

I've heard the 225/45R15 R-S3s really need an 8" or 9" wide rim to be better than the 205s.

I have 225/50R16 Kumho XSes to use when I want to run a slower class (mounted on 8" wide rims.)

I haven't decided what to get for daily driving and wet autocrossing yet. It most likely won't be RS-3s. Hey, I just noticed that TireRack is is now selling R1Rs!

What class are you talking? Most places have an indexed Street time stock class and there is alway the plethora of ST classes to choose from. I'd go that route if I could. I've also sworn off swapping tires at events.

All other things being equal, the 205 race tires will be faster than the 225 RS3s.

Andy Hollis has some good info about sizing sticky street tires in relation to rim width. The summary is that you can fit wider tires on narrower wheels, but the narrower tires are faster.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: All other things being equal, the 205 race tires will be faster than the 225 RS3s.

Only if your class allows them. Why not run a street tire class?

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: All other things being equal, the 205 race tires will be faster than the 225 RS3s.

Only if your class allows them. Why not run a street tire class?

Well yeah.... OP didn't give us this information, though. Just asked which would give better results. Better results = faster times, at least as far as i can tell from the lack of information given. If he wants to run a street tire class, i would imagine he wouldn't have asked the question. A DQ via tech isn't a good result.

I'll be using the car to autocross this summer, then go to the challenge. It's for my V8 Fiero. I'm using 15x7 wheels. In the past I used 225 street tires and was happy with the fit. Thanks for pointing out the R1R's, I'll check those out too.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: All other things being equal, the 205 race tires will be faster than the 225 RS3s.

Only if your class allows them. Why not run a street tire class?

Well yeah.... OP didn't give us this information, though. Just asked which would give better results. Better results = faster times, at least as far as i can tell from the lack of information given. If he wants to run a street tire class, i would imagine he wouldn't have asked the question. A DQ via tech isn't a good result.

But my guess is he could swap classes. He may be competing in stock or street prepared and could swap to street tire stock on one of the ST classes. We need more info.

Gearheadotaku wrote: I'll be using the car to autocross this summer, then go to the challenge. It's for my V8 Fiero. I'm using 15x7 wheels. In the past I used 225 street tires and was happy with the fit. Thanks for pointing out the R1R's, I'll check those out too.

Challenge? Slicks.

I'd recommend the 205s or even 195s for street tires. The 195/50R15 Toyo R1Rs are especially good--though I wasn't recommending them. I was just surprised to see them at the Tire Rack.

I am sure there is some slight benefit with the 225 R-compounds on the 7" wheels. Still, wider rims > wider tires.