What are the current auto cross tires out there?

Last time I auto crossed, the RS3s were the hot shoe. As I was getting out of the game, I think the Rivals were looking like an up and comer. That was probably 2013 or 2014.

What's out there? Best budget tire? Best tire overall? Car will never be nationally competitive and neither will I.

For comparisons sake, my favorite tire that I've had in the past was the original RE-11. Was never a fan of the Khumos. Azenis and starspeca were somewhere in the middle.

Currently have two sets of 14 inch wheels and one set of 17's. Might buy 15's or 16's if it's the right deal.

The best tires are the Bridgestone RE71R and BfGoodrich Rival S 1.5.

RE71R and Rival S 1.5 are the tires to have with the "old" Rival S being very close.

Another notch down are the RS3 Rev 2, RS4, Azenis RT615K+, Star Specs, Kumho V720 (they put up the numbers but I've yet to meet someone who used them and actually liked them) and the Nexen SUR4

sjfehr has an exhaustive review of every tire available that you might consider here: http://www.autocross.us/forums/topic/6123-hottest-autocross-tires-for-2016/

The RE71R seems to be the easy-button tire, no one complains about it and everyone runs it. I run the Rival S 1.5 and I really like it, but I never ran the Bridgestone so I can't compare. Either will be a huge improvement over whatever you are running now.

drdisque wrote: Kumho V720 (they put up the numbers but I've yet to meet someone who used them and actually liked them)

A friend of mine has a set on his Miata. I've only driven them on the street, but they feel pretty good. They're responsive and grippy. Only downside is they're insanely LOUD. Oh, and apparently they overheat, de-laminate and fall apart if you run them on the track...

Between the RE71R, Rival S 1.5, and other competing brands listed, does the recommendation change if you throw in an occasional HPDE as well?

Mod the car into an open tire class and run A7s

drdisque wrote: Another notch down are the RS3 Rev 2, RS4, Azenis RT615K+, Star Specs, Kumho V720 (they put up the numbers but I've yet to meet someone who used them and actually liked them) and the Nexen SUR4 G

This is significant. The non-G is 'meh'. Also note that the most recent continental ExtremeSport is specatcular in the wet, on the street, and not that far off the pace in the dry.

If you're on a budget and won't be SUPER nationally competitive, it seems like the Falken Azenis 615k+ is one of the best deals going right now due to their price. Anything in that 'second tier' is going to be capable of about the same times +/- car setup and driver preference/skill.

Armitage wrote: Between the RE71R, Rival S 1.5, and other competing brands listed, does the recommendation change if you throw in an occasional HPDE as well?

The second tier of tires listed generally take long term heat better than the RE71R/RivalS1.5 do. However on a relatively light underpowered car I have tracked RE71R's with no issues. For endurance racing you'll probably want to avoid the top two...for HPDE's they'll likely be fine.

RedGT wrote: This is significant. The non-G is 'meh'. Also note that the most recent continental ExtremeSport is specatcular in the wet, on the street, and not that far off the pace in the dry.

I started to reply and complain about this is only in 16"+ sizes... but they offer a 205/50-15 now. Sweet.

RedGT wrote:

Armitage wrote: Between the RE71R, Rival S 1.5, and other competing brands listed, does the recommendation change if you throw in an occasional HPDE as well?

The second tier of tires listed generally take long term heat better than the RE71R/RivalS1.5 do. However on a relatively light underpowered car I have tracked RE71R's with no issues. For endurance racing you'll probably want to avoid the top two...for HPDE's they'll likely be fine.

What about wear though? The top-tier "cheater EPS" tires wear down pretty fast.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

The ZII Star Specs last decently. AFAIK, the RT615K+ is the same compound, so it should last nicely as well. RS-3s wear reasonably well too.

Has anyone tried out the Maxxis Victra VR-1? Curious how they stack up against the Star Spec ZII

This is where Jerry adds a comment to follow the group, as the tires on the Abarth are getting squirrely in the rain, and the cheap allseason junk on the rallycross WRX second set of wheels might get upgraded to autocross occasionally.

EDIT: the last autocross where I tortured said allseasons when the rallycross got canceled for rain, a friend had a new set of Firestone Indy 500 somethings and really liked them.

rslifkin wrote: In reply to GameboyRMH: The ZII Star Specs last decently. AFAIK, the RT615K+ is the same compound, so it should last nicely as well. RS-3s wear reasonably well too.

Yeah, for similar needs if I had to buy a new set of tires right now I'd get Z2SS or RS3v2/RS4.

I ran the original Rival, RS-3 and hte RE-71 on the Forte. The RS-3's lasted the longest. The RE-71's had the best grip but didn't last as long. The BFG was good, but didn't last that long either.

GameboyRMH wrote:

RedGT wrote:

Armitage wrote: Between the RE71R, Rival S 1.5, and other competing brands listed, does the recommendation change if you throw in an occasional HPDE as well?

The second tier of tires listed generally take long term heat better than the RE71R/RivalS1.5 do. However on a relatively light underpowered car I have tracked RE71R's with no issues. For endurance racing you'll probably want to avoid the top two...for HPDE's they'll likely be fine.

What about wear though? The top-tier "cheater EPS" tires wear down pretty fast.

Absolutely which is why I specify 'light weight underpowered'. Should have been more clear. Yes they wear fast. On the other hand they don't implode either, I have an hour at lightning and an hour at pocono double infield on these RE71r takeoffs and it ate up a solid 1/32", maybe a little more. I do not know if that means you could extrapolate to "7 track days on a set of tires" or not.

Jerry wrote: a friend had a new set of Firestone Indy 500 somethings and really liked them.

Sadly, the Indy 500s for autocross are a 3rd tier tire at best. Mine don't have nearly as much grip as the tread pattern would suggest, and the stopwatch puts them at least a second and a half behind the RE71R etc.

Get some Pilot Super Sports if you want a cheap track tire.

The RE71R and Rival S start out with really low tread and wear pretty quickly. Rival S is also pretty bad in wet weather.

IMO RE71R is the optimal choice for autocross if they have your size. Has decent wet weather capabilities and is a bit more predictable I think. I drive on the Rival S, because they don't make the RE71R in a tire that fits the C6 Z06.

I just got a set of the Continental ExtremeContactSports for my miata after finding some cheap 15 inch Kosei K1s . The seem to have great grip compared to the barely corded Z1 star specs that were on there. I got 20k miles, 22 events (call it 110ish runs), and 2 HPDE weekends out of the star specs. I plan to autocross/HPDE/nice day driver for it and don't have room to keep two sets of tires for it anymore. The RE71Rs seem to be the go to 200tw but wear fairly quick from whats been said. Both of those are in 15 only. For 14s you're looking at star specs or the 615k+ (which if I had seen the sale I would have grabbed a set).

red_stapler wrote: The best tires are the Bridgestone RE71R and BfGoodrich Rival S 1.5.

/end thread

Since when are Michelin's considered cheap?