Serge944

265/16 street tires no longer exist. Kumho makes R tires in 265 45 16 though. The sidewalls are too big!

tconn

Yes I meant the Kumho's. The overall dia is to big?? or are the side walls
to flexible ??

Serge944

You usually run a 245/45/16. The 265 has the same aspect ratio of 45 but a wider tread means a taller sidewall.

This means your gearing will be higher and youll most likely rub.

Matt H

You want the shortest possible sidewall as that effectively lowers the gear ratio which for autox in a 951 is a GOOD thing. Just run a 245/45R16 all around, it is a good fit.
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Lawn Gnome

I am only 17 and have autocrossed 4 times. All 4 times I have run on street tires and I also went to a High performance driving clinic with street tires. I have heard tires are the most important upgrade in autoxing next to driver experience. My 944 has completely stock suspension and I would like to learn how to drive it as it is before I upgrade anything.

Is 225 the widest you can fit on an n/a?

Skip

Of the tires I've tried (Hoosier#3, Kumho Victoracer and Ecsta V700, Toyo RA-1 and Yoko A048 and A032R) the Hoosier was consistently faster "under optimal conditions". The sizes I used were either 225/50-15 or, when available, 225/45-15 (lowers gearing, great for AX) always on Porsche OE 15x7 wheels. Optimal conditions vary, as do specific setups and courses. I was most happy with the long term performance of the Victoracer - it gripped well, didn't need as much camber as the Hoosier, and last a good ong while (started shaved to 3/32" - most others started at 4/32".) On the track, I really do love the Toyo RA-1 for it's long lasting even performance. It truly does feel just as good after 20 minutes as it does after 5. I have not tried the new #4 Hoosier, nor do I want to based on the increased care-and-feeding they seem to need over the #3 Hoosiers. Though, the very worst tire in the wet was the Hoosier - by far. The best, I think, was the A048 - but, I only drove on it once and not in my car. The worst overall tire was the Kumho V700 Ecsta - worthless pile from what I experienced. The two tires I have yet to try but will soon are the new Kumho V710 (mod1) and the seriously sticky Avon Tech-R (should give the Hoosier a run for the money - considering they are nominally $20/ea less expensive and also come as stock with only 4/32".)

Best tire is a religious topic - similar to brake pads, dampers and motor oil. If you run in classes that allow them (MOD), then you can run Hoosier or Goodyear "gumballs" - autocross tires that melt like chocolate in your hands.

Skip

Yes. OE size is 215/60-15. Good +1 size is 225/50-15 but it will throw off your speedo slightly (smaller diameter than OE - indicates faster than actual.) For autocross, and for some short tracks, better to go with 225/45-15 to reduce the gearing down a little for that extra umph. Better to keep them larger for more track use - the na doesn't go very fast as it is, every little bit of top end helps. Also, when considering any track tire/wheel combination for the na, lighter is better. One of the reasons the early A3SO3 Hoosier did so well for me is that it is by far the lightest tire on the market (bias tire, not radial.) Adding 17" or 18" wheels to an autocross car (even the turbo , with its brutal lack of low end grunt) is normally a step in the wrong direction unless you somehow have power to spare, uh-huh. If you can spend the equivalent to your cars worth (na) on wheels to get the sup'rlite type (Kinesis, Fikse, etc) then you still have to contend with tire widths and associated weights. Also, now you're running in GT/Mod and getting your assimuss waxed. Add lightness - be a blur.

N_Halbert

The 245/45-16's work well on the S2 for DE and AutoX. As has been said, run what you can afford. If you are going to drive to an from the events a high perfomance street tire may be what you want. I use the Toyo RA1's and drive them to events and am very happy with them.

For autoX the 245/45 lowers the gear ration over the stock 225/50's so gives you a little more pull on a tight autoX course.

I have added the 968 M030 swabars front and rear and this flattens out the car a lot. But you will need to beef up you front sway bar mount or they will break in a fairly short period. The rear is set at full hard. -1.7degrees camber up front and -1.3 at the rear, little toe front to none in rear. Tire pressures even when hot.

The question is, do you want to learn to drive the car or just trying to go as fast as possible? One is rewarding the other is expensive.

The down side of higher performance tires is that they don't talk back to you as much at the limits as street tires and when they do is is more like "Oh S#&% !"

In an autoX R compound tires are good for 1-2 seconds. If you are 5+ seconds off the pace, then R's alone will not put you into contention. Save the money and stick with street tires and work on the driving.

JustinL

Thanks for the confirmation Z-man. I found last year that the 951 is way too much car for me to learn with so I've decided to drop down to 944. Sure it was exciting and I was killing some slower cars (I had double the rwhp of some of them) but I've been reading and I think the best way for me to get fast is to start with "old red" and build up my base skills on street tires and then move on to the 951 when the 944 won't deliver. The nice thing with my 2 cars is that they should handle the same wheels/tires so the trasition will hopefully not be too dramatic. In the very distant future I might consider some autocross tires, but not until I feel that I need them.

Justin

David Ray

Big tires aren't the answer.....driving skills are worth more than you can ever imagine. My best instructor suggested running a season on street tires to really learn how the car handles in various situations. You may not be in the top three but you'll learn a wealth of knowledge you won't ever gain with sticky tires. Plus, you'll be amazed at how well you'll progress throughout the season.

Stock rims: Toyos RA1s 225/60/15 if you have too!

Skip

Amen, brutha. But, did you mean 225/50-15?

Z-man

Funny, that's about the exact same setup that I run with - right down to the camber and tire choice!!

Lawn Gnome: since you're relatively new at this sport, I suggest you stick with a good high performance street tire. Keeps the costs down, and as a 'newbie,' you won't be able to extract the maximum out of even street tires, so why bother with more expensive rubber? I went almost 4 seasons of autox before switching to an R-compound tire.

You may go faster with r-compound tires, but you can also develop some bad habits instead of forming good car control skills.

Just my $0.42,
-Z-man.