Nollie

993s switched over to B stock this year based on SCCA solo rules [page 159 http://www.scca.org/documents/Solo_R...solo_rules.pdf].

This is probably a delima each 993 autocrosser faces to stay in stock or go farther down the slippery slope. Personally, I stuck with stock and the original tires I bought the car with for a year (and got beat mercilessly) Then I fell down the slope free fall style and ended up in SSM (EVO uprights == SSM) then since SSM has a terrible PAX I went to FP heh. Enjoy the autocrosses, figure out where you want to run, and check the rule books before you make mods.

trophy

All season tires are really not suitable for any form of motorsport. They are a compromise between winter and summer. (and generally not that good of a compromise )

Get a decent set of summer Max performance tires and you will be on your way. As others have said, learn the car as it is it had a ton of lessons to deliver. Once you get comfortable in knowing how to get the most out of the car as it is then you can think about changes.

These cars handle and drive very well with the stock 205/255 17" combo, from here you can go all the way to 245/255 fronts and 275/285 rears in 17's or 18's but this would require a change in wheels, as the stock fronts are 7" and you would need an 8 or 8.5 for the wider rubber. In the rear a 10" wide rim will accommodate a 275/285 without any problem. A popular size for a ton of track guys is 235/265 on 18's. For autocross you want to put as big a tire on the front as possible as front end grip is of most importance....

If the shocks are originals then there is a regular maintenance item that will greatly improve your driving experience both on the street and the track...

Stealth 993

You think the PS2's are that fast? I have been running them for almost 2 seasons, & it's not the fast tire up here. The AD08 made up about .5 sec, in the Summer heat, the RE11's are fast.

The Star Spec is NOT made in our sizes.

New shocks will only help if yours are shot. Mine are still original, & work, but they are Boge not Monroe's. Get the rule book & read it. Most "stock" classes let you change out to any shock you want, as long as you keep stock springs. You may be able to go with the Euro M030 & stay in stock. My stock class hear allows that, & we have 3 cars that have changed over. They all went a little faster after that.

Stock class can be expensive also, if you get competitive. You will want fresh tires all the time, & start to change alignments to go faster.

matt777

Just a thought here. For an A/X don't you need a tire that is sticky right off the bat as opposed to a track tire that has time to heat up? I would think that this might lead to a different tire selection. Somebody educate me here?

Stealth 993

You want a tire that is sticky right from the get go. You get 3-4 runs, that take 30-70 sec. A "track" tire will never get up to temp, of course if it's 100 deg out side that doesn't matter, but you get the gist.

bart1

I'll have to look again, but it used to be available in a 225/255 combo for 17s.

trophy

Star Spec Sizes off Tire Rack 17" and above...

PriceSizeServ. Desc.
215/40ZR17 83W $136.00 (ea.)
215/45ZR17 87W $132.00 (ea.)
235/40ZR17 90W $150.00 (ea.)
235/45ZR17 93W $145.00 (ea.)
245/40ZR17 91W $161.00 (ea.)
245/45ZR17 95W $149.00 (ea.)
255/40ZR17 94W $169.00 (ea.)
265/40R17 96W $161.00 (ea.)
PriceSizeServ. Desc.
225/40ZR18 88W $173.00 (ea.)
225/45ZR18 91W $198.00 (ea.)
235/40ZR18 91W $190.00 (ea.)
245/40ZR18 93W $199.00 (ea.)
245/45ZR18 96W $207.00 (ea.)
255/35ZR18 90W $243.00 (ea.)
265/35ZR18 93W $256.00 (ea.)
275/35ZR18 95W $255.00 (ea.)

On the Dunlop website they list a 225/45 17 as well.

matt777

What tires fall into this category? In my limited experience I wouldn't say that the PS2s do.

nile13

To OP: you will get actual advise if you give details. a little more details than "all season Kumhos" or "crappy V-rated tires". Bend down, read the full name of the tires along with sizes and report here.

Essentially, I would again suggest not touching anything for at least 5-6 events. Learn to read the course, understand what the car is doing and what it wants to do. Try to understand the rules (none of us really do, but try anyway). For example, if you are running in stock SCCA class, you
re allowed to use any width tire, but have to keep the wheels the stock size (16 or 17 in case of a 993) and within 6mm of the original wheels offsets. You can (and soon will) change suspension, but, again, understand what you want and what class you wish to be in. In other words: "How fast you want to go? How much money do you have?".

Nollie

You're trying to get to as close to 140 rating as you can to work in street tire classes (Kumho XS:180, starspec: 200, AD08: 180). If you're running below 140 you should be on A6s or V710 imo. Warning running A6s is addictive and you may not want to run street tire again.

nile13

On autocross tires...

If we take the race rubber out of the equation (I personally run on V710s or A6s, but have done enough street tire autocrossing to have some idea), things boil down to a pair of tires today on the National level - Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec and Yokohama AD008. Some people experiment with Bridgestone RE-11 and Hankook Ventus V3 with varying results. Several years ago Falken Azenis RT-615 was the de facto street tire. Before that it was Kumho MX. They have run their courses and walked away from autocross tires (for example the new RT-615K, while good tire, is simply priced out of competition completely, which is damn stupid of Falken).

Further to all this, yes, you want a quick heating tire. But you definitely do not want a tire that overheats. So the compromise depends on weather, surface, car weight, spring rates, driving style, etc. Most people spray the tires between the runs on a hot summer day. Otherwise they simply get so greasy that the car slides instead of turning.

The bottom line of this rant is simple. Do not invent the wheel. This is a good time to be a lemming and use the same tires that everyone uses. And, oh, it ain't PS/2 or any other Michelin.

trophy

Tires like the following are classified as Street Autocross Tires:

Dunlop Direzza Star Spec
Kumho MX or XS
Falken Azenis 615
Yoko AD-08
Bridgestone RE-11
Hankook R-S3
Nitto NT-05

For full Autocross (not necessarily street)
Hoosier A6 (A is for Autocross, as apposed to their R6 tire)
Hankook Ventus Z214 - C7 Compound
There are a number of other R-Comp tires that come in different compounds, you want one that is classified as Soft.

Stealth 993

That is not stock size, it's 205/255 17, or 225/265 18. In my class I can't plus size tires.

PS2's are good tires, but not in the same class as the others. They do warm up ok. I feel they are better when it's cold out (under 50deg) & better in the wet then some of the "cheater" class tires.

In 2 years, I have one a few class wins, but usually come in the top 3. When I do win, it's usually wet, or cold out, when the other tires do not have as much grip.

But I also have one of the heaviest & lowest HP cars in my class.

sdrake

To answer nile13's question, the current tires are Kumho Ecsta ASX with 205/50/17 on the front and 255/40/17 on the back. All on stock cup wheels.

While I understand the idea of not changing anything until I get to know the car, I really want to change the stance to the euro specs, so I might as well get the right tires at the same time.

Great advice on the tires from everyone thanks so much.

To the suspension. If I have $2 to $3k to put into it, which direction should I go? Factory parts on the euro spec, HR coilover setup, bilstiens... Others? I want to drop the car down a little, autocross in my region and drive the car on sunny days...

I've read the HR Street performance coilover is a great option for the dollars but haven't heard from anyone running the setup.

nile13

Here's a problem (ask me how I know). You are thinking that you want to build a street/AutoX car and that probably means M030 springs and Bilstein HD or Koni Yellows for shocks. The car feels good and pulls double duty as intended. It stays in stock class and maybe becomes competitive after a while (remember, autocross is at least 80% driver, lately I think it's closer to 90%).

After a while you decide that autocross is in your blood. That means more serious coilovers (no, PSS9/10 will not do) and thus throwing away the $2-3K spent on suspension. Or you decide that track is calling you and you start looking past KWs into Motons, Penskes and Ohlins and god knows what exotic stuff is out there. See where I'm going with that?

As far as tires, yep, ASX is not a great tire. Not horrible, but not great. If you are convinced that their useful life s over, I'd definitely go with 225/255 StarSpecs.

Besides all this stuff, I've been meaning to say one thing. Welcome to the addiction!

PS. If it's your car on the avatar, it's a twin of my current SY 993