Lerxst

In my 350Z, I was running Falken Azenis RT-615s for AutoX events and they proved to be excellent.

I've been told that the 225/40/18 & 285/30/18 Continental Contact 2 tires on my "new" 2002 C2 are terrible for AutoX. Once I burn off the Contact 2s, what would you guys recommend in that size?

A quick look at TireRack.com shows the following options:
BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD
Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07
Bridgestone Potenza S-02 A
Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position
Michelin Pilot Sport Rib
Pirelli PZero Rosso
Yokohama ADVAN Sport

Thanks,

Joe

Joe Weinstein

One vote for Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07.
You should start with 40 psi and experiment from
there.
Joe

Grantsfo

Here are my completely biased opinions.

The BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD is a decent tire performance wise however they make a ton of noise and have fairly soft sidewalls (they have to be pumped up to higher pressures than others). I have them on my Mazdaspeed 6 currently and they howl something mean especially under hard braking. The BFG have "canyons" of tread so they last forever.

My Mazda came equipped with Bridgestone Potenza RE050A and they were OK from grip perspective, but wore out very quickly. They wore more quickly than Falkens and even some DOT R tires I have driven on the street yet didnt provide grip of those tires.

Bridgestone Potenza S-02 A is a decent tire. Had them on my Boxster and I felt they were close to Falkens. I wasnt overly impressed with Falkens Azenis Sports on the Boxster - just a little more grip than the S-02's.

Pirelli PZero Rosso, sexy tires, but never really felt like a good dry tire to me and they seemed to lose stickiness as they aged. When they are new they were really good on wet surfaces. Note I didnt say rain. They stick great on wet pavement with no puddles.

Dr. Car

The Yoko AD07 is no doubt the fastest of those tires.

jamie645

I completely shredded a set of new P Zero Rossos last week at an autocross

Dr. Car

The Yokohama AD-07 is available in 235/40/18 for the front, I'd get that size. The 285/30 is available for the rear.

Slantnose!

+1 for the Yokohama's...

Lerxst

Has anyone ever fit a 315/30/18 tire on the stock 18x10 rim? Falken is recommending at least a 10.5 rim. If so, were there any rubbing issues on a MY02 C2?

Would a 245/40/18 tire have fitment issues on the front?

If that doesn't work, I'll hope for new sizes in RT615s or RE01Rs next Spring, or bite the bullet and pick up 285 AD07s or 295 PS2s.

kabel_Boxster

I am assuming you want just one set of tires that can do double duty on the street and autox. I would agree on the advans as a great autox tire, but those things howl on the hwy.

I only occasionally autox my p-car and I have been really impressed with the Michelin PS2 I put on there last year. These are not the Pilot Sport Rib you listed, these are the PS2, great for autox and very compliant for the daily drive.

Have you considered having two sets of wheels & tires? I did that for a couple of seasons, one set of street tires for "normal" street driving and another set for autocross weekends. That way I could change them the day before and change them back at my leisure after the event. Then I upgraded to r-comps

Wilder

One vote for Falken 615s.

Using such massive tires may actually slow you down though (they won't fit on your rims anyway). For 18 x 8/10 rims, stay away from 245/315 and opt for 225/265 instead; 235/275 if you really feel you need more meat. Someone who knows what he's talking about once told me that tires are more predictable and responsive on wheels that are at the higher end of the recommended wheel fitment range. I agree.

Conekiller

i switched from the Continental Contact 2 to the 615's and it made a huge diffrence. My vote goes to the 615's if your on a budget or the AD-07 if you have the cash.

smackboy1

My P Zero Rossos are toast. So what new shoes to buy? I like the Yoko Advan Neovas after reading this article

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...the-tread.html

What is a good dry/wet street tire that will also serve me well in autoX? Are the Falken Azenis RT-615 any good in the wet?

But how long will they last? Treadwear is 180. How many autoX runs are you supposed to get from a set of street tires anyway?

Lerxst

I ran 615s on my 350Z and was very happy with them. I probably put 10K miles on them and 50 autox runs and still had 4/32nds (50% life)when I sold the car. It's not a lot, but they are cheap and very sticky in the dry. In the wet, they're ok until you wear them down... then they have a greater tendancy to plane cuz the channels are almost gone. I don't drive the Porsche in the rain, so it's a non issue for me.

The only problem for me is they have terrible sizing for our cars.