roman944

want to buy a new set of tires

going to drive the car to the track and back

looking for tires suggestions on brands and sizes

I was thinking Hankook RS2 tire should be very good

car just got stripped of all interior

I was thinking 225/50/16 front and 245/45/16 rear

but not sure, seems like some people say 205 and 225 is a better combo?

looking for suggestions

Thanks!

Jim Michaels

I'm assuming these are for autocross (AX).

The sizes you're thinking of (225/50/16 and 245/45/16) should work fine on 7 and 8" rims (although 205 and 225 are considered "standard" sizes for 7 and 8" rims), but the fronts will be a bit taller than the rears (24.9" vs. 24.6" diameter). Is that what you want? If you're driving them on the street you'll probably want to keep tire diameters close to what came on the car.

Second, I think you can find better street tires for AX than the Hankook R-S2. Those tires finished way back in Tire Rack's comparison test. You might consider Kumho XS, Bridgestone RE-11, Bridgestone RE01R, or Dunlop Z1 Star Spec (all tested in the June issue of Grassroots Motorsports). Visit www.tirerack.com to check on sizes for your car. They also provide comparison tests for most of the tires.

roman944

I have missed out on that sale TireRack had on the Bridgestones

I want the best combo possible, I'm not woried about rotations or anything

Jim Michaels

Yes, TR had good prices on the RE01Rs while they lasted.

Rear tire diameter will affect effective gearing. A smaller than OEM diameter lowers effecting gearing slightly (too little to actually feel); larger diameter than OEM raises effective gearing slightly. Changing from OEM diameter also affects speedometer and odometer readings. If you don't are about any of those changes, the slightly lower effective gearing would normally be preferred at AX, but I wouldn't want to change the front-to-rear rake of the chassis much.

roman944

either tire setup is pretty close, with rears being slightly wider and shorter (according to the tire size calculator - so in theory)

since most A-X courses up here are 2nd gear, I still have an option of going with either tire setup

racer

If economy is the goal, use the same size tires and rims at all 4 corners. ie.. 225-50s all around. 245s might be considered overkill if your car is stock (ie 150ish hp)

oopps just noticed your running staggered 7/8s.. 225s still work on those rims (both the 7s and 8s).. 205/225 combo- too much understeer. 225s all around will help neutralize the understeer. 225/245 will still causes understeer since the stagger is the same but would be better than 205/225 simply due to more rubber.

Do you need to worry about Treadwear rating for your class? I've been running Toyo RA1s for the past 6-7 years on several cars and really like them. Not ideal for heavy rain but good elsewhere. Might try the Falken Azenis 615s? Is there a $$ limit?

roman944

I don't want to buy dedicated wheels and R-compounds such as Hoosiers , atleast not yet, so that is the only limitation

I am stripping the car right now, well, actually I'm done stripping it - I am just prepping the interior for paint right now, so its noticibly lighter then stock

I'm not worried about tire rotations or anything, not too worried about the wear either, but I do want to be able to drive the car to the track and back

I was seriously thinking about Hankook RS2, but if there is something better for the same price - figure no more then $125/tire

the guys that run their cars in autocross here all say go as big as you can, so that is why I am here

there is nothing else done to the car yet as far as suspension modifications - I'm doing tires first because the ones I have now are completely wrong and mismatched (long story)

I also just read in the 924/944 section that I can upgrade to a later DME and AFM and then get it chipped, so this is a possibility down the road, but its not done yet and I won't do it for a while

roman944

I'm just looking for something that will perform great on the track and won't give me much trouble for driving it to t he track and back

looks like that Kumho tire and the Dirreza Star Spec are a pretty good deal for around same price as Hankook RS2's

my main question is on the sizes though, what would give me the best grip/handling in turns/less flex(stiffer sidewall) in these sizes? for DD seems like 205/225 is it, but my car is not going to be "occasional Auto-X car" so my situation might be slightly different?

racer

I say it again.. Stay away from the 205s (unless you dont have powersteering and you are really weak ; ) ...

The rub (ha!) is that while for AX you might want 245s all around, they won't fit properly on the 7's you have for the front. A 225 works great on a 7 and also works on an 8 (like the rears). Running 225s all around would give you the flexibility to swap tires on rims and even out the wear front/back and left/right.

I drove a former PCA Club race 944 (which is to say only the suspension was optimized, not the motor) at an AX on "only" 225-50s all around and took 4th overall time (the owner was 10th overall). ( http://www.pcapotomac.org/images/PCA...y_Raw_Time.pdf )

Since you can't/won't spend the money for pure ax only tires (like Hoosiers, or R comps) then truly, overall time isn't as important. Learning to drive and seat time is. Keep it simple. 225s all around.

As for the "hp gains" from an 8-valve NA 944, there really aren't too many, at least not dyno proven. Save your money for more events to get more seat time to become a better drover

roman944

this is just while I'm learning though, later it will be a set of race wheels with Hoosiers (most likely)

as for engine mods, looks like there are light easy things that can be done and help the engine a little, so long as the parts a cheap it might be worth checking out; tires and suspension first though!

ritzblitz

I'd recommend getting star specs. They are pretty nice. Good value!

00r101

+1 for the Direzza. really like them on my Boxster. They are about 0.5 - 1 second faster than the Michelin Pilot PS2s that were OEM