[Smilieboy]

Originally Posted by Ciderbarrel I feel you. The one thing that sucks about starting in the middle of the season is that I missed out on the EVO school they had back in April or so. I hope they do another one this fall because I'm really itching to take it. Or any other driver's school they have. The one bad thing about this hobby is that there isn't anywhere you can really, legally, "practice." We don't have a place to practice like a basketball court or baseball field. People won't just let us show up in their parking lots pulling high speed turns. If there was a place like that, I'd be there every weekend trying to get better at picking my lines, breaking right, and accelerating out of the turns properly.

Try looking into your local SCCA or NASA chapters. You might be surprised to the number of events you have locally, i know i was. Go to the SCCA or NASA main page and find the region(s) closest to you. Otherwise try this site. Some clubs use this site for registration purposes.

Automotive Events - Competition and Racing Calendar with Online Registration

[ReverendDexter]

For tires, I actually wouldn't go with the Nittos unless you can get NT05s or better. Elsewise, there's a lot of better tires and ones that can be had for cheaper.

For recommendations, it really depends on what your class allows. You're either in a street tire class, in which you have to stay above 140 treadwear, or not, in which case you're totally open.

I'm in a street tire class and run Dunlop Direzza Star Specs. They grip well, have a good stiff sidewall, and wear like iron. Other popular options here are the aforementioned NT05s, Kumho ECSTA XSs, Yokohama Advan Neonovas, Hankook Ventus RS3s, Toyo T1Rs, Bridgestone Potenza RE-11s, and Falken RT615Ks (this is by no means a complete list). If you do go this route, I recommend getting your tires shaved. You'll get more grip and better wear that way (as counterintuitive as that second part may be).

If you're in a class that doesn't restrict on treadwear (such as any stock class), you basically have two options: a DOT-legal tire that you can drive to the track, or a true slick that you swap to at the track. I'll tell you right now that if you go the former route, you're gonna be at a huge disadvantage to those that can afford to go the latter. I ran a Toyo RA1 for a couple seasons that way and I ended up going to a street tire class because there was no way I could keep up with the guys on legitimate race rubber.

If you do stick with DOT-legal tires of either variety, if you DD your car I highly recommend having two sets of wheels/tires and NOT doing your normal running around on your race tires. 140-180 treadwear is only gonna get you *maybe* 10k miles on the street, and it's a downright waste of sticky rubber to use it to go the grocery store and back, hahaha.

[Whiskey11]

Originally Posted by ReverendDexter For tires, I actually wouldn't go with the Nittos unless you can get NT05s or better. Elsewise, there's a lot of better tires and ones that can be had for cheaper. For recommendations, it really depends on what your class allows. You're either in a street tire class, in which you have to stay above 140 treadwear, or not, in which case you're totally open. I'm in a street tire class and run Dunlop Direzza Star Specs. They grip well, have a good stiff sidewall, and wear like iron. Other popular options here are the aforementioned NT05s, Kumho ECSTA XSs, Yokohama Advan Neonovas, Hankook Ventus RS3s, Toyo T1Rs, Bridgestone Potenza RE-11s, and Falken RT615Ks (this is by no means a complete list). If you do go this route, I recommend getting your tires shaved. You'll get more grip and better wear that way (as counterintuitive as that second part may be). If you're in a class that doesn't restrict on treadwear (such as any stock class), you basically have two options: a DOT-legal tire that you can drive to the track, or a true slick that you swap to at the track. I'll tell you right now that if you go the former route, you're gonna be at a huge disadvantage to those that can afford to go the latter. I ran a Toyo RA1 for a couple seasons that way and I ended up going to a street tire class because there was no way I could keep up with the guys on legitimate race rubber. If you do stick with DOT-legal tires of either variety, if you DD your car I highly recommend having two sets of wheels/tires and NOT doing your normal running around on your race tires. 140-180 treadwear is only gonna get you *maybe* 10k miles on the street, and it's a downright waste of sticky rubber to use it to go the grocery store and back, hahaha.

This. Most guys in my local area run Hoosier A6's on their "race" wheels. Most don't even give two hoots about what the wheel looks like and just want the lightest and widest wheel available to them. It's a great tactic as those A6's last at least two seasons of auto-x. The guy that got me into auto-x buys new ones every year as he also tracks his EvoIX so he needs to every season.

After this season I plan on making the jump out of F-Stock straight to SM. Most if not all of my fun money will be devoted to suspension upgrades but FIRST it will be a separate set of wheels and tires with, hopefully, some A6's on them. I will be keeping the stockers for daily driving.

The nice thing about my area is that there is an AutoX event just about every weekend within a few hours drive. If there isn't one in Lincoln, there probably is in Des Moines, Kansas City, Sioux City, etc. I've not had the desire to do that quite yet as funds are still limited.


You mentioned that there where a few places you where loosing traction. Was this front end or rear end? If it's the rear end it could just be the infamous foot-to-far-into-the-gas problem that Mustang owners always have If it's front end, I'd agree, I think farmers should use Mustangs to plow their field....

[ReverendDexter]

And I do want to throw out there that until you have a lot of suspension work done and KNOW that you need the extra rubber out back, I would NOT go with a stagger setup. Last thing you need to do is bias the car even more towards understeer.

[Whiskey11]

Originally Posted by ReverendDexter And I do want to throw out there that until you have a lot of suspension work done and KNOW that you need the extra rubber out back, I would NOT go with a stagger setup. Last thing you need to do is bias the car even more towards understeer.

I wouldn't run a staggered set up for AutoX on any car simply because it means you can't rotate your tires after every event. Uneven wear and all that... Might have something to do with the fact that my pockets just are not that deep

[ReverendDexter]

That too, hahaha.

[Ciderbarrel]

Originally Posted by Smilieboy Try looking into your local SCCA or NASA chapters. You might be surprised to the number of events you have locally, i know i was. Go to the SCCA or NASA main page and find the region(s) closest to you. Otherwise try this site. Some clubs use this site for registration purposes. Automotive Events - Competition and Racing Calendar with Online Registration

I have been going to the DC area SCCA and they only have 2 more events this year, both in August.

[Ciderbarrel]

Originally Posted by Whiskey11 This. Most guys in my local area run Hoosier A6's on their "race" wheels. Most don't even give two hoots about what the wheel looks like and just want the lightest and widest wheel available to them. It's a great tactic as those A6's last at least two seasons of auto-x. The guy that got me into auto-x buys new ones every year as he also tracks his EvoIX so he needs to every season.

If I had the means (the money for 4 new rims, and the tools to actually jack the car and torque the lugs right), I'm go the A6 route. It seems like 40% of the people at the last event were running Hoosiers, including the guy in a 2011 5.0 Stang.

Most of my slippage I notices was the rear end. Not enough to cause the end to come out but enough for me to pause a sec and go "whoa, that was weird"

[Ciderbarrel]

Originally Posted by ReverendDexter For tires, I actually wouldn't go with the Nittos unless you can get NT05s or better. Elsewise, there's a lot of better tires and ones that can be had for cheaper. For recommendations, it really depends on what your class allows. You're either in a street tire class, in which you have to stay above 140 treadwear, or not, in which case you're totally open. I'm in a street tire class and run Dunlop Direzza Star Specs. They grip well, have a good stiff sidewall, and wear like iron. Other popular options here are the aforementioned NT05s, Kumho ECSTA XSs, Yokohama Advan Neonovas, Hankook Ventus RS3s, Toyo T1Rs, Bridgestone Potenza RE-11s, and Falken RT615Ks (this is by no means a complete list). If you do go this route, I recommend getting your tires shaved. You'll get more grip and better wear that way (as counterintuitive as that second part may be). If you're in a class that doesn't restrict on treadwear (such as any stock class), you basically have two options: a DOT-legal tire that you can drive to the track, or a true slick that you swap to at the track. I'll tell you right now that if you go the former route, you're gonna be at a huge disadvantage to those that can afford to go the latter. I ran a Toyo RA1 for a couple seasons that way and I ended up going to a street tire class because there was no way I could keep up with the guys on legitimate race rubber. If you do stick with DOT-legal tires of either variety, if you DD your car I highly recommend having two sets of wheels/tires and NOT doing your normal running around on your race tires. 140-180 treadwear is only gonna get you *maybe* 10k miles on the street, and it's a downright waste of sticky rubber to use it to go the grocery store and back, hahaha.

I'm not going to go stock (I'm not even F stock class legal anyway with the CAI and I'm not going to swap it out and back and retune every time), so that's not an issue.

Like I said previously, I don't have the cash or tools to swap out to slicks on site, maybe next year. MAYBE.

So right now I have to look for a good street tire that I can drive with there (and all my summer pleasure driving) and use on track. Thanks for the reply though. That's alot to look into. This winter, I'll be making up a list of what to look at. Like above, if I can go the slick route, the Hoosiers are #1 on my list.


A followup. Should I stay with my stock 17 rims, or go bigger, or smaller? Is the weight advantage for going 15s be worth it? 19 and 20s would have shorter sidewalls, so that would be a bad idea, right?

[ReverendDexter]

I'd stick with 17s, myself, maybe go 18s if you really want a larger diameter wheel. The tire selection SUCKS if you go any smaller, and the weight penalty starts to kick in with anything larger.

Check your class rules, too... a lot of classes require that you stick to the same size/offset wheel (which is why some AXers will run tires that are, in my opinion, WAY too wide for the wheel; it's making the best of what they're limited to within the rules).

[Whiskey11]

Originally Posted by Ciderbarrel I'm not going to go stock (I'm not even F stock class legal anyway with the CAI and I'm not going to swap it out and back and retune every time), so that's not an issue. Like I said previously, I don't have the cash or tools to swap out to slicks on site, maybe next year. MAYBE. So right now I have to look for a good street tire that I can drive with there (and all my summer pleasure driving) and use on track. Thanks for the reply though. That's alot to look into. This winter, I'll be making up a list of what to look at. Like above, if I can go the slick route, the Hoosiers are #1 on my list. A followup. Should I stay with my stock 17 rims, or go bigger, or smaller? Is the weight advantage for going 15s be worth it? 19 and 20s would have shorter sidewalls, so that would be a bad idea, right?

A GOOD set of lightweight 17" rims for track use is more than plenty. 18" at the largest. Everywhere I've read puts the stock 18" forged aluminum 5 spoke wheels at around 28 lbs each. Finding a set in the 18lb-22lb range should not be difficult but they may be as much as 250$ a wheel.

I think the widest you can run upfront is 9" wide wheels with 255's being the widest tire up front. So if you plan on rotating tires, that is as wide as I would go.

The Direzza Star Specs that ReverendDexter is running are considered the best street tire for AutoX, at least according to the local experts.

[Whiskey11]

Originally Posted by ReverendDexter I'd stick with 17s, myself, maybe go 18s if you really want a larger diameter wheel. The tire selection SUCKS if you go any smaller, and the weight penalty starts to kick in with anything larger. Check your class rules, too... a lot of classes require that you stick to the same size/offset wheel (which is why some AXers will run tires that are, in my opinion, WAY too wide for the wheel; it's making the best of what they're limited to within the rules).

He's in E-Street Prepared:

15.4.A.:
Wheels of any diameter, width or offset may be used. Aftermarket wheels may be modified to install OE tire pressure sensors.

[ReverendDexter]

If you weren't on the other side of the country, I'd sell you my 17x9 BBSs. They're about 22 lbs/per, and already have RA1s on 'em.

[Whiskey11]

Originally Posted by ReverendDexter If you weren't on the other side of the country, I'd sell you my 17x9 BBSs. They're about 22 lbs/per, and already have RA1s on 'em.

This does bring up an interesting point. In a search for quality light weight rims that wont break the bank... I'm coming up largely empty. The problem I'm experiencing is the absence of 9" wide lightweight rims in tirerack's selection. Of course, searching in the 18"x9" isn't helping but I've found a few by Motegi that are 18x9 and in the 20-22lb range. That would drop ~4-6lbs off of each corner and they are not horribly expensive.

I don't mean to hijack this thread so I will probably start another thread pertaining to my future build, but I'm curious if anyone has any ideas about Motegi as a brand. Most places I'm seeing are saying they are not painted that well and it flakes easily, which is fine as I don't care about the wear and tear more the rigidity of the wheels.

I figured it may be of SOME help to Ciderbarrel for future wheel choices.