03RallyLancer

iTrader: (6)

Alright i am not buying now but i am getting my stuff planned out for later so i dont end up spending more money. I was wonder what are some good auto-x tires they will need decent wet traction but i will put my oz rims back on in the winter. as for my rims if i get 16s they will be the enkei RS5s and if i get 17s i will get the oz superleagra(however you spell it) so i would like some opinons from people who auto-x and are there any performance gains from 16 to 17 inch rims? and urban you better throw your .02 in this.

Tristar

iTrader: (7)

16s are probably the best way to go in this situation. I run 17s on my car with Yokohama AVS ES100s, but I got the 17s because I dont autocross that much and wanted the looks of the 17s. The best tire you can get for autocross that is still a streetable tire is the Falken Azenis, although the the Kuhmo Ecsta Mx's are supposed to be pretty good.

Personally, I like the yok ES100s, they grip well in the wet and have a pretty good tread life. If your serious about compeating in autocross, Id recommend the 16s with the Falkens which I believe is the setup urban runs.....

tswift

iTrader: (26)

First question is are you going to have race only wheels? If so I can get you Autocross tires. You can choose between Toyo RA1, Hoosier "A" compound or Yokohama A032R S compound tires.

If you are going to run on the street and autoX, then Toyo and Yokohama make great High performance street tires which will work for the combo application.

My suggestion is the Toyo RA1 and a new set of wheels. They will last all year and if you take care of them, you can get two seasons out of them. Depending on how hard you drive, how fast you want to go and how you care for them. Smaller tires are better for Autocross, so your stock OZ wheels would be great for Racing. Tire swill cost less as well. Then just get a nice set of 17" for cruising on.

03RallyLancer

iTrader: (6)

i am not exactly sure if i want to run dedicated race tires just yet i think if i go to a race compound tire it changes my class... but im keeping my old wheels for winter and am going to run the new wheels and tires from like may to august or so...

jason33hs

iTrader: (1)

I don't know what class you are planning on running in, but if you want dedicated, r-compound DOT autocross tires your choices are: Hoosier, Kumho, Michelin, Toyo, Yokohama, and maybe Pirelli depending on size wanted.

Stock class puts you 15x6 wheels and your OZ's will be the cheapest route plus 15 tires are less expensive as tswift said. Prices ranges from around $130 to $200+ depending on manufacturer. I suggest you have your competition tires shaved to keep them from overheating and "chunking". Bigger wheels equal new class!

Street touring, chime in here Brian, any tire as long as it has a treadrating of 140+ and I believe the rim cannot be wider than 7.5 nor larger than 17. Falken Azenis and Kumho MX seem to be the choice presently, but that could all change by next year. Cheaper tires (last I checked $72 for 205/50-15), but I have heard a price increase is in the works from Falken.

Street Prepared same as STS plus addition of r-compounds from stock. Street mod same story.

Hope this helps.

Jason
"Autocrossers make good road racers, but not all road racers are good autocrossers"

TypeIII

Trust me, get an extra set of wheels, it'll save you money in a long run. Using soft compound on the street will chew up your tires very quickly...

urbanknight

iTrader: (14)

You knew I would find this within a day, didn't you? Too bad almost all the important stuff is already covered, and I agree with almost everything up here.

First, you need to decide which category you are going to run in. I run in a street tire category (STS which suits most street driven imports), in which the Falken Azenis is the top choice for tires, and the Khumo model listed above is also a good choice. But I still drive daily on the stock tires and rims. If you want to run in a race tire category, the Khumo and Hoosier R rated models are great, but you'd want to change those at the track, as they probably get less than 2000 miles. For comparisons, the Azenis is expected to get 10-20k miles.

Now, if you choose to run in the stock category, you have to stick with 15x6 rims with a 34-36mm offset. For that, I'd recommend getting 205/15/50 or 55 tires, maybe 215 width... just depends on what sizes the race tires are offered in. Although the least fun category (in my opinion), the Lancer is the strongest in the H stock class.

STS is the next class up, allowing the most common aftermarket mods on na cars under 3.0 liters (allowing suspension, external engine, and brake mods). This class requires street tires, in which case I love the Falken Azenis. Restrictions are 225 max tire width and 7" max rim width (which is the most you can squeeze on the Lancer anyway) The Lancer is somewhat an underdog in this class, citing the 160 hp, AWD, LSD Impreza RS, but then again a '90 Ford Escort is dominating it in my region, so anything it possible.

FSP is a little more fair for the Lancer than STS (similar hp/weight), if you're willing to do some mods that are a little uncommon on the street. This class is very similar to STS, but allows race tires, and you will find much more extreme camber and toe combinations, wider tires (sometimes going beyond the fenders), and gutted interiors. My only reason for not moving into this class is that my Lancer is a 20k mile/year daily driver.

Now, as for wheels, I agree that 16x7 is the top choice for rim sizes on the Lancer for both autocross and road courses. 17x7 will still work well, but will probably make acceleration a bit harder. One really important thing when shopping for rims is to compare weight. Try not to buy a 16" rim that weighs any more than 20 lb. I am quite impressed that the stock OZ rims weigh about 15 lb, making them even greater for the stock category (hmmm, if you still have a stock lancer, you could buy 17s for daily driving and throw race tires on your stock rims and BAM you're an HS racer)

Anyway, that's a little more than my .02 but you can have it for free Now get someone to take and post pics of your first race!

JVlancer

iTrader: (5)

From what I have been reading that any "R" compound tire delivers the most traction. Would be your best bet to go with smaller size tire/wheel also for quicker times, i personally would stick with your stock oz's just get some nice R Compound tires like as listed above the toyo's great tires. Also the Yok's are extremely good.

03RallyLancer

iTrader: (6)

going to an event this sunday not entering... just gonna go watch and check out the different cars and classes... and find out what to expect for nxt years season

urbanknight

iTrader: (14)

can't hurt to enter with your car as it is just to get a feel for it. Believe me, it won't matter how good your car is until you have a few years of seat time under your belt.

TypeIII

Brian is right, just run the car... And be ready to be humbled.

jason33hs

iTrader: (1)

Brian I missed this earlier. How can any autocross class be less fun! As long as it has 4 sticky tires and an engine, it's fun to me. But, a Z06 is a much more brutal ride than my Lancer.

Jason
"Autocrossers make good road racers, but not all road racers are good autocrossers"

urbanknight

iTrader: (14)

well, I should rephrase that. It's a blast to drive a 4 door family car like that, 3 wheel action and major drift. But I do like having a car that grips well. I had a blast with my stock Lancer, it slipped and slid all over, but was still rather predictable and easy to control. But for some reason, I can't resist the itch to mod and make it corner flatter and harder. Although I am sure a stock lancer on R compound grips very well.

jason33hs

iTrader: (1)

I would love to corner flatter too, but the $$$$(thanks Koni) is a hinderance, in addition to 2 children that may not like the ride comfort.

You need to get some r-compounds to try on your car. It is night/day in stock, so I can't imagine what it is like with suspension tweaks. Run FSP an event and you won't go back to street tires.

Jason

urbanknight

iTrader: (14)

I'm thinking about it, but it's a more extreme class, even though the base models are more competitive. We'll see.