Duke
UltimaDork
1/16/15 8:26 p.m.
ProDarwin wrote:
Conti DW?
No idea how they'd last under hot lap conditions, but I've had a set on my daily E46 for at least 10 months a year for 2-3 years, plus probably 50 autocross passes, and they have taken it like champs. Plus they're nice to drive on.
The question is, how do I heat cycle a tire on the V without killing it? And it only weighs 4300 lbs.
Honestly with that weight and that (lack of) camber, your car is going to kill whatever tire you're going to put on it. So your choice is, really do you want to strap cheap stuff on it or spend a few bucks more and strap stickier stuff on it (RS3 V2 or Direzza) and go a little faster.
I had Michelin PSS on my 135i (similar car, lighter, but equally camber challenged). By all accounts the PSS is supposed to be a very durable tire. A lot of people use them in OLOA. However, after just 5 or 6 events, the fronts were horribly chunked. Granted I had a pretty bad alignment on the car at the time, but my point is that if abused enough every tire will fall apart.
Duke
UltimaDork
1/16/15 9:49 p.m.
mazdeuce wrote:
The question is, how do I heat cycle a tire on the V without killing it? And it only weighs 4300 lbs.
Tire Rack will do it for you for $15 a tire.
4Msfam
Reader
1/17/15 1:30 a.m.
FWIW... the 128i is just north of 3K pounds, the runflat 300 TW Goodyears on it chunked HORRIBLY with the first autocross we did.
I replaced those Goodyears with the HTR III's (not shaved), and did 2 BMW CCA Driver's Ed events (skidpads, slalom, autocross, emergency braking, etc, autocross school, PLUS a whole season of autocrosses with TWO drivers (so essentially all this x2).... no chunks. In fact, the BMW's are known to eat front sidewalls (need more camber), and they really have worn fairly even. In fact, they still look pretty new.
Our Mazda3 has the DWS (four season version of the DW)... different tire I know, but they chunk too with just spirited street driving.
I really think these might be what you're looking for.
maj75
Reader
1/17/15 8:33 a.m.
I think that you are overthinking this. 200 tread wear tires (my personal favorite is the Kuhmo Ecsta XS for my M3 and FRS) in a STOCK size won't put that much additional stress on your car. What they will do is give you better control and predictability on track. 400 treadwear tires will go away pretty fast on track and your handling will be constantly changing and consistency will be hard to achieve. Odds are good in a car that heavy they you will trash the tires in one day. The Nannys in your car will be going off like crazy screwing with the handling and lap times, too. If you turn them off, your probably going off.
My first track day was in a Boxster S with the stock Michelin Sports and the fronts chunked badly and the handling of the car was pretty poor by the end of a session at Homestead. I got them in the skinny stock size on stock wheels for the FRS and they are great. They talk to you as you approach the limit and if you pay attention to tire pressure during the day, they handle consistently. They generate a lot of heat so I'm constantly letting air out after each session. This is true in cars that weigh about half of what yours does, YMMV.
The RS3s you have on now are your daily driver tire right? Same size as stock? They should get heat cycled out with normal driving. I have the same tires, daily driven. They're not as sticky as they were when new, but they're still as predictable and controllable. I'm afraid you would trade in the predictability for lower grip. Perhaps you need a narrower tire, but still a tire that will perform under the heat stress.
mr2peak
HalfDork
1/17/15 10:08 p.m.
mazdeuce wrote:
... I have friends with Subaru BRZ's and they all say the car on stock tires is brialliant but slower. That's the experiment I want to try...
Why not try that tire in the correct size for the wagon? Are they holding up well for your friends?
Duke wrote:
mazdeuce wrote:
The question is, how do I heat cycle a tire on the V without killing it? And it only weighs 4300 lbs.
Tire Rack will do it for you for $15 a tire.
I knew this - but in the context of this conversation, I'm now thinking I need to get Tire Rack to heat-cycle my next set of all-seasons.