The WRX has RE760s on it and they have been a pleasant surprise to say the least. They have a substantial tread depth (I think they have a tread rating of like 500 or something) but they don't have the sidewall or block squirm I would generally expect looking at them, and they have really good steering input response. Frankly, they feel easily as rock-solid and responsive as the Star Specs and AD08's I had on this car previously for autocross (which were much "higher performance" tires with much less tread). I wouldn't hesitate to autocross these. They are very sticky and I've never heard them squeal in any weather, and they are really outstanding in the rain. Also very quiet (with 10k on them, at least, and no noticeable treadwear so far). After 10k miles, I honestly can't think of anything bad to say about them.
I've driven a WRX with S-drives on it (while doing my own research) and I thought they felt soft and with unimpressive turning response with 35psi in them (what I run in mine). Otherwise they had good grip and comfort and were very quiet.
The BFGs I also drove (albeit on an Infiniti G35) and they felt similar to the RE760s but man were they loud - and that's on a car with good sound deadening. I've also read they won't get the treadwear life of the 760s, but YMMV.
No experience on the Sumitomos.
I am running conti's on the jag and like them very much but at close to $200 a tire they are pricy for what they are. The up side to conti's is they always soon to be very good in rain even when worn a bit.
Aeromoto wrote:
The problem with autoXing a FWD car is that your tires are gonna wear most on the front outside shoulders. If you autocross frequently, you'll cord the outside edges long before you wear the tread down across the width of the tire
See my other thread about failure at the shoulder of one tire...
Aeromoto wrote:
The problem with autoXing a FWD car is that your tires are gonna wear most on the front outside shoulders. If you autocross frequently, you'll cord the outside edges long before you wear the tread down across the width of the tire
Rotate every event, when the shoulders get worn flip them on the rim. You'll get as much wear on those as any other car doing the same thing. Correct Camber and tire pressures help greatly with this. I'm running my AX tires down to almost smooth doing this, running -3.5* static camber and enough air to keep them from rolling over. 100+ runs and thousands of street miles.
http://automotive.kendatire.com/en-us/find-a-tire/uhp/kaiser/
There is also this tire...
http://generaltire.com/tires/performance/altimax-hp
Or this? Just food for thought :)
In reply to 91RSImpulse: Usually, all-season tires aren't fun on the autocross course due to their low grip levels compared to summer tires.
GT Radial Champiro UHP1.
A few autocrossers are saying it is a fine tire for ~$80 a pop. Won't give you 71R grip, but definitely Z1SS type grip. And at the price they cost, they're going to be fine to drive to work with. I've done a few miles on mine but haven't hit any autocrosses yet. Quieter than Z1's around town, just as loud on the highway.