Tires for a new autocrosser?

So after my first autocross last year (and subsequently getting hooked on rally-x), I've been looking for some budget tires to use on my dd for summer street driving and the occasional autocross. I still don't really know heads from tails when it comes to stuff like this, so I was hoping I could get pointed in the right direction.

The current wheels I have for summer duty are 18x7 stockers from a supercharged Cobalt, the stock size was something like 215/45/18.

I'm not looking to set an FTD or anything, I just want to do better than last year on my Michelin X-Ices (Screeching all the way around the course).

Thanks, Luke

I still love my Yokohama S-Drives. Fun autocrossing, general spirited driving, and took much effort to make them squeal at Tail of the Dragon.

Tire Rack: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=S.drive&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=14YR8SXL&tab=Sizes

Another vote for the S-Drive. I use them on both the Integra and MR2 for dd and autox duties. They're just about as cheap as you're going to get for a middle-ground summer tire that actually has decent performance.

If you are only looking for summer daily and occasional autox, you might as well get autox tires.....I did it on my Ion Redline and the '91 SHO. The redline ran 3 seasons with approx 20k miles driving and many many autox's before the star specs were done for.

The '91 has seen a couple autox's and about 8k miles on the star specs, and they're just getting broken in. I might jump the shark and replace them early for the new ZII star spec though.

Yamaha may have a point. I like the S-Drives because they last a good deal longer than the competitive ST tires and I drive these vehicles on a daily 2-hour commute. I guess it'll depend on exactly how much the OP has to spend at the moment, since the competitive stuff is about 25-50% more expensive.

In reply to Matt B:

FWIW, I run star specs until they are slicks.......

Plus I might have to reduce my '91s tire size to make the coilovers I'm buying tomorrow fit on it....

Being both H stock and cheap as all hell, I think I'll avoid slicks. Maybe if I want to bump myself out of h stock I'll try them, but I'm not experienced enough to justify mods yet.

Definitely will be looking at the S-Drives. Any thoughts on the BFG KDW2s? The local shops seem to have those on for pretty cheap.

The OP said "budget tires to use on my dd for summer street driving and the occasional autocross". S-Drives around $149 and Star Specs around $200. $50 savings x 4 tires = $200 to put towards entry fees.

I'd look at the Continental DW, it's a great tire for what it is and is pretty affordable to boot.

Look for anything 200 treadwear or less, RS3's are pretty cheap, all of them will wear reasonably well on the street if you take it easy on them, constant hooning will wear them out pretty quick. On the flip side, I obliterated a set of 320tw kumho's in 5 autocrosses, from almost new to cords, the harder tires do not like the abuse.

In reply to Rxbalt:

H-stock.......are you in a stock n/a balt?

The 2.4, but yeah. Dead last aaaaaaall the way.

I wanna go faster but I want it paid off before that.

Federal 595rsr's are the cheapest autox type tire I've seen, but I don't know about wear and they may not come in your size.

I revise my comment.....get whatever is cheapest, and literally torch them autoxing. I learned in a on atx focus on all seasons.

In reply to yamaha: So make my X-Ices all toasty? Got it.

In the case of that, I might not scrap the NS-IIs that are on the 18s and run those 'till they're dead.

In reply to Rxbalt:

That's what I'd do.

Because they are not sold by the Mega-stores (Tire Rack and Discount Tire) Federals are a well kept secret when it comes to budget auto-x rubber for a DD.

Federal 595RS-R

Jeff

Rxbalt wrote: Being both H stock and cheap as all hell, I think I'll avoid slicks. Maybe if I want to bump myself out of h stock I'll try them, but I'm not experienced enough to justify mods yet.

Just my $.02. Might be worth trying to dig up a second set of stock wheels and looking for used R Comps. Putting a flat spot on your only set of tires can make an inexpensive decision real expensive in a hurry. I know I'm in the minority, but I also think you should learn to autocross on R Comps. I didn't appreciate what I could learn from street tires until I had done a couple of seasons. But race rubber for a n00b lets you work on really charging the fast stuff. Yeah, it'll cover up where you're blowing the technical bits a little, but keeping your foot in it seems to me a lot harder to teach new folks. Having to learn it twice just makes it worse. Plus, you'll be amazed what even used R Comps do to your car. Makes it fun.

Not for everyone, but something to think about.

(edit) I have, for the record, seen more than one person ruin a pair of front tires in one event and have to drive home on tires that weren't round anymore. If you decide to autocross on the same tires you're going to drive on, I second the idea of getting whatever you can find ultra cheep.

Eddie, I'm opposite of you, I think everyone should learn on all seasons.....its much more of a handful, but it'll make you learn to be smooth.

In reply to JKleiner:

I see those on all the local Legends cars, I never thought of using those on my car. I'll have to check on those too.

yamaha wrote: Eddie, I'm opposite of you, I think everyone should learn on all seasons.....its much more of a handful, but it'll make you learn to be smooth.

You'll find far more people who agree with you than me. Maybe it's just how I learn (which, God knows, isn't typical) or maybe I'd be a lot faster if I'd spent more time on street tires.

Yokohama S-Drives or Kumho SPTs. I can personally vouch for the latter.

If your car is a FWD cobalt then I'd go with T he Star Specs. Most of the FWD AXers I run with love them and they are pretty good daily drivers too. If your AutoX car is RWD then it is hard to beat the RS3 Kooks. Most of the National champs run em. You might consider the new BFG entry as well as it appears ready to challenge the kooks

In reply to GameboyRMH:

No to the SPT's for autox fun, they're a good DD tire, but they don't tolerate abuse well and will disappear in a hurry. Or at least mine did.

I also agree on starting with street tires, I think it's the way to go.

This thread is very relevant to my weekend. I actually just got some S Drives for my Mustang and ran them in an autocross today! They don't make star specs or a few of the other popular auto-x tires in my size, but I have to say I was impressed with the S drives. It was a bit cold, but they seemed to be fairly grippy and took the abuse well seeing as it was a novice school and I probably did 20-25 runs. Plus they are relatively cheap!