Good Street/AutoX/HPDE tire in 245/40/17...

[housegsx]

Anyone know of a good tire choice in the size 245/40/17? I wanted to get the Falken RT615's or something similar like toyo ra1's etc, but nobody makes them in this size. I want the tire for occasional street driving, autocross, and a couple beginner hpde days.

I am looking at running an eight inch wheel and am worried that 245/45/17 would be too tall and rub my spindle. And I'm not going to go with a low backspacing because I need my tires to be able to tuck with rolled fenders.

Any recommendation???

 

[asian312]

Here are some 245/40/17:

BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD
Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position
Kumho ECSTA MX

I would advise to stay away from the RA1s if you are street driving on these. Those tires are R-compounds and are not recommend if you are just beginning in DE programs.

 

[prostreetdsmx1]

we have used the RE050A on an EVO. Pretty nice tire and it is a great value. Ecsta MX would be my second choice out of those.

 

[Ludachris]

I would also advise against R-compounds like the RA-1 for street driving. I'd consider the Falkens and the Kumho MX.

 

[Rx3]

As long as you don't plan on driving the car in snow or anything, I've used Yokohama A048 (hard compound) with success as a track tire/auto-x tire/ daily driver tire. Just keep in mind that I don't pile heaps of miles on my car during the spring-fall, and I have a separate set of wheels with all-seasons on them (if I know I'm driving long distance, etc.). Other than that I would revisit looking at the Falken RT615s. These tires have a wide footprint, wider than most tires of the same size. You could get away with a 235/45 and still have the same amount of tread witdth as some other 245/40 tires. Check out the specs and compare.

Ideally, the RT615 would be the tire to go with for true all around use.

 

[housegsx]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. They all seem like great options. I also forgot to mention price as a deciding factor. I still have to buy wheels. The Kumho Ecsta MX and the Falken 615's seem to be highly recommended and at an affordable price.

RX3, unfortunately Falken doesn't make the 615 in a 235/45/17. They do have them in 235/40/17, but they're not reinforced. http://www.falkentire.com/rt615_sizes.html That just doesn't seem like much of a step up from 225's. Of course they're probably a much better tire than the Nitto 555's I have now. I'm also worried they would be too short compared to 225/40/18's that I have now, although that may be negligible.

If more people back up the Kumho MX's I think that's the tire i will go for. In 245/40/17.

 

[DSMSpyder99]

I have 245/40/17 Pilot Sport on the front of my car. They handle much better than any other tire i have had on my car. Look into the Hankook Ventus Rs2 Z212 they go head to head with the RT-615. Also, they come in 245/40/17.

 

[housegsx]

Thanks! That looks like another good option for a decent price.

 

[eclipsegsx1736]

This is a great read:

http://www.socalevo.net/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=22351.0

Scroll down more and they have a list of recommended substitutes to the stock Advans on the Evo with commonly used sizes listed.

 

[Ludachris]

You know what I just thought of - why not just buy a second set of track wheels/tires. Then you could get the RA-1's and not have to worry about driving them on the street. A good cheap wheel that people tend to use on the DSM is a used Cobra wheel (17x9). You can do a search here in the Handling forum and the Road Racing forum for more info.

This would allow you to keep your current wheels and just buy cheaper tires and not have to worry about sacrificing performance.

 

[housegsx]

The only problem with that is my car is not a dedicated track only car. Not yet. Meaning I can't have two different suspension/alignment setups. I still like to use my car on the street and I have no means to tow it, so I will also be driving it to the track.
The Cobra 9 inch wide wheels have a low backspacing and would be sticking out so I'd have to raise my Tein basics to or close to max height so the body work doesn't drop down on the tire under heavy cornering. Even with ~500# spings in the front and 300-340# in the rear they might still rub. I'm hoping to stick with a package that will tuck for now. I appreciate the suggestion though.

eclipsegsx1736, that link doesn't work.

 

[eclipsegsx1736]

Yeah, the site is down ATM but it'll be back up in a little bit.

 

[asian312]

Tein Basics have 9.0 kg / 6.0kg which I believe translates to 504 lb. / 336 lb. I run Koni/H&R (430 lb. / 260lb.) with 17x9 with a 35 offset. I did not notice any rubbing on the streets and minor rubbing at the track (still need to roll rear fenders).

I run my stockers with some nice cheap, high tread wear for daily driving. I know what you mean by comprimise, but if you raise the height to a 2.5 finger gap in the front and 3.5 in the back you should be fine. Oh yeah, my car is full weight and weighs 3500lbs with me in it.

 

[Ludachris]

The only problem with that is my car is not a dedicated track only car. Not yet. Meaning I can't have two different suspension/alignment setups. I still like to use my car on the street and I have no means to tow it, so I will also be driving it to the track.
The Cobra 9 inch wide wheels have a low backspacing and would be sticking out so I'd have to raise my Tein basics to or close to max height so the body work doesn't drop down on the tire under heavy cornering. Even with ~500# spings in the front and 300-340# in the rear they might still rub. I'm hoping to stick with a package that will tuck for now. I appreciate the suggestion though.

eclipsegsx1736, that link doesn't work.

Not sure I understand - having a set of track wheels makes it so you don't have to make the car a fully dedicated track car - in fact, it does the opposite. That's why everyone buys a second set of wheels, so they can drive to the track on one, then switch to the track wheels when they get there. As for alignment, you can address that with camber plates. I drove my car around with -1.5* of camber in the front for a while without drastic tire wear. That was not quite enough for track use, but it worked okay. I'd imagine you could try that. The Cobra wheel suggestion was mainly to give you an option that would work well at the track and then allow you to keep your stock wheels to drive around on - not make it a track-only car.

Just FYI, there is a 1G owner here on the site using Cobra wheels with 255 wide tires, not tucking, and not rubbing. I can't remember what his spring rates are though.

 

[Ludachris]

Tein Basics have 9.0 kg / 6.0kg which I believe translates to 504 lb. / 336 lb. I run Koni/H&R (430 lb. / 260lb.) with 17x9 with a 35 offset. I did not notice any rubbing on the streets and minor rubbing at the track (still need to roll rear fenders).

I run my stockers with some nice cheap, high tread wear for daily driving. I know what you mean by comprimise, but if you raise the height to a 2.5 finger gap in the front and 3.5 in the back you should be fine. Oh yeah, my car is full weight and weighs 3500lbs with me in it.

You see Erik, it sounds like you could pull it off with the Cobra wheels if you raise the ride height a little. And you'd be able to go with some wider tires. Cobra wheels are cheaper than most wheels out there - they're not the lightest, but you can beat on the car and care a little less about messing them up due to the price too.

 

[housegsx]

Well I know I will have to raise the car some. That has been on my list of things to do for a while. Chris, I guess by saying it's not a dedicated track car I meant I can't go raising and lowering the car before/after a race. I didn't think that through thoroughly enough. I should be able to raise it an inch or so and leave it there using both sets of wheels and tires at the same ride height and alignment settings. Also remember, 2g's have upper A arms so camber plates are out the window. I have spacers in the rear and cam bushings in the front, which gives me about -1.8° in the front. I could probably dial in a little bit more, but I'm not sure how much if I'm also going to raise the car.
So you really think 255's on a 9" +35 wheel won't rub if I raise it an inch or so? I really don't know how much lower I am than stock. I just set it at Tein's recommendation. It's got to be at least 1.5" though. Even on the street under minimal load they will rub especially if I hit a dip mid corner. Right now I look at the car and see that the suspension is compressing at least an inch or so on the street to rub the outside block of the tire. And that's on 225/40/18's with a +38 backspacing. I guess I just need to get it out of my head that 255's won't rub. I imagine I will need at least 1.5 inches of gap above the tire for the springs not to compress enough to cut the tires. It's just seems that I would be under a lot more cornering load on the track. It's just so hard to try to figure this out without having wheel and tire packages to throw on for a test fit. Btw, what a/r you guys using on 255's? 40, 35???
I hope to have the car down to 3100 with me in it.

 

[asian312]

If you have the ability to adjust the height, then dont you think that you should use the feature that you paid for. Adjustability is what allows you to be flexible. I would understand not wanting to change if you used the height adjustment to corner weight your car.

A 225/40/18 has almost exactly the same diameter as a 255/40/17. I dont remember the exact numbers I have on my car for height, but I want to say the fronts are 2" and the rears are somewheres between 2.5-3". If the Teins are 9.0 kg / 6.0kg then you should be able to avoid rubbing.

 

[eclipsegsx1736]

Just FYI, link is back up...

http://www.socalevo.net/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=22351.0

 

[RonJeremY]

I have to run 3mm spacers on 16X8 3000GT wheels with 245/50/16 KDW's which would have the same diameter as your 245/45/17. They may "bulge" more around the wheel due to the taller sidewall, so yours may not come as close. They still just kiss the control arms under heavy lateral G's, but not enough to build any heat even all day long at HPDE's. I am going to switch to 5mm's next season. I must add that I have stock suspension, you may have more probs with lowering. Never rubbed a fender EVER with this setup, and the KDW's wear great (40k mi on the street per set, less at the track obviously), stick plenty for me, are excellent in the rain (don't hydroplane easily) and give much more warning near the limit as opposed to the KD's. I have owned 5 sets of KDW's so far and will always buy BFG (except they don't make a winter studless yet...) I would go KD only if I had dedicated track wheels, I am too lazy to change them at the track and don't see the need yet with my limited experience. Besides, I already have limited space around the house with 2 sets of winter wheels and tires...

You might be able to find some 17" 3000gt wheels that will be a little narrower than Cobra's. I got my 16 X 8's off Craigslist for $100. Besides, they have the diamondstar center caps...

Hope this helps some,
Brian

 

[Rx3]

I have 245/40/17 Pilot Sport on the front of my car. They handle much better than any other tire i have had on my car. Look into the Hankook Ventus Rs2 Z212 they go head to head with the RT-615. Also, they come in 245/40/17.

I totally forgot about the Hankooks. Good suggestion. Definitely check the Z212s out

 

[jtmcinder]

If you never race in the rain, then the MXs are the best bang for the buck in 245/40/17. But if you do sometimes race in the rain, the SPTs are great (and don't give up that much to the MXs when it's dry).

- Jtoby