Tires for an autocross?

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petert

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I plan on to keep participating in our local sports car club autocrosses here in Sonoma county, California. I have a stock '73 3.0 CS which performs very well, but I chewed up my Yokohama's 215 tires (14" rims). These tires are fine for the road but not very good for the track.
Can anyone recommend the rims and tires that work best for an autocross? I want to squeeze out as much fun as I can from these runs and I'm ready to buy an extra set of wheels/tires.
Any recommendations? Thanks.
 
I guess Autocrosses are different where you live compared to Scotland. Ours are a thrash around a course in a grass field :shock:
I assume you are timed around a course setout on Tarmac or concrete - yes?

To be honest a set of steel rims would be fine and buy the softest compound tyres you can find, Yokohama make a "street legal" slick tyre for the tarmac rally crowd over here, which is very popular.
Don't know about the sizes they make them in so you may have to go with a 15inch wheel and down from say a 65 profile tyre to a 75.
15"alloys from a more modern BMW should fit but watch the offset.

If you want the back to step out to get around a tight corner then set the fronts to normal pressure but pump the back ones up to 36psi cold :twisted: It works, I used to do this in a mark 2 escort!
Malc
 
First let me suggest that you be very, very careful because once you start doing track events the road to true addiction is not far away. Tires this week, suspension next week, just a little more horsepower, and oh, I really don't need all these seats and things in here 'cause they just add weight. Yes, my friend, the first one's free...after that, you wind up selling your body on the street corner to pay for that nitrous system.
But I digress.
As for tires, if you plan to run in a specific class, check the rule book to see what is allowable. Tire Rack is a good place to do some day dreaming and the brands to kick those dreams off are Yokohama, Hoosier, Kunmo, BF Goodrich, Hankook. If you're going to get a second set of wheels, again, check the rule book to see what is legal for your class. Hoosier is one of the few tire makers that make an autocross specific tire and they are available in many sizes including impossible to find elsewhere 14 inchers. If you would like an opinion on a few of the brands contact me privately.
 
Peter's autocross

Here's a Quicktime movie I shot of Peter wearing out his tires approaching the finish line in the Empire Sports Car Club's autocross
http://www.borglum.com/coupe/peters.mov

and mine around the back end of the course. Peter's movie starts on the track at the point mine ends at the end of the slalom
http://www.borglum.com/coupe/autocross_race_2007.mov

Fun run, approx. 24 corners and bends in less than a mile on course! We each got 10 runs in that day. Too bad the wind noise drowns out the screaming tires. Too bad the wind noise doesn't overcome the announcer calling me for taking out a cone on the slalom.

Thanks for coming out Peter! It was nice to have another coupe to play with. Anyone else in Northern California who wants to join us can sign up at http://empiresportscar.org/

For those of you who missed it, Peter is the guy that ran his coupe in the cross-USA Cannonball Rally last month, and still managed to come out and autocross. He has a few stories to tell!
 
Oh that looks like fun!
Add a few more cones, twisty bits and a few boxes to reverse in and out of and you will have a Scottish Autotest!
Malc
 
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