R compound rubber vs. street tires

[tylere36m3]

whats up guys. just got done w/ an autocross this weekend and man; i was the only one w/o R rubber! i run bsp b/c i have suspension but i have toyo t1s'.

i was by far the fastest w/ street tires and even beat a lot of people w/ R rubber. everyone was running the kuhmo v700 i was only 2.3 sec off the fastest time of the day and w/ some better rubber i know i could compete w/ the top few guys.

what do yo guys think i should do as far as a tire to run, the kuhmo's, or like a toyo r1a? and what size? i was thinking 234/40/17 and a 245/35/17.

also what sway bars could i get w/ the largest rear bar?

every one w/ e36's have the ground control kits man i wish i had that kit but i can make do w/ my bilstein/eibach setup. i just wish i could adjust the shocks.

btw cale nice run this weekend man, it was nice meeting you guys.

[tylere36m3]

correct that i was 2.8 sec off fast time assuming the sti had the fastest time.

[Matthew C Smith]

I donno, I still don't have them and depending on the course I usually go pretty well. I just have little old 205 60 R-15 street tires.

I'm in DSP. Just this weekend I did an autox school and ran FTD on one of the exercises. It was 4 staggered gates, then a small straight, a hairpin, and then back out through 4 staggered gates. As a reference, I was full throttle to the 3rd gate, 3/4 through 4, full on straight, hard on brakes, turn in for 180, then full throttle (modulated to get the power down on slick sealer) through the finish line.

On the other stopwatch timed event, 40 sec. VERY fast (bump the 2nd gear rev limiter twice fast) mixed course with a 180 and various slalom, gates, and a garage I was dead even with the other fast guys. The closest was a 39s with cone to my clean 40s. He was a turbo II 2nd Gen RX-7 with R Comps, about 60 hp extra, and ltw fly/perf. clutch. So, I'd say I don't NEED them yet. I do pretty well without.

So, I'm thinking about getting some in the future. We'll see how things pan out.

[tylere36m3]

it is diff. here. everybody has r compounds and therefore are about 2 sec quicker. plus they have heavy mod suspension and i just have coilovers. so i know i can close the gap w/ tires and once i do sway bars and some other stuff i can be competative.

i don't need r tires either but i am stuck in this class w/ everyone running r rubber so to have a chance for top time i should run them as well. plus they have everything done that they can do w/o bumping up a class.

[Matthew C Smith]

I was just relating my experience. It sounds like R comps are the way to go for you if you want to be competitive and have the money.

I have a little experience with the RA-1's and they don't heat up enough to be a good autox tire really. They're a good all around tire though for track driving. My dad's running them on his miata daily.

[tylere36m3]

yeah i guess that explains why everybody @ the spokane driving school where running R1A's b/c its a 2.5 mi road coarse, and everybody @ the autox where running the kuhmo V700's

since i am giong to do autox way more than tracking i am giong to go for the kuhmo's. they are a good deal too. 141 and 158 for 235/245

[tylere36m3]

have you driven mid-ohio? that seams like a bad ass track. the closest track to me is spokane and portland 6 hrs away. it sucks

[SG_M3]

Just get the 235's all around, no reason to go staggered.

Eibach, UUC, Turner, or GC all have great swaybars.

For auto-x v700's, victoracers, or hoosier A3s03 or the 04's, any quick heating tire are it. RA1's, R1's, PSC's, are not auto-x tires.

[Matthew C Smith]

Originally posted by tylere36m3
have you driven mid-ohio? that seams like a bad ass track. the closest track to me is spokane and portland 6 hrs away. it sucks

Yeah, Mid Ohio was my first track. It's fun

[Max M3]

Anyone use Kumho MX for anything?

[tylere36m3]

sean i am putting these tires on the stock rims so if i got 235 all around wouldn't the diff. size rim front and rear make the contact patch staggered anyway?

another thing i was suggested was to buy another set of rear contours and put them up front and run 245 all arround. but if i had to buy new contours i would probubly go w/ 4 new lighter wheels like a k1 racing wheel.

i see you had the k1 for a while, what did you think? they are pretty inexpensive aren't they?

[SG_M3]

Yes running the 235's on staggered wheels would still have a different sized contact patch front to rear. But it will still be better than 235/245's.

My k1's have been great so far. I think they retail for $800 for 4.

[tylere36m3]

why is non staggered so much better? isn't it all up to driving style, i would like a neutral car but i would rather have overstear than understear.

[tylere36m3]

why is non staggered so much better? isn't it all up to driving style, i would like a neutral car but i would rather have overstear than understear.

[SG_M3]

A staggered setup promotes understeer. With a non-staggered tire setup you will get a more neutral car. E36 M3's really don't need to be staggered unless FI.