Daily/wet autox tires
 

I'm shopping for new daily tires that'll go on a set of 17x8 RPF1s. I started to wonder if it'd be worthwhile to get something with really good wet performance, that could be run in place of my 17x9 w/ RE71-Rs if there's an autox event on a rainy day with standing water.

Could the reduction in grip/size be worthwhile for the improved wet performance? Anyone using this strategy of running daily tires if it's too wet for the dedicated autox tires?

I've been looking at DW's or Firehawk Indy 500's, either in 225/45. But am open to other suggestions on anything that'd work for this purpose.

I'd go with the DW replacement called the Continental Sport or the new Michelin pss replacement which is called the PS4S. Kumho also has the PS91, but I don't think they have 17" sizes yet.

I think I might get a set, but I've been thinking I'd use them for 1-2 track night in Americas and summer highway driving.

I have 17x8 with 225 PSS but I've still mostly tried the RE71's in the rain... Not sure that was always the right idea. I got the setup for the same reasons - Road trips, to/from events, and bad rain days.

C

My advice is if it's damp (only a couple spots of standing water, or lots of it but it's shallow) stick with the 'Stones, only switch if there are literally puddles and lakes out there that mean you will be hydroplaning through a good portion of the course.


Ran RE71R's at this event, the only time they let me down in the wettest session was a huge puddle across the finish meant powering across the finish and braking late was sketchy at best. Good enough for fastest time in the wet among a bunch of non-competitive cars that kicked my ass as it dried out. I don't think switching to MPSS would have done me any favors.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ejiKWmVJDE"]October 2016 AutoX Event #8 - YouTube[/ame]


Maybe if it's wet enough you can see the water splashing up from the wheels it's worth switching, this was on ZIISS, iirc there was probably a lot of time to be gained with tires that could cut through the puddles.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg6qb3KnEmU"]GGCBMWCCA Dec 2015 AutoX Crow's Landing Run 1 - YouTube[/ame]

This was pretty much what I was thinking. Was just curious to hear if other people had run a similar setup and actually seen benefits from it. Sounds like most people have had the thought, but everyone sticks to using the stones. Haha

I'm not disappointed I have the PSS. So much quieter for the drive, and after the one incident I had last year, I'll probably run them if its actively raining more than a light mist.

C

If it's ever as wet as my second video with no signs of drying I'll put my Michelin's on, but odds are that won't happen until November/December or February next year.

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticl...act-Sport.aspx

New MPSS competitor at a lower price point. Firmer sidewall and possible better wet traction. Worth looking into, possibly.

The replacement of the DW is now out. It's called the ExtremeContact Sport from Continental. They have improved the dry and kept the great wet performance.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...eContact+Sport

The ExtremeContact Sport is a good choice for wets.

An under the radar choice is the Toyo R1R. I heard numerous descriptions from experienced people describing the tire as near Hoosier Wet grip in standing water conditions. However, I heard these reports largely back when it was still a 140tw tire. Toyo never confirmed if they had to change the compound to meet 200tw, but a compound change to something harder would hurt wet performance some (though probably not impact water evacuation capacity).

Personally I will be getting some R1Rs just before nats to use in standing water conditions. Anything less than standing water -> dry tires, you'll be fine even with minimal tread.

I'm a fan of the Pilot Sport AS3