Tire for Autocross and Street
 

So, like a lot of people I jumped on the RE-71R bandwagon last year. They've made amazing Autocross tires, but not the best for daily driving. For my next set I'm looking for more of a compromise. Something that is decent for autocross, but will last longer and have better manners on the street. Also, good wet traction would be a nice. I figure the MPSS may fit the bill, but am looking at all my options. What would you guys suggest?

As long as you're okay with being 1 second+ off of a RE-71R equipped car, then I say go with the Continental ExtremeConti Sports.

MPSS like in the dry, even better in the wet.

I'd recommend ZII Star Specs if you want something that leans more toward the performance side than the DD side. Probably has the best wet traction performance of the 200TW options, doesn't wear as badly as REs or Rivals, and still has a lot of grip. You won't be the fastest on them, but you can be competitive.

I ran 225/45 ZII* on 17x8s last year for daily, autox, and track. About 12,xxx miles, 3 or 4 autocrosses, and 3 track days. Lots of grip, very responsive, and still had around 40-50% tread left when I sold them. They're pricey, but a great tire.

If you want something leaning a bit more toward the DD side, I'd probably go with the new Continental ExtremeContact Sports. They've been getting awesome reviews. I'll likely be picking some up for my next daily set.

NEXGEN SUR4
 

I put my Nexgen SUR4 235/45/17 on in March and take them off in late November when our AutoX season is over. Your on a tire if you get the old SUR4 like I have with a cost on Tire rack of $112 each. It's got 9/32 of rubber used as my DD and half of last AutoX season plus a Match Tour and T&T still have 7/32 left. Are they a good AutoX tire.....NO ...they are 2 seconds behind the RE71. They are pretty good as a daily driver wet or dry. They have a newer version SUR4G much more money and not track tested yet. Like posted if your really not into being highly completive this is a good DD tire choice for the money.

Andy Hollis (GRM tire tested and mulitple jacket winner) is raving about the new Conti's

It's what will go back on my car now that the Star Specs are almost dead and the wheels need refinished.

Just to be clear, are you talking about the ExtremeContact Sport?

+1 here...

Personally I wanted to go with the Continental ExtremeContact Sports but there were not available in my area and would have been more expensive than MPSS to order and ship, which kinda defeats Contis goal. So I went with MPSS and I havn't taken this to an autocross yet (first is 10 days away) but the dry grip is pretty damn good. I got the G meter/graph in my car to hit the 1.0g line going around a roundabout the other day. And the best part (vs Re71rs) I don't have to worry about tread wear...

You are talking about this one Extreme Contact DW right?

no the ExtremeContact Sport are the latest and greatest version of the DW's

I'm with sharkbait, the 200TW track oriented tires would split the difference between the MPSS/Conti and RE71R/BFG in terms of autox performance and longevity. Where they would lose out would be in needing to get hot to activate maximum grip, on a cold day you may struggle to get them to hook up and they'll only be marginally better than RE71R/BFG in standing water due to similar tread patterns and depths.

Hankook RS4, ZIISS, Maxxis VR1 (if you're in STX), Kumho Ecsta, and I suppose Federal and Falken have options as well.

imo the ZIISS I had were more comfortable than the RE71R, less comfortable than the MPSS I use now for DD. In their prime they split the difference in grip between RE71R and MPSS and wore great through 3x track days, 1+ season of autox and nearly ~20k streat miles. Conservatively I should have junked them from DD at ~15k miles

I think that may be the direction I'll go in. Between the Tennessee summer and co-driving with my friends, I may need a tire that is more resistant to heat. The Azenis RT615K+ look like an interesting option, but I haven't seen much info on them yet.

Two guys locally put down some good times in STX with the Federal RS-RR. Might not be a bad option either. I only have experience with the ZII*.

Basically, anything that is a favorite among the LeMons/Chump guys will likely be a good compromise between longevity and grip.

I'm about to mount some Falken RT615K+ on my 17x8s and head to Dominion in two weeks for a DE. Can report back after that. I couldn't pass up the price with the rebate.

Yeah, please do that. I'm really curious to hear about them. Seems like a great deal with the $100 rebate going on now.