RS3 are the rage in Phoenix and Tucson during the hot season, with star specs running a close second. I went from RS3 back to star spec because they communicate better.

Yeah, RS3s are terrible for DDing. So damn loud and wear so quickly. And I discovered they in my first coolish autocross on them that a 72F day with no sun to heat the parking lot equals no grip for me :(

Well, I just ordered my ZII's in 225 45 to go on OEM rims. Ill see how this goes

Rivals
 

And my Rivals (225/45R17) just arrived. Mar 23rd will be my first autocross (edit: ever).

Yeah I'm also leaning towards 225 Rival's instead of 235 Z2's now based on the latest back to back testing I've seen.

First autox huh? I'd almost suggest going out on the stock tires just so you can feel the car sliding around. That way you'll appreciate the grip later.

i'm very tempted at going 215's on an aftermarket 17X7 rim but one that is much lighter.

hmmmmm

I'd get the grippier tire. Kind of like having sex for the first time. Why do it with an ugly women when there are hot ones available.:thumbsup:

They'll fit no problem
225/45 Z1's on stock wheels.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...psa95ebc36.jpg

I did 5-6 track days with the stock tires last season so I had quite a bit of sliding around, and they don't look pretty :)

well..just picked up my 225 45 ZII's on my stock wheels and let me tell you..they look meaty. I used your pic as a reference for my final decision to buy these tires and they actually look wider than i thought. i cant wait to try these out on the car but its only 40deg. today

ill try to throw some pics up here directly

Oh they are definitely meaty.

That's actually what I am running, which is certainly not the more common approach. I've found that because it fits the 7" rim so well, I can run lower pressures than the folks with wider tires while maintaining the sharp response this car should have. I'm not sure it's a complete win though and I would consider going to a 225 for my next set of autocross tires.

what were you times compared to the competition?

So far they have been good. I won the last local RTR class with 13 cars in the class. We had about 120 cars total at the event, and when you add in a .975 multiplier for the RT class (which the Houston region doesn't currently do, our PAX results for RT just use the base class multiplier), I would have finished 5th out of 120. I'm running the Z1's btw, got them last fall, so they have seen 4 events to date.

The better results will be from the national tour next weekend. After playing around with pressures a couple of events ago with an experienced codriver, I ended up settling on around 30/31 psi rear and 35/36 psi fronts. I don't think I would run pressures that low if I went with a wider tire, but I don't have any first hand experience at this point to validate that statement.

that's an excellent result!

do you think then that moving up in width would give you that edge?

also did you run your 215's on the stock wheels or did you source a lighter wheel of same size/ (for RTR)

I'm actually running Kosei K4R's, so it's a lighter wheel. Another local BRZ will be getting some similar wheels with 225 ZII's or Rivals, so I'll probably run an event sometime soon where I swap between the two for some comparison. It won't be the same tire though, so we'll see how conclusive it really is.

Is anyone using 245/40-17 on 17x7" (stockers) ie SP1 or ZII etc and if they will even fit?
I'm thinking of going th RTR route this summer and I will need new tires. I have 245/40-17 on 17x8 right now.
Maybe 225 would be a better choice as the 245 would be pinched too much thus negating the extra width?

all i can say soo far about the "pinch" is that my 225 ZII's look a bit pinched already..i can not imagine what a 245 would look like. I am no expert my any stretch, but I think the 225 is plenty of tire for RTR. If I make any major changes (CS),I think I might try going with the "purple crack" in a 235 40 series. Based on some times I've just read about these cars are fast on hoosiers

Hoosiers can and should go bigger than you would with street tires -- they are cantilevered for just this reason. I don't know what CS folks are running, but I would suspect it's at least 245, if not 255.

(I've seen fast drivers squeeze a 275 onto a 6-inch rim, so a 255 on a 7 would not be extreme.)

On street tires 225s or 235s work, depending on the tire. Dunlops have stiff sidewalls, RS3s don't.

There are rules changes afoot as well; if you can wait a few weeks there may be some guidance on what tires Stock will be running next year.

im set...I've comitted to CS(RTR) this year and about to set up the suspention as per CS rules. I am trying to improve the car as my skills improve.

245/40/17 is the A6 size to use and it works fine on a 17x7 rim. You can get the BFG R1-S in 235/40/17 but to me it's too short and works against the car's crappy rev limiter. 255/45/17 is way too tall. I tried fitting the 275/40/17 A6 and it wouldn't fit in the front, hits the front spring perch.

I ordered a set of 225/45/17 Rivals to use to save the A6s and run RTR sometimes. I think they will work well. I know there were guys running 235 and 245 Star Specs on the stock rims with decent results, they have very stiff sidewalls for a street tire.

So I got to drive two RTR Brz's yesterday. One is Completly stock with 225 Rivals, and the other had alignment, Strano bar, and Z1's. I really liked the way the car with rivals worked, in one run with a passenger I was only 2 seconds off my time in my STX Brz. The other car had too much understeer for my driving.

I really wish the Rivals were out in my size.

Simmons

right now im completely stock on ZII's and thinking of the strano bar with some really stiff endlinks and an alignment (crash bolts?)...BUT I want to see how the car is the way it is now before making too many changes

Thanks for the comments! Another positive review on the Rivals. Just wondering if anybody has driven in rain/wet

Interesting. Are you on the SAC, or do you have insider knowledge from elsewhere?



I can throw in another good review for the Rivals. I got to drive a CS Solstice on a brand new set of these last month. They needed some scrubbing in to get working right but on day 2 we were 3rd and 4th in overall PAX if you apply a 0.975 street tire factor. They rewarded aggressive driving and were very responsive in transitions. The only thing we thought was lacking was brake grip - but with these tires, why use brakes?

We will be mounting 235/40/17 on the stock rims tomorrow. I will post some pics when she returns.

What brand/type

We will be running the Toyo R1R this year, they are a 140 tread wear and slightly smaller then the stock tire diameter size. I have ran R1Rs on different cars in the past and they have exceeded my expectations. A great summer tire and in wet/light rain they still has great traction. I have not had the opportunity to drive in a heavy rain as I live in the desert area.

I ran 225 Z1s last year and just got 225 Z2s yesterday. It really is a nice sie for this car. Like it was mentioned earlier the 225 does suffer from a couple extra pounds vs 215 but you get a little better gearing (remember the BRZ/FRS 2nd gear tops out at 59 with stock 215s) I'll let you know how I like the Z2s in 225 this weekend.

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Forgot to say I'll have the Strano bar on this weekend too. Its been sitting in my house waiting for a quasi warm day to install. Well see what it feels like.

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Width of Rival 225/45 17 (front) vs Z1 235/40 17 (rear) both on a 17x7 rim.
http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/v...ps6cf3508d.jpg

Diameter of Z1 235/40 17 (front) vs Rival 225/45 17. The Z1 is at five tenths depth and the Rivals are stickers.
http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/v...ps67a6d695.jpg

I will be running the Rival at all National events due to the contingency. If they had no chance it would be a different story. I tend to over drive a bit too so we should get along nicely.