Wider vs narrower tires

[SCFD]

Originally Posted by ruturaj001

Thanks, saw few videos of autocross, it does look confusing and will take time getting used to. Will get an instructor for sure. I actually did one autocross and didn't even know it was autocross, it was Kia Stinger event in NJ and I drove like grandma.

The pads I ordered are street pads, Hawk HPS 5.0 pads. The car is few months old, so fluid is good but I thought I was ordering high temperature fluid when I wasn't.

I don't want to discourage you from doing what you want to your car but I personally see Hawk HPS as OE-replacement pads. If you wanted something more aggressive you should've gone with the Hawk HP+.

[ruturaj001]

Originally Posted by SCFD

I don't want to discourage you from doing what you want to your car but I personally see Hawk HPS as OE-replacement pads. If you wanted something more aggressive you should've gone with the Hawk HP+.

Ahh, I thought they were in between. I guess I will keep those on side for future or sell them, I got pretty good deal on them.

[Grady]

Originally Posted by ruturaj001

The pads I ordered are street pads, Hawk HPS 5.0 pads. The car is few months old, so fluid is good but I thought I was ordering high temperature fluid when I wasn't.

I agree with the other statements on those pads. They will be fine in autocross. Don’t expect them to work above 100 mph. I found that out the hard way, dam near totaled the drivers seat.

[Pat]

HPS 5.0 is a different compound than the original HPS. Similar, but not the same. I suspect it is a good choice for his use case, although I haven't driven them.

[bucketfoot]

I ran the HPS 5.0 on my BMW (multiple track days) and currently run the HPS on my 86 which I have ran a couple of track days with.

I have been completely satisfied with both. The 5.0 had more brake squeal for me in regular driving, but I haven't had brake fade issues with either on the track.

[Pat]

Good to know. I wish someone could provide feedback using both compounds on the same 86. Unfortunately, the same compound can feel very different on different cars.

[Desertnate]

Originally Posted by SCFD

Frankly speaking, if you're just starting out you'll likely need 2 full seasons of autocross at a minimum before you're able to make any reliable decisions about what to change for the car setup. The only exception is if you've had years of other types of motorsports experience (i.e. karting). Put all your focus in attending every event possible, attending some driving schools, and investing in the the ability to record in-car videos.

It's a big mistake to start fiddling around with setup when you don't know what you're doing and run out of funds for things that really matter. All of those I mentioned above will probably already run you $1,500 in costs.

Absolutely agree. I've got a bit over four seasons under my belt now, but in three different cars. I'm still really trying to overcome bad habits and mistakes. Driving a new platform which is very different from previous ones takes a season or two to get the feel and learn the car.

You will be really surprised at what your car can do when you get good at the art of driving. When I attended a novice school in my previous car, my instructor knocked out a time in my car (bone stock) that was profoundly faster than I ever drove it and faster than any other car at the school, modified or other wise. He had never driven my car or one like it before that run. That run with the instructor alone proved to me the value of driving skills over anything I could ever do to the car.

It just takes time and lots of runs to get the basics down. Once you get to the point where the stock platform is holding you back, that is when you should start modifying.

Originally Posted by foshjowler

The stock tires are more than good enough to learn at autocross with. The PS4 is a decent tire for the street, but at autocross, it's considered low grip or a rain tire.

I've run a full season on my PS4's and have been pretty satisfied for a street tire. They have reasonable grip in the dry until they get hot. In the wet, I've found they have surprising levels of grip I wasn't expecting. Wear was surprisingly good too.

Outside influences will drive me to different tires next season, but if that wasn't the case, I'd probably do another season on them until they wore out.

[ruturaj001]

Originally Posted by Desertnate

Absolutely agree. I've got a bit over four seasons under my belt now, but in three different cars. I'm still really trying to overcome bad habits and mistakes. Driving a new platform which is very different from previous ones takes a season or two to get the feel and learn the car.

You will be really surprised at what your car can do when you get good at the art of driving. When I attended a novice school in my previous car, my instructor knocked out a time in my car (bone stock) that was profoundly faster than I ever drove it and faster than any other car at the school, modified or other wise. He had never driven my car or one like it before that run. That run with the instructor alone proved to me the value of driving skills over anything I could ever do to the car.

It just takes time and lots of runs to get the basics down. Once you get to the point where the stock platform is holding you back, that is when you should start modifying.



I've run a full season on my PS4's and have been pretty satisfied for a street tire. They have reasonable grip in the dry until they get hot. In the wet, I've found they have surprising levels of grip I wasn't expecting. Wear was surprisingly good too.

Outside influences will drive me to different tires next season, but if that wasn't the case, I'd probably do another season on them until they wore out.

Thanks. I was trying to figure out from experienced people what setup is best for learning. Seems like that's stock.

When my tires need a change I might look at 17" wheels as I hate low profile tires due to risk of damage (I replaced tires twice and wheels once on Kia Stinger) and higher cost.