Wheel questions

[kravi]

So one thing I need help with is finding the sweet spot for wheels. I use my BRZ as a daily driver and autox. I love the nimbleness and agility of the stock wheels, but obviously can break them free when accelerating.

My car is completely stock, and likely to stay that way for some time.

I am stuck between keeping the stock 17x7 wheels and getting some Michelin Pilot Super Sports on it, or going to 17x8 and going for the same MPSS tire (sized appropriately, of course).

How much does going to an 8 inch width negatively impact the sharpness of handling and how much, assuming equal quality tires, does it really improve grip when accelerating? What is ideal for a combination of stock performance and handling?

Cheers!

--kravi

[smg1138]

Whatever you do, DO NOT get MPSS for Autocross! They're a great tire for street, but are not sticky enough for Autocross.

If you're serious about Autocrossing, get some good 200TW tires.

Just for reference, I'm using 17x9 RPF1's with Hankook RS3's for STX.

If you want to stay in CS though, I'd recommend a set of 17x7 RPF1's with Bridgestone RE-71R 225/45/17.

[yip]

I just ordered the RE-71R's yesterday after reading a ton about them and getting a few recommendations on this site.

I have had a couple sets of PSS's on my street cars but the AD08's and RE-11's I had on previous cars had significantly more grip in the dry. Like night and day difference when warm/hot. Only in cold weather and in heavy rain was where the PSS's were much better in my opinion.

I doubt the handling will be noticeably affected by going up in width unless you go with a heavy wheel/tire combo. Most differences that I could feel immediately were when adding larger + size wheels that weighed more than what they replaced or with over sized tires with tall sidewalls that had a lot of flex.

Seems most will recommend Dunlop Star Specs, Bridgestone RE71R's, Hankook RS3's or the Yokohama ADO8's for autocross. There are a couple of other brands I've been recommended also like Federal 595 RS-R's and Maxxis Victra VR-1's that are a little less expensive.

[kravi]

Originally Posted by smg1138

Whatever you do, DO NOT get MPSS for Autocross! They're a great tire for street, but are not sticky enough for Autocross.

If you're serious about Autocrossing, get some good 200TW tires.

Just for reference, I'm using 17x9 RPF1's with Hankook RS3's for STX.

If you want to stay in CS though, I'd recommend a set of 17x7 RPF1's with Bridgestone RE-71R 225/45/17.

So stay 17x7 rather than 17x8? I will be in novice for autox, so it is stock. There are limitations on the types of tires you can use: street tires only. Are the RE-71Rs considered street tires? I understand that R-compound tires are not acceptable, hence my thoughts on the MPSS.

Thanks for the feedback so far, guys!

--kravi

[kravi]

Ok, so on this subject, can anyone lay out the fundamental differences between the RE-71Rs and the Pilot Super Sports? I'm looking for a DD tire that can handle autox and the occasional HPDE day.

From all I've seen the Pilot Super Sports have better traction in the rain, and almost as good traction on the track while lasting longer. What is the advantage of the RE-71Rs over the PSSes?

Thanks,
--kravi

[Rapiddan45]

Originally Posted by kravi

So stay 17x7 rather than 17x8? I will be in novice for autox, so it is stock. There are limitations on the types of tires you can use: street tires only. Are the RE-71Rs considered street tires? I understand that R-compound tires are not acceptable, hence my thoughts on the MPSS.

Thanks for the feedback so far, guys!

--kravi

For Auto-x purposes a street tire is anything with a 200tw or higher rating. But if you are going to daily/auto-x the tires and have one set only, I would lean more towards the rs3 v2's vs. the re-71r's. I know the 71's have more grip and typically will run about a second faster on tires alone ahead of the rs3's, but they are known to wear about 2x as fast as well. I have daily drove my rs3's this whole past summer, as well as over 15 auto-x events and they still have quite a bit of life left and should still run me well into next summer.

[smg1138]

Originally Posted by kravi

Ok, so on this subject, can anyone lay out the fundamental differences between the RE-71Rs and the Pilot Super Sports? I'm looking for a DD tire that can handle autox and the occasional HPDE day.

From all I've seen the Pilot Super Sports have better traction in the rain, and almost as good traction on the track while lasting longer. What is the advantage of the RE-71Rs over the PSSes?

Thanks,
--kravi

The MPSS has great wet traction and is a great overall street tire. It's just not as sticky as the 200TW tires that are really meant for Autocross and HPDE. You really just have to decide which is more important to you.

I tried running MPSS for the first part of last season, but they just didn't have enough ultimate grip. When I switched to RS3's, I started getting much better times. The RS3's are also pretty good on the street, but they can get noisy and don't have great wet traction.

For what it's worth, I gave up on trying to find a tire that can do everything. Now I run the MPSS on stock rims for street and RS3's on RPF1's for Autocross and HPDE.