Choosing P5 Autocross Tires

I have a 2003 P5 and I am looking to buy a set of tires to put on my stock wheels to use ONLY for autocrossing. I need to know what tires sizes other than OE I can use on those wheels? Which size would be best? What tires do people reccomend? I was thinking about using 205/50-16'sfor the size. I have more options at that size. I don't want to spend a ton of money. I'm considering the Dunlop SP Sport FM901, Yokohama AVS ES100, Kumho ECSTA Supra 712.....Any other suggestions????

Feel free to e-mail me directly. (drive)

Wellllllll.........since you don't seem to want to buy R-compounds I would say the Kumho MX it'll give you the best bang for your buck. The ES100 are a good tire too, don't bother with the others you suggested.

I would get as much tire as you can, 225-50 should fit on a 6.5" rim.

Depending on what class you are running in you will need to get a R-compound to be competetive, unless you are in a street touring class, then the MXs will do you right. Your sig seems to say that you are eligible for HS, so slap on some race tires and call it good, as long as you know how to drive on them and not destroy them.

Continue with more questions and we can narrow your choices down.

From what I've observed and from the GRM testing of tires this year, the MXs are no longer a top choice tire. If you are running stock, you will need to keep the stock wheel size which is 16"x6" w/ a 48mm offset.

As I posted on your Protege5 thread:

Looking at your sig, are you running stock class? If so, do you want R-comps or street tires? I run Azenis on my P5 in STSL, but I have heard good things about the Hankooks Z212s when shaved. For R-comps, we're running some beat Toyo RA-1s on the MSP and they like the heat and last a long time, but they aren't as sticky as other R-comps. On the Miata, Shawn managed to make a set of '03 Hoosiers last 100+ runs and is now running a set of Kumho V710s, both of these tires are pricey and will die faster on the P5, but they are very sticky.

I'm trying to move back to HS from STS (our street tire class). Since I've become a better driver, my times will do me more good in HS. Our STS class is EXTREMELY competitive, lots of people with lots more experience than I have and with cars with a lot more modifications. I am all stock except for the exhaust and my current wheel/tire config. which kicks me out of HS right now. Hence the need to go back to better tires on the stock wheels. I want something I can get at least a year out of, only autoxing and no more that 4 runs twice a month. Currently I am only running once a month. I hope that helps narrow things down a bit.

So are you looking to run your Kazera rims as your dailies and your stockies as your autox rims? If so, I'd recommend going w/ a set of R-compounds. You'll definitely be able to get at least 40 runs out of a set of RA-1s or Victoracers, some people have been running Avon Techs, but I don't have any experience w/ those tires. We got our RA-1s used from a road race and we have already gotten 40 runs out of them and I think we're looking at putting at least 12 more runs on them this weekend. We autox every weekend; most weekends, 2 autoxes, and we've done about 40 autoxes so far this year.

Exhaust can stay in stock class as long as it is catback/axleback only.
K&N air filter - I assume that you are talking about the panel drop in filter not a cold/ram air intake.
4 runs x 2 times a month x 12 months = ~96 runs?
For only AutoX if you want to compete with people who are really into it you will need R Compounds. I would go with something like the Toyo RA-1 or Kumho Victoracer if you want to know for sure it will last that long. The V710's might last that long if you know how to drive and get a good alignment.

Let me copy another post I wrote about R Compounds somewhere else.

R Compounds like lots of camber (the protege is camber limited but make sure you get it aligned to get what you can)

All information is for AutoX.

If you want very good stick and a fairly long life go with the Kumho V710's if you can find them in stock in your size. One local guy told me that he had about 100 runs on his 710's on his Mini (known for killing tires) and he still won the local event this weekend for his class and came in 3rd in PAX out of 250+ people at the event.

For longer life go with either the Kumho Victoracer V700 (not the Escta V700) or the Toyo RA-1. I bought a set of well used RA-1's from ebay to put on my protege and I have gotten 40 runs out of them so far (bought with approximately 0.100 of tread depth left (average) according to the ebay description) and that is with a stock alignment not an AutoX alignment.

I would not buy the A(Autocross) Compound Hoosiers for a camber limited car like the protege. They have a bit better turn-in than the V710's but from my reading a little less overall grip than the V710's. I can tell the difference between my old A3S03's and my new V710's on turn-in and and grip I am sure the newer hoosiers have even better turn in but unless you like the turn-in and are looking for that last .001 second of time (still up for debate if they are faster than the V710's) and you are sure these are the ones to do it I would not buy them unless you like to drive on tires made of $100 dollar bills. Some Mini's have been getting less than 20 runs out of a set before they cord them.

I do not know much about the Avon tires or the new Yokohama R Compounds but from what i have been reading they are slower than the V710's and the Hoosier A compound tires and faster wearing than the Victoracer/RA-1.

With the RA-1's I got the 8th fastest overall time and 4th fastest PAXed time at an event with 80 people in the completely stock MS protege.

I am now running V710's on the miata and RA-1's on the MS protege.

Summary.
Hoosier = $$$$ fastest turn-in but less overall grip than V710's and wear out lots faster.
Kumho V710's = Fairly long lasting and very grippy but don't have the turn-in of the hoosiers. Keep cool by spraying between runs. Like low pressures and keeping cool people are running between low 20's to low 30's depending on the car and driver preference and outside temps.
RA-1's = Long lasting, More of a track tire but work well when heated up and like high pressures. I run about 44F/42R (235/40/17 on a 17X7 wheel) on the MS protege and might be bumping that figure up a bit. They seem to be fine just letting them build heat. Great to start on and very forgiving of mistakes.
Victoracers = Long lasting, Has more grip than street tires but less than other R Compounds. Great to start on and very forgiving of mistakes.

See my next post for street tire options.

Street Tires for AutoX
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Kumho MX's - Not as bad as people seem to think they are. But have a softer sidewall and like wider rims to hold them up. I think they were a lot better on the 16x7.5 rims that I had on my contour rather than the 16x6 rims on the protege 5 (My daily driver rims on the MSP). We have a local BMW that is winning STX running Kuhmo MX's. They have no problems with heat and last a decent amount of time.

Azenis - Used to be the cheap choice when it was the 215 model but now that the 615 model is out they have become a lot more expensive. They don't like heat so you have to carry a water sprayer and spray them down between runs when it is the least bit hot outside. I just don't like the feel of them for some reason. They are great tires other than the heat problem.

Hankook Ventus Rs2 Z212 - $85 at edgeracing.com - I have not run these but I have been reading good things about them and they seem to be the new budget choice for ST tires. I have heard they have a softer sidewall than the Azenis but that is not always a bad thing. They seem to be less heat senitive than the Azenis.

There are a few other options but I would pick the size you want based on width and gearing ratio that you would like and then see what you can get closest to that size in one of the above options.

I would also keep an eye on local AutoX forums to see if anybody is selling R Compounds in a 16" size that will fit under your car. Also check out the for sale forums on http://www.sccaforums.com and ebay for used tires.

Pay no attention to what you read on tirerack if you are looking for AutoX only tires because most of the reviews come from people that have never AutoXed in their life.

Actually, if she hasn't sold them yet, there is a local autoxer who is looking to sell her V710s for $350. She has put 12 runs on them and she paid over $700 for them new.

Kuhmo V710s 225x50x16