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In Reply to: Autocross & Tire wear posted by John on January 21, 2001 at 21:14:21:
you can race on street rubber, but the tires will hate you for it if you do it on a regular basis. The first to go will be the outside shoulder of the tire. (especially M's they understeer like pigs on tight courses)If you drive on courses that have you turning in one direction more than another (say left)that tire will wear first, and by wearing I mean as mentioned above the tire shoulder and if enough rubber is removed the overall diameter of the tire. That factor gives you negative stagger (for the lack of a better term)and you will find that your car will always want to turnl left if you hold the steering wheel straight. This happened to my michelin Mxx3's after time trialing my M3 at Lime Rock. It took me a while to figure out what happend. Problem was eventually solved by getting new tires.
Unless you always launch agressively, meaning spin the tire when you start, you will find that the tires that take the most abuse and wear the fastest are the fronts.
I would hate to have to buy new fronts every couple of months.
If you plan on doing this on a regular basis, get a dedicated race wheel set. I ususally run non shaved Kumhos (they last longer and breaking them in is fun)and they cost $130 ea. and the last set that I ran lasted over 80 runs, could probably still do another 10-20. This on a 89 5.7L Camaro IROC-Z.
For the average Auto-xer a dedicated wheel set plus a non shaved set of tires should last a season. I would recommed Kumhos, the wear rate for this D.O.T. R compound tire is phenomenal. Not to mention that race tires are at least 1 - 2 second faster than street rubber.
For one that auto-xes once a month or every six weeks can probably get away with the street tires, but they will still wear out prematurely.
If you do this, I guarantee you, you will get hooked, better prepare the excuses and justifications for your wife or girlfriend now.
Mario
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