Life of an autocross tire

[b1aze]

So im going to be running in the BMWCCA local autocross events for the whole season next season and im trying to weigh the cost/value of having a dedicated autocross setup with really nice street tires and having a daily-wheel setup with a less performance-oriented tire and some bigger, heavier wheels.

Would a set of Z1s/PSS/AD08's last a whole year of autocross? Would they last 2? It is an average of 1 event every month from april/may to october/november.

I do quite a bit of driving daily, 43miles of rolling on the highway at 75mph, so i dont expect a whole lot of demand on the tires for daily, so i would be looking at 'kook V12s or something grippy but not overly expensive and not max-performance.

Would i be better off with an R-Compound style tire for the dedicated track wheels? This will bring up my classing, so i want to take that into account.

Thanks for any insight!

[MMisencik157]

I would stay away from PSS, its a great street tire but really isnt built to have the shit beat out of it on the track or autox. I would pick up something in the extreme performance category (RS3, RE11, AD08, XS, Z1 star spec... ect) especially if this is all new to you. The charasteristics of this category of tires is much more communicative, progressive at the limit, and therefore much more forgiving and will actually teach you more about controling your car. Dont go straight to an r compound, they are far less forgiving and far harder to control if you're not an advanced driver.

As far a tire life goes... it depends on so many factors like alignment (0 toe front and very little toe in in the rear makes tires last much longer than BMWs acceptable toe settings), size of tires and wheel width, your driving ability, your driving style... ect.
I dont see why you shouldnt be able to get multiple seasons out of a set of star specs or RE-11s whith the amount you're thinking of doing.

My suggestion would be to put a set of star specs, or whichever your favorite is from that category, on the wheels you have now and run them. If you get into it you'll probably just want to pick up a set of arc8s or something good and cheap and run your star specs or whatever on those. Then you can put a less aggressive street tire like the hankook v12 or whatever on the wheels you have now for daily driving duties.

[b1aze]

That was pretty much the plan. Get a set of VMRs of some form in 19s with some V12s or similar street tire and a set of servicable ARC8s with probably Z1s for track, and then i get the best of both worlds. Something i like looking at during the daily commute and something that sticks like glue for the track days.

Its good to hear i could probably get a few AutoX seasons out of a set of Z1s assuming i dont daily drive them.

Thanks!

[MMisencik157]

You would still be fine daily driving on the z1s in between events as log as your toe isnt twacked out. But thats a solid plan!

[Focusedintntions]

I wouldn't go 19's auto-x

[Lubo]

Originally Posted by Focusedintntions

I wouldn't go 19's auto-x

Same here. I would stay with 18s or go down a size like I did to 17s. When I had the 1er it was pretty much buy new rubber in March and usually by the end October they were corded. Due to the lack of space in my apartment I had only one set of Star Spec for both Auto-x and DD duty. I've done usually about 15 event with 2 to 3 track days and maybe 5-6 K of DD on a set.

[MMisencik157]

I think he was trying to say he wants 19s for his street wheels

[b1aze]

I would prefer 19s for street duty just because i like how they look. I would do the 18s for track/autox duty.