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[bellducci6]

Hello everybody I am planning to get some apex arc 8's and planning to buy some new tires with it.
the problem I am having is choosing from the Hankook v12's vs the star specs. and would they rub if I get them in fr:235/40/18 and rears 265/35/18 on the stock suspension?
i also autocross my 1 every other weekend. any suggestions?

[fboutlaw]

If you autox, you know the answer. Star specs for sure. Those sizes won't rub.

However, if you can spring for vorshlag camber plates, you can run 255/275 with no rubbing and it fixes the understeer problem.

[bellducci6]

thanks for the help even though the star specs cost a little more money it will be more worth it to use for autocross. just wondering do you know if they wear down fast or not because i plan on using my car as a daily driver also

[thez99]

Of course theyll wear fast. If its heavy tracking ur taking ur car to, dont expect to get more than 3-4 runs out of them before they start balding. Perhaps im a bit bias when it comes to tracking cars, cuz personally i cant see spending money like that on tires, and then killing them in a few days of drifting like crazy and tracking the car...i mean not unless you're sponsered or something.

If i was choose of ur two I would say the specs, but like i said, with tracking u wont get much out of them, daily driving im sure you could get atleast 12-15k miles before they really start to wear down.

[bellducci6]

would the tread really wear down quickly if i autocross like every other weekend? because i am not that intense like the people who track their cars

[GaryS]

Seems like practically everyone here who does autocross uses Star Specs.

[fboutlaw]

AutoX grinds the edges off your tires. Track wears the entire tire but is worst on the edges. This is because in performance driving you are actually loading the outsides of the tires and are driving at the edge of adhesion.

Once the edges are totally gone the tire is useless.

I'd say each AutoX takes 500-1k miles off the total life of your tires. Each track session probably takes 3k miles.

If you are very concerned with both, keep your stock tires with high wear tires for street use. Slap lower tread wear/grippier tires on the arc-8's. You're dealing with two competing tradeoffs. The stickiest tires have the lowest wear and the hardest, least sticky tires have the highest wear (and better rolling resistance, so you'll get better MPG).

[fourtailpipes]

we should keep abnormal wear separate. that's mostly a result of the serious lack of camber in these cars. get camber plates for the sake of tire life and to help reduce the awful understeer.

if you're looking for grip AND long wear, then the pilot super sport is probably your best bet. they're not cheap, but they'll stick as well as the dunlops, and they might even last as long as the kooks. also, if you're "balding" your tires after 3-4 runs, you're doing something wrong. maybe this meant 3-4 weekend events? i get about 3 full weekends out of a set of tires. this equates to around 10 hours of hot use.

[thez99]

Originally Posted by fourtailpipes

we should keep abnormal wear separate. that's mostly a result of the serious lack of camber in these cars. get camber plates for the sake of tire life and to help reduce the awful understeer.

if you're looking for grip AND long wear, then the pilot super sport is probably your best bet. they're not cheap, but they'll stick as well as the dunlops, and they might even last as long as the kooks. also, if you're "balding" your tires after 3-4 runs, you're doing something wrong. maybe this meant 3-4 weekend events? i get about 3 full weekends out of a set of tires. this equates to around 10 hours of hot use.

Well, all i can say is if ur goin thru a set of tires in 10 hours, they better be some CHEAP ass tires..

I sure as hell wouldnt wanna spend $700+ on 4 tires just to blow thru em in 10 hours of tracking or whatever

[fourtailpipes]

Originally Posted by thez99

Well, all i can say is if ur goin thru a set of tires in 10 hours, they better be some CHEAP ass tires..

I sure as hell wouldnt wanna spend $700+ on 4 tires just to blow thru em in 10 hours of tracking or whatever

i don't like to get personal on forums, but why are you answering people's questions if you don't actually know the answers? first you say tires will last "3-4 runs", then you act like my minimum of 10 hours (20 30-minute sessions spread over about 3 weekends at the track) is too short to justify. opinions are welcome, but not veiled as fact. lets all be helpful here.

[jb2178]

Originally Posted by bellducci6

thanks for the help even though the star specs cost a little more money it will be more worth it to use for autocross. just wondering do you know if they wear down fast or not because i plan on using my car as a daily driver also

I put on a set of star specs on my 128i august 2009 after I shreaded my run flats during my first season of autocrossing. Since then I've put roughly 17,500 miles and maybe 15 autocrosses with no real problems. You might have to replace them every 15,000 with an autocross every other weekend but as far as I'm concerned they are quite durable tires...

[fourtailpipes]

Originally Posted by jb2178

I put on a set of star specs on my 128i august 2009 after I shreaded my run flats during my first season of autocrossing. Since then I've put roughly 17,500 miles and maybe 15 autocrosses with no real problems. You might have to replace them every 15,000 with an autocross every other weekend but as far as I'm concerned they are quite durable tires...

wow that's incredible wear! how much camber do you have f/r? are they wearing evenly? have you been flipping them on the wheels to even out the wear?

[jb2178]

I'm running the stock sports suspension with the M3 front swaybar, I've never modified the camber, no tire flipping.

I won't lie, the edges are worn but there's still at least 2500 miles of tread on them.

[fourtailpipes]

that's remarkable! add some camber and flip them once or twice during their life, and you should get even more out of them.

[adrean8j]

Originally Posted by thez99

Well, all i can say is if ur goin thru a set of tires in 10 hours, they better be some CHEAP ass tires..

I sure as hell wouldnt wanna spend $700+ on 4 tires just to blow thru em in 10 hours of tracking or whatever

They aren't asking about what you would want to do. I also do HPDE's and when I got the car I knew I was gonna be doing it...so I already budget at least 2 sets of tires/year. Now that I have 2 soon to be 3 sets of rims (still have the stockers, and going to get some Apex Arc8's soon) I will be swapping wheels whenever I got to the track....sooo my answer to the OP would be:

A. Use the stockers as DD's and use the Apex's for AutoX days ONLY. Then the tires will last longer.

B. If you use the Apex for daily driver I would say Star Spec's, Michelin PSS, or Bridgestone RE-11's (I do not have experience with these exact tires as I have used GY Assym's and Yoko Neova's..both great tires on the track and street).

Michelin's due to their history although I don't anyone personally that has run them. Star specs I know multiple that run them and they say there are a great all around track/street tires with a decent price, and RE-11's cause they grip like a mofo(although they wear very fast from what i have heard).

[1speedbike]

I love my hankooks for a daily driver, but I would much rather use star specs if I were to autoX a lot. the kooks are too mushy to provide the best feedback and feel of precision when you push them (even though they are quite capable). The kooks have better wet grip imho (though this doesn't matter on the track), and wear a bit slower, but the star specs are more capable in dry weather and feel better, so overall they are better suited for the track. Though I've only driver a friend's car with star specs so I'm not the best judge, I'm just offering my .02. Michelin PSS/PS2/PS3 are better than the whole bunch from what know, but they're also more expensive by a good amount.

[jb2178]

Are you getting snow tires or keeping your stocks for winter? because the star specs turn to rocks when it's cold, and aren't great in the wet... I ran our first autocross in the rain this season and they were decent, maybe... It may just be the difference from dry to wet grip but they don't inspire a lot of confidence in the wet - and they are worse in the cold.