Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[gobrigavitch]

I just did my first Auto-X and really enjoyed it. I'd like to do a number of them next year. Realistically I think I could get to 5-8 events/year. Not a lot, so not worth buying another set of rims and tires. I also live in Canada and want to use the car from when the snow melts until the first snow in the fall. I also don't want to replace tires every 5000miles so I'd like ones that can handle some Auto-X without getting trashed.

My rear PS2's are getting quite worn so I think I'll need a new set some time next year. I have the stock 18" wheels front and back.

I'm thinking of going with the Yokohama Advan AD08's or the Bridgestone RE11's or the new Micheling PSS tires. From what I've read the PSS may give up a fair amount of dry grip to the to extreme tires. I've also read that the RE11's are OK as a daily driver as they still have some decent wet grip and aren't too noisy. It sounds like the Yokohama's have the best dry grip and very good good cornering feel, but can get twitchy in the rain.

I'm wondering if anyone here can suggest what they think might fit me best? I understand that the Extreme tires can be less than ideal at near freezing temperatures. In April and October we do get frost overnight on a regular basis. If I drive carefully and not agressively on the mornings where the temperature is a few degrees over freezing will I be OK?

[1Sleeper]

Take a look at the Apex ARC 8. There is a group buy I believe. Paintpro21 (PM) to get Eddie at Apex Parts. Really helpful and a great product.

[Z K]

I ran the AD08 on my previous car for autocross and they are excellent tires. Lasted me about 12K miles, 12 autocross events and 2 track days.

If you want ultimate dry grip and you have 18" wheels, get the Hankook RS3. They wear really fast and not good in rain but it is the fastest street tire you can get for autocross.

[dcstep]

I went with the APEX ARC-8 in 18"x10" with Dunlop Direzza Star Spec 275/35-18s all around. That combination and a few other mods has me leading my class at the Rocky Mountain Chapter of BMWCCA. Here's how it looks:


M3 with new wheels and tires by dcstep, on Flickr

Oh, they might be better than the PS2s, but I doubt they'll be any good in really cold weather. I keep Pirelli Soto Zero tires on stock 18s for the winter here in Colorado.

[isugoo]

Dunlop Direzza Star Spec is a glue! I didn't know they made a size for M3 usage before.
Awesome!

[stefan]

Originally Posted by isugoo

Dunlop Direzza Star Spec is a glue! I didn't know they made a size for M3 usage before.
Awesome!

As amazing as they are, I found no discernible difference between Star Specs and Ventus V12 Evo's which are substantially cheaper and a great auto-x and DD tire. My vote goes to the Hankooks.

I would NOT run any high performance summer tire in the winter. Some slightly negative temps are going to be OK if you're careful, but I wouldn't autox them in the negatives. Best to switch wheels to ones mounted with Blizzaks (LM-25, LM-60, etc) at that point.

[Z K]

Originally Posted by stefan

As amazing as they are, I found no discernible difference between Star Specs and Ventus V12 Evo's which are substantially cheaper and a great auto-x and DD tire. My vote goes to the Hankooks.

You are definitely not driving fast enough... the Star Spec is a performance classes higher than the V12 Evo and has significantly more grip. Do you autocross with the DSC off?

[stefan]

Originally Posted by Z K

You are definitely not driving fast enough... the Star Spec is a performance classes higher than the V12 Evo and has significantly more grip. Do you autocross with the DSC off?

Yep, DSC off. That said I am likely not consistent enough to provide you with accurate metrics. I can likely make up speed in driving first before I'll notice significant tire difference.

My test bed for these two tires was an STi. When putting on new Ventus' after owning the Star Specs I didn't find a difference (not a noticable time delta at least).

What I'll say for certain is I definitely didn't notice "significantly" more grip. And for the price... it's hard for me to justify mounting Star Specs again. Also, could be my driving, but I found the V12 Evos to last longer.

edit: old article, but here's some info on C&D. I agree with their assessment that the Star Specs are the better tire (and look way better!), but would also cite price as a reason to pick the #2.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by isugoo

Dunlop Direzza Star Spec is a glue! I didn't know they made a size for M3 usage before.
Awesome!

It's hard to know exactly, but last year, using stock PS2 and stock 19" wheels, I was around .4-sec behind the E46 M3s, with turbos, coil-overs, racing seats, etc. This year, with the Direzzas and APEX wheels, I'm leading. I lost 6-lbs per corner and gained noticeable traction off the line and out of corners and better trail-braking performance. It was quite obvious from the first lap, but the times tell the whole story.

Dave

[gobrigavitch]

Just to clarify I'm not looking for a tire to autocross in the cold. The autocross is only in June to September, but I will be driving the car from April to October with these tires. Some days in early spring and late fall it can get frost overnight so be near freezing in the morning. I'm wondering if the extreme performance tires are OK to drive at that time if I'm not driving agressively.

From what I gather the Bridgestone and Yokohama are likely better for autocross but not as good as a daily driver. The Michelin PSS is likely better as a DD but not as good at autox. I'm trying to decide which way to go between these and trying to learn from other's experience.

I'm not looking to get new wheels. I just want to change my tires when the PS2's I have now wear out.

[dcstep]

The Dunlops are excellent as DD, better than the Michelin PS2s, with a slightly better ride.

[radiognome]

Originally Posted by dcstep

I went with the APEX ARC-8 in 18"x10" with Dunlop Direzza Star Spec 275/35-18s all around. That combination and a few other mods has me leading my class at the Rocky Mountain Chapter of BMWCCA. Here's how it looks:


M3 with new wheels and tires by dcstep, on Flickr

Oh, they might be better than the PS2s, but I doubt they'll be any good in really cold weather. I keep Pirelli Soto Zero tires on stock 18s for the winter here in Colorado.

After reading this post I contacted TireRack and asked them about TRMostosport MT1 18x10 and they told me that I'm not going to be able to install it on my 2008 m3 E93 without the car modifications and that it's going to be a lot of rubbing. Could you please tell if you did any modifications, and maybe you know if there is any difference for wheels set up between e92 and e93. Thanks!

[ben@tirerack]

For a daily driver in the summer with some AutoX thrown in, anything in what we call the Extreme Performance class would be good:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...&affiliate=AW8

This includes AD08, Z1 Star Spec, RE-11 and similar. Driver preference and what is available in your preferred size setup will probably drive your choice. I would not get overly hung up on one specific model until you've tried a few different sets to see what your preferences are. Factors like driving style, car tuning, alignment, weather conditions and pavement composition can all give you a different experience than what others have found.

PSS would be a little less suited to autocross use, but you could certainly get by with them in street-tire classes. Their dry grip approaches that of the extreme performance category.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by radiognome

After reading this post I contacted TireRack and asked them about TRMostosport MT1 18x10 and they told me that I'm not going to be able to install it on my 2008 m3 E93 without the car modifications and that it's going to be a lot of rubbing. Could you please tell if you did any modifications, and maybe you know if there is any difference for wheels set up between e92 and e93. Thanks!

Well, that would only be because the TRM offsets are not correct for the car. The APEX ARC-8 18x10" square, on a lowered E92 M3 (Dinan springs), Dunlop Direzza 275/35s do not rub at all. Tirerack may be right about the TRMs, so I'd suggest buying the APEX ARC-8, designed for your car. Offset is VERY important when you start filling the wheel wells all the way up.

I bought my tires from Tirerack and my wheels from APEX.

Dave

[armyav8tor]

I'm running Continental ContiSportContact 5p 255 front and 285 rear on ZCP wheels. It makes AutoX and Track driving interesting....LOL. But they are great as DD. I'm going for another set of these when they are done.

[radiognome]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Well, that would only be because the TRM offsets are not correct for the car. The APEX ARC-8 18x10" square, on a lowered E92 M3 (Dinan springs), Dunlop Direzza 275/35s do not rub at all. Tirerack may be right about the TRMs, so I'd suggest buying the APEX ARC-8, designed for your car. Offset is VERY important when you start filling the wheel wells all the way up.

I bought my tires from Tirerack and my wheels from APEX.

Dave

Thank you for the info! I'm going to do the same thing =)