I was being sarcastic about noobs on sticky tires. However I still believe there is a lot to learn from starting out in autocross in a slow car, with soft suspension, and crappy tires. When you don't have a lot to work with, you can concentrate on technique. Plus soft suspension makes the whole weight transfer thing brutally obvious. :lol:

That said, an STI on crappy tires probably isn't going to teach you much about anything except for wheelspin. :lol: The RE070's are a terrific tire for autocrossing an STI, regargless of driver skill level... they're just what the car likes to run on.

:P no lil *sarcasm* notes to help me out :P lol i'de maybe get a better time on the avs's cuase i'm used to em, boot, what ever, stocks will (hopefully) end up fairly cheap for me to run on ... lol ... ooopies :P

I agree A1337STI, the AVS ES100's do lose traction gradually and they are predictable.

whaa? i know something?
i mean yes :) I'm thinking that if i wanted to drive with the DCCD fully unlocked, just to try and drift it a bit, the AVS ES 100's would be way better. IMO what cuases a lot of crashes / trouble is starting a slide, on the very sticky RE070's cuase there isn't a lot of feed back to tell you when they are about to grip (and send your car which ever way your wheel is facing)

course the thinking by subaru was probably that peeps wouldn't try such tom foolary.

what are some tires with VERY high grip (wet+Dry summer use) that are predictable and gradually lose traction ? ?? :) (ya the avs's are okay)

are there any tires that have great grip on Tarmac (wet + dry ) and Dirt ? for summer use ? i know i'll end up taking my car off road this summer. (hopefully i can find FLAT roads with no rocks over the size of a pebble or just all dirt) well i guess since i'll wanting to be sliding around maybe i don't need great dirt traction. would suck to get stuck in mud. lol i think a stuck subaru (in snow or mud) is a very very sad sight :(

Well, I'm bumping this because another option has presented itself. I never heard a lot about this tire, but it's cheap and has similar survey results to the Kumho SPT. It's the Dunlop Direzza DZ101 in 225/45/17 for $80 plus shipping. Any thoughts on this compared to the SPT? I'll be getting one of these in the very near future, since winter should be about done by now.

http://www.tiredealersites.com/proto...s/DIRDZ101.jpg

I have actually heard good things about those Dunlops. I don't know how accurate the sources are, but word of mouth says they're a pretty decent tire.

Cool, glad someone has heard of them at least. I wish Tirerack had some actual test results on them, but all I have to go by is survey results.

How is that even in contention? the SPTs are only $82 and local at TR, right?

If you want to pay more and be a guinea pig, go for it. Otherwise, I'd probably go with the known quantity. SPTs!

The Flaken ZE 512 is my new favorite Street tire ever, I love them.

I'd be curious to see where that Dunlop stacks up though.

Flakens? lol I run 512s on my Legacy and I must say they are outstanding in the rain. Trust me we get a ton of it here, I just drove through a good 8" deep puddle. I've been pleased with them, but the Legacy doesn't put gigantic demands on tires either.

Oops Typo...Flakens are the knock-off brand.:lol:

The Dunlops would cost me around $45 more for the set after shipping, which isn't bad if they are a better tire. But no one really knows if they are or not, so I guess I'm taking a chance if I get them.

You like them more than the ST115s? Are they quieter?

Well, I think the ST115 is still a bit stickier for summer time, but the 512 is no slouch, it feels good. But yes, the 512 is nearly as quiet and it rules the rain and is legal to run in snow.

This is getting ridiculous. Another good deal came up. Here's my choices now...

Kumho SPT 225/45/17 $304 picked up
Kumho Spt 235/40/17 $320 picked up
Dunlop DZ101 225/45/17 $380 shipped
Toyo T1S 215/45/17 $398 shipped

Toyo pros - Very lightweight, 3-5 lbs lighter than the other choices, very well regarded street tire for budget price.

Toyo cons - 215 width only, on a 7.5" rim. Might be a bit stretched, although that size is listed for a 7.0-8.0" wide rim. More $$, but if it's a better tire it's worth it for me.

So what do I do? There's only 8 of the Toyos left in stock, so I need to decide quickly.

Oh man.... Just go get the 225 SPTs and be done already...

I knew you would say that!

235/40 gets my vote. Wider + shorter = better.

I'd go with 225/45, but that's just because I'd freak out knowing I had a 2% error screwing up my odometer readout. :P