Autocross and Wheel question
 

What is required for autocross and how bad will I suck with my stock wheels and tires? Is next Sunday a race day and anyone have an opinion on Rota wheels? Thanks for any ideas.

Autocross is next saturday at Lovelock. The next (and last) weekend at stead is the first weekend of October. Full schedule here ... look for all the "solo 2" events,

The stock WRX wheels and tyres are bad for going fast ... but great for learning on. I did several events on those last year, no problems at all. You just need to pump them up a few psi over normal pressures to stop the sidewalls rolling over during hard cornering. Lots of us have electric pumps so you can pump them up at the event.

What Mike said. I'd guess about 40PSI and bring a guage so you can check them between runs.

Rotas are OK, I also have a set of very light 17"s you might be interested in if you get serious next season.

Rotas are perfectly fine for people who aren't looking for every last bit of speed within their class rules. I've had some, pretty much everyone else around here has too. Dean's wheels are very light though, and as cheap as any Rota you'll find. Plus, we like to "keep it in the family" around here with regards to wheels. ;)

Thanks for the info. How about a helmet? Will a bowl hair cut work?

The SCCA has some loaner helmets you can use for free.

Dean, what model/color Rotas are you talking about? I may be interested in the near future if Joeyy doesn't call dibs.

I don't think Dean is talking about Rotas, but his Nippon Racing Lightstars

Hm, I must have misread his phrasing. Wow, those are very thin!

They look thin,but we had a big long discussion on this back when I giot them. The actually have a greater cross sectional area in the spokes than the Rota SubZeros I have.

They are thicker at the rear of the spoke than at the face of the wheel, and they are fairly deep spokes. the cenetrs are also very strong because the spoke extends all he way to the center bore instead of stopping at outside the bolt circle like most wheels.

They would still be on my car if they fit over my Stoptechs.

Gotcha. I couldn't see the depth in the official site's image, but that makes sense. What color?

I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but this remains mostly on-topic: anyone have any opinions to share on Rota vs. Enkei? I'm looking at the Rota Tarmac and Enkei RS7 in particular. :?:

Silver See pictures below. I think last I said was $300 incl a set of spline drive lug nuts...

I like Enkie and own 2 sets. one set of RP-F1 race weels for my Subaru, and one set of RP-01 race wheels for my Stealth. light and strong. Gary Sheehan ran both the RP-F1 and Rota SubZeros on his race car, so I would not question the durability of at least those models. The RP-F1s are about the lightest sub $1000/set wheels for the Subarus in a 17x8 that fit over the Stoptechs and STI Brembos. I also own 5 Rota SubZeros as well. One of them is bent though... I blame it on the thin spokes, or Mike E. running into something he won't fess up to. :-)

http://www.its-over.net/big_lightstar.jpg

Hmmm. . .
http://www.jdpaul.com/randompix/impreza/wheeltest1.jpg

Don't forget the RE070s or Hankooks or Falken RT615s. ;)

I think they look good, but I am biased.

put an inch and a half drop and it will look even better!!!!

I think they're starting to grow on me. What about the depth and bolt pattern?

I intend to, very soon. :D

Buy my coilovers! :P

http://www.seccs.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3539

Then I can bounce my way to every thursday meet! Yay! :lol:

You'll hate that a lot less the first time you hit the track or autocross. Why do you think it took Scott so long to replace them in the first place? ;) And for what he's asking, you could have more comfortable setups, but you couldn't get a faster one. Although maybe Dean could. He makes DSM owners wonder how he manages to spend so little to go fast. :p

They are 5x100 7.5" wide. If I recall correctly, they are ET 48 and under 16 pounds. I can throw one on a bathroom scale if you want.

Dean, what is the offset?

Sorry, ET = Offset.
I'll check them tonight if I remember though.

Now, I've seen this before and I've come to accept the fact that ET == offset...

but, does anyone know the reason why that is? Just curious.

ET = einpress tief

Wicked. I never knew why, just knew that it was.

Dean, the fact that you had that little bit of knowledge on hand is a little scary.

I have team dynamics Pro Race 1's in 17 inches. Super light, but not cheap, or easy to get. (made in the UK)

Google and the right keywords baby...

I think the cost of replacing them might have had something to do with it. ;)

That's ok - I'm still mulling them over vs. rota or enkei, but for the price I wouldn't be terribly concerned if they weigh 17lbs instead of 16lbs. ;)


Nick, are you interested in Dean's wheels? If you are, go for 'em. I wouldn't mind having them for the price/performance, but they're not really my style. Aside from that, between suspension upgrades and other crap going on, it's likely going to be a month or two before I can afford any wheels at all.

These caught my eye while I was browsing yesterday:
http://www.jdpaul.com/randompix/impr...anthracite.jpg

OR52s in anthracite with a silver lip. . . mmm


I'd love a nice set of coilovers, but I'll be autocrossing a lot less than driving to work, tahoe, reno, errands, etc. Bruspeed suggested that I hit one of the '04 STi owners up for their stock struts and then toss a nice set of lowering springs on them. For the potential price, it sounds like an optimum setup to me. :idea:

STi takeoffs usually go for around $600 or $700. Lowering springs are another $200 or so. You're still going to spend about $1000 for that setup, although they'll be more streetable for sure.

Oh, no. I can't afford another set of wheels at this point. I'm still trying to find time and money to get my springs and headlights installed. Plus Heidi and I are currently trying to prep our house to go on the market here in the next couple of weeks.

I would love to have those, but my shallow pockets tell me otherwise.

Eeeh, paid like $550 for the whole setup, sometimes I guess It helps to "know people" :cool:

I double checked. The Lightstars are 17x7.5 ET 48 weight right about 16lbs on my precision bathroom scale. :)

Is that calibrated for Reno gravity, or sea level? :p

Ok, I'm in the mood to get in trouble with my better half. The itch has to be scratched. Dean, could you take a close up pick of your Light Stars for me and would you cry if I had them powder coated? If I don't put rubber on them until spring, I think I can hide them :D

Quote of the day- "If it has tits or tires, its gonna be trouble".

I'll try to grab a picture later. And feel free to powder coat them. Don't have to clean them then... :-)

Pic as promised. Sorry if it is slightly out of focus. My camera was still on manual focus from video mode. Click for full size. Wheels on cars are at the top of the thread.

Thinking about a dark powder coat with a little gloss and then Toyo Proxes RA-1. Have you heard anything about that tire and what do you think about size. Anywho, PM on a price...I'll take all the love you can give and give your wheels a good home full of love and Solo 2 events...you can even have visitation.

RA-1s are a bad Autocross tire. If you want real R compounds, Khumo and Hoosier are historically the only choices, but Hankkok may be changing that. If you want to run in the "street tire" classes, the Falken 615s are probably #1. If you can find a set of 215s still , they are a close second and cheap with the Hankooks are good cheap 3rd alternative. Read the GRM Article for everything you ever wanted to know about the current crop of tires...

Then come back and ask questions, and we wil lie about our experiences with each. :-)

Oh, and as stated earier in the thread, $300 with a full set of "tuner" spline drive lugnuts + a couple spares and 2 spline drivers.

What are the 2 spline drivers? What size tires would the wheels except?

Spline drives require a "key" adapter to turn 'em. He means he's got two of the key adapters he's tossing in, instead of just one.

17x7.5 will take up to a 235 width tire, however since you've got a little less fender space due to the wagon, 225 may be as large as you can go w/o doing a little fender rolling.

Sybir on the board here has a fender rolling tool that he rents out to those of us looking to fit some bigger tires. When done right, you'll be able to fit bigger tires and never even notice that the fender's been rolled.

Back to tire recomendations, I think Dean's list is pretty much right on. But for me, when talking about street tires for autocross, it's all about getting value, not all out grip. So I use the Hankook Ventus RS-2's in 235/40/17. They've got about a 9" wide contact patch, plus the rolling diameter is slightly undersized, which helps acceleration. And while they're not as sticky as the RT615's, they're like $60/tire cheaper! For $100/tire, you can't go wrong w/ the Hankooks, especially if you're just getting into autocross and the #1 thing that'll make you faster is seat time, not tires (tires are #2).

Now if you want to talk *track* tires, then I'll give you a hearty thumbs up to the RA-1's call. I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a set of those for next season's solo/track trials. Granted they're not an all out fast tire, they're much sticker than street tires once they heat up, and they'll last a long time. That's why they're the spec tire for lots of racing series.

The drivers are for the lug nuts. Also called keys. Here is the SubyDude equivelent. They want $2.25 a lug plus $15 a key. I have 22 lugs, and 2 keys I'm throwing in. A $75 value if I did the math right. You need some type of "tuner" lug nuts for many aftermarket wheel because there isn't room for a standard lug, and socket in the lug holes.

I ran 225/45-17 Falken Azenis Sports (215s) which are wider than many 245s...

The better half said yes to the wheels. I'm off Tuesday if your available. Don't know if you work during the day or if your just like retired or something. :lol:

I think the price of those wheels just went up

Checking in the morning with the local Truckee tire hook up on the RT-615. Deans wheels could have rubber on them before you now it. Hope they can match some of the prices I've seen on line. I'll let everyone know if they can beat the prices with install and stuff. We could get lucky with some killer deal. Drop a line if we wanted to do a group buy or something. I think I'm doing the 225/45-17 the guy may strike a deal for a mass order or something like that. I'll post later with the price of 4 verses 8 verses 16.

Let one of my first threads live. So the question pops back up for 2007. What tires to run at autoX this year. For a short time, I considered going with a R compound but the idea quickly faded. The idea of changing the wheels on and off so much just just killed the idea.

On to street tires. Last year I ran the 615's and was very happy for 3/4 of the year. I don't know if it was the tires getting harder or how hot I got my brakes after Lovelock but the handle just became worse. I thought about running 615's again but using two pair for the season. Then the idea of spending a little more money for a different tire came up.

I looked into the Bridgtone RE01R, Yokohama Neova and at the Hankooks. I believe everyone runs at least one of these tires. I looked back at this thread and looked at the link Dean put up to GrassRootsMotorsports Mag http://www.grassrootsmotorsports.com...5_tiretest.pdf . The article made my mind up on the 615's last year.

I've not made up my mind but am currenly leaning in the direction of the Yokohama Neova. Any thoughts people. The order will be placed soon, so save me quick if I'm making some great big mistake. Thanks D-

Tire price update.

Yokohama Neova at Vulcan Tire-$197(need to be shipped) and at Tire Rack (no shipping) $202
615's at Vulcan Tire-$119(need to be shipped)

My only input on this subject is: if you go with the Bridgestones, find someone else to mount them!

Not very helpful, and I know you've all heard it a million times now, but that's all I got. I loved my 615's last year. I can say that they were very predictable, traction wise, which made setting up the car easier.