Help me pick a tire

[Zero102]

I have an 87 rx-7 GX (N/A, open diff, stock sway bars, lowered 1" with stiffer shocks and springs) which I picked up for a summer toy. The main purpose of the car is to attend auto-x events in, however I do plan on attending some events in the rain, and going on a couple of cruises with it, so although dry performance is the highest consideration whatever tire I pick must me at least somewhat safe in the rain.

Originally I had picked out the Sumitomo HTR-200, however tire rack can only get 3 of them and no shops here can find any, so I seem to be screwed there.

The tires will all be in the size 185/70R14, I am not upgrading the wheels right now because I am planning to do a 5-lug swap next year.

That said, I have now narrowed it down to 4 tires that have been recommended to me, however I am having a very hard time getting an objective comparison between them:

1) Federal SS-731
2) Federal SS-657
3) Pirelli P4
4) General Altimax RT


I can compare 3/4 on tire rack and the pirelli seems to come out ahead, but I am having trouble finding them locally. Between choices 1/2 it looks like the SS-731 is the better tire (wider tread for the same profile, stiffer side walls), but I have never even heard of them before so I am a little uncertain. I have found no way to compare sets 1/2 to 3/4.

What do you guys think?

[Sugarphreak]

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[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

I agree with Sugarphreak. Most of the auto-x guys run Direzza D1 Star Specs, Hankook RS-3 or R comps. The first three events this season I have ran General Exclaim UHP, they aren't the greatest but for the price I paid for 18s, I don't care. I'm looking for the Hankooks myself in a few weeks to put on my stock rims for events.

[heavyD]

I agree with Sugarphreak in that your tire choices aren't that great for autocross and those tires he listed are good bets except maybe the XS which are terrible in the rain. If you are on a budget the hankook ventus v12 evo's are solid and the RS-3 better but more money. It's too bad Nitto doesn't want to sell tires in Canada because the NT-05 is a great extreme performance tire for the money. If price was no object RE-11's all the way.

[tsi_neal]

star spec is the only max performance street tire available in 14". 195/60/14 would be a way better size than the 185/70/14 the OP mentions.

bridgestone are way overpriced compared to the direct competition
kumho XS DO perform in the rain just not as well as the competition, you wont win a wet event on them next to a star spec, but your also not going to die trying to drive down the deerfoot.

Edit, 1010tires.com is a canadian distributor for nitto, prices are decent

[Zero102]

Interesting point on changing the size. I looked at many of the tires listed above and was unable to find any of them in my stock size, but by switching to 195/60/14 they are all available. It will cause a 4% error in my speedometer (and odometer) readings, but that really isn't a big deal. I played around with other sizes (205/60/14, 205/65/15, etc.) and wasn't able to find much better than this.

I'll lose a couple km/h off the top end of first gear, which may be an issue depending on the track, but I don't know that yet.

The D1 star spec's are going to push the budget up a LOT, each of the sets I was looking at would come in around $400-$500 installed, the star specs seem to come in around $700-$750 which may be a bit too steep for me. I'll see if I can track them down a bit cheaper.

It seems that mounting a 195 tire on a 5.5" rim is just barely acceptable. I just need to verify that my rims really are 5.5" before I can go this route.

[heavyD]

Originally posted by tsi_neal

Edit, 1010tires.com is a canadian distributor for nitto, prices are decent

I know 1010tires is a distributor but their prices are so far out of line with US pricing that it's simply not worth going with them. Also US vendors aren't allowed to ship them to Canada so getting them is s pain. I know as I tried to get NT-05's for my EVO but it just wasn't worth it. Bridgestone is like Michelin in that they cost more but are premium tires and you are getting what you pay for.

[Sugarphreak]

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[ercchry]

why are you wasting money on tires for 14s? you can find CHEAP 15x7 114.3 wheels... i would recommend that. not only will you find way more tires in a 15 but you could run some 205/50/15s which would be way better than a 70 profile sidewall in a 185

[Zero102]

Originally posted by ercchry
why are you wasting money on tires for 14s? you can find CHEAP 15x7 114.3 wheels... i would recommend that. not only will you find way more tires in a 15 but you could run some 205/50/15s which would be way better than a 70 profile sidewall in a 185

Show me some cheap 15x7 4x114.3 wheels with ~40mm offset then we'll talk. I haven't found any.

So far I can't find a decent set for under $300, and considering the budget was ~$500 that'd make it really tough to get tires in there too.

I am planning a 5-lug swap next year so I don't want to drop a ton of cash on wheels + tires, but I also agree that going to 15" will improve stability quite a bit.

[Zero102]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak


I wouldn't get too stuck on the overall diameter difference; Transport Canada allows up to a 7.5% tolerance in the theoretical size... so even a theoretically perfect tire could be out more than 4%.

It wouldn't hurt to give Bob a shout either, he could answer your questions regarding rim/tire size and he might even have some tires in stock that will work for you in your price range.

I stopped in at urban-x last night (n.e. location) and talked to lorne for a bit, he pitched the federal ss-731's to me and didn't talk at all about a different sized tire

[ercchry]

Originally posted by Zero102


Show me some cheap 15x7 4x114.3 wheels with ~40mm offset then we'll talk. I haven't found any.

+40??!!! holy battleship!

but i think they call them oem nissan 240sx wheels

http://forums.beyond.ca/st/331729/fs...-factory-rims/

[Zero102]

Originally posted by ercchry


+40??!!! holy battleship!

but i think they call them oem nissan 240sx wheels

http://forums.beyond.ca/st/331729/fs...-factory-rims/

I have been searching kijiji for a while looking for wheels like this, but when I searched on beyond I was mostly searching by dimensions. Thanks for the tip, I've PM'd the seller

[94boosted]

Like has been said above, I'd say for what your describing (auto-x + roadtrips) the best tire would be the Hankook Ventus V12 EVO's. For the price they are a fantastic tire, there are a few guys in SASC that use these. Lap time's aren't far off the Star Specs and the extended tread life is

This article may help you:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...12_evo_page_10

[A2VR6]

Keep in mind, if you are thinking about Star Spec's I believe tire rack is now the sole distributor of them (atleast thats how it is in the US).

I run star specs and they are a amazing tire, well worth the $$$. If you can get the RS3's in a size you want I would get those since they are a bit cheaper than the star specs.

[94boosted]

Originally posted by A2VR6
Keep in mind, if you are thinking about Star Spec's I believe tire rack is now the sole distributor of them (atleast thats how it is in the US).

You can get the Star Specs from 1010tires.com, Tunerworks, Spec R Tire Services (Local) and maybe even from Urban-X.

[Zero102]

Thanks for all the suggestions. After calling around and thinking about this for a couple days I have decided I am going with the star specs. I'm going to order them from tire rack and get them in 195/60R14. In the end I expect the total cost (including shipping, gst, duty, tire tax, installation, etc) to be about $610, which is much better than the $780 I have been quoted for these tires installed locally, especially considering I have about $1000 in other parts to head down and pick up already.