Advice on new tires

[NickCats]

Perfectlap,

Thanks for the head's up on the Kumho. Luckily the tires on my box are pretty new so tires can wait awhile. The price I quoted I pulled from tire rack, $85 for the front and $163 for the rear each ( I used them for the Benz, $200 for 4 tires, 20 for shipping, and $50 at a local shop for mount and balance ).

On a seperate note, started reading the book this week ( Going Faster ) - great info, a lot to digest. Now if I could get the box out of storage and start practicing my heel / toe.

Once again, thanks for all the help...

Nick

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by NickCats

Perfectlap,

Thanks for the head's up on the Kumho. Luckily the tires on my box are pretty new so tires can wait awhile. The price I quoted I pulled from tire rack, $85 for the front and $163 for the rear each ( I used them for the Benz, $200 for 4 tires, 20 for shipping, and $50 at a local shop for mount and balance ).

On a seperate note, started reading the book this week ( Going Faster ) - great info, a lot to digest. Now if I could get the box out of storage and start practicing my heel / toe.

Once again, thanks for all the help...

Nick

Not sure I would start Auto Crossing on new tires. You will be making ALLOT of mistakes(which is what you want in the begining) and depending on your venue it could be like taking a cheese grater to your tires. I've been to some lots where the black top was so bad and full of gravel that I decided against running my expensive tires on them and decided to watch the event instead.
I'd start out with a beater set of tires. At start you aren't really so concerned with your lap times but instead learning the limits/characteristics of your Pcar.
I might go so far as to suggest a set of 2nd hand tires on a seperate set of wheels.
Once you've got about a dozen events under your belt look into getting some new rubber. Some guys head out to their 1st, 2nd or 3rd event with brand spanking new tires and wheels and are then stuck with flat spots for the rest of the season or worse flat spots on their daily drives.

[NickCats]

Well, the tires are not totally new - I bought the car in April 2006 and have put about 8000 miles on them. I did one Autocross with Sammy last year and you are absolutely right, I made a TON of mistakes, but had fun none the less. I hope to get a couple more under my belt this year, and I agree that if I start doing this often a second set of wheels / tires would be a sound investment...

BTW - your PM inbox is full

Thanks,

Nick