New tires and long trip

[JayG]

YThe date codes are only on 1 side of the tire, so they maybe on the inside of the other 2.
5 years is a little old, but if they don't show any cracking, you are probably fine

Running racing tires with a street setup car may not be the best thing. It can lead to higher G force in cornering and possible oil starvation. Also depending on what car class you plan to run in, racing tires could put you in a prepared class instead of Street Stock. That's not a big problem if you have other performance upgrades like suspension, etc. Without the other mods, you most likely will not be competitive in a prepared class against well prepared cars. Also race tires are not cheap and don't last that long

I would disagree in that some street tires will survive trake uses fine. The Dunlops and RE-71s definitely. The RS-3's do run well on the track and street, but I have heard they will heat cycle out before the tread wears out if tracked

The RE-71s are great on the track and street, but while rated at 200 TW, they wear out much faster than that. People have told me they are more like 100 TW

The Dunlops are just a shade less sticky than the RE-71's but last much longer and don't heat cycle out

Yes, having a 2nd set of wheels for track/AX uses is a good idea. Get 17" wheels, the tires are a lot less expensive in 17 vs 18

Do you plan to drive your car to the track or trailer it? That will play into what tires you uses as well.

For what it is worth, I went with the Dunlop Star Spec for my track/AX tires. in 17" (255/40 & 225/45) it was around $850 for the set including mounting and balancing and I can drive the car to the track