Tires make a difference

[Perfectlap]

^ one year we had an unusually warm winter like this one. It was around Thanksgiving and I hadn't yet switched over to the winter tires. I left Manhattan at about 10 pm and it was about 45 degrees if memory serves but no wind chill. I drove back to NJ where the temps dropped quickly, I mean REAL fast. Within a single stretch of road, maybe a mile or two, it started to snow, and then it started really coming down. Oh boy was I in big trouble. My summer tires could not hold a straight line whatsoever. I had to drift the car off the highway practically side ways and dumped it at the bottom of the exit just off the main road.
Lesson learned... don't be an idiot. Keep summer rubber far from icy temps even if there's no snow in sight.

As for the autox tires, on my very first lap of Azenis I sliced 2.5 seconds off my time from the cheapo tires that a my Ebay-sourced BBS RK's came with.
I think they were Kuhmo Ecstas or something. TERRIBLE. They stepped out from the first corner to the last. Kinda of fun though on a closed enviornment like that.
With the Azenis the car was on rails. I also mounted smaller lighter wheels. Your first performance mod should always be adequate rubber.