Tires...

[Simon T.]

What tires can you run in IT? I know DOT race tires, but can you run on street tires? lol

[JoshS]

You CAN if you want to, but why would you want to? You'll kill your street tires very quickly, and you won't be competitive to boot. Makes more sense to buy someone's used race tires.

[Simon T.]

True, but something like Azenis for drivers school or just to get out and have some fun.

[mc-integra111]

I was having some issues with the car at one point and decided to use Azenis for a little while. I ended up figuring out my issues and getting tired of running Azenis (prolly about 2-3 sec slower than a full tread RA1) well before they were used up. I ended up selling them to an autocrosser with about 70-80% tread left. This actually did not work out too bad as far as economic investment, but I was not having much fun running Azenis when everyone else was on race rubber.

[JLawton]

True, but something like Azenis for drivers school or just to get out and have some fun.


I'm sure there are guys in your area that are tossing tires that are better than those and would love to give them to you.

Where are you from?

[erlrich]

I used Azenis on the 240SX when I first started doing track days at Summit Point. They're about as sticky as you're going to find for a true street tire (Bridgestone RE-01R, RE-11, or Hankook RS-2s are also in that group), but as noted they will still be considerably slower than the slowest R-compound. For comparison, I was able to run 1:38s with the Falkens at Summit, whereas when I started w2w racing with a set of shaved Toyos I was in the 1:34s right off. They will also get pretty greasy when they start to heat up, so you will have to watch for that. If you need something that you can use on the street also, they will work, but in the mean time you should keep an eye out for a used set of Toyos for next to nothing, and they will still be better than the street tires. What size do you need?

[jthomps348176]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone used street tires for racing in the rain?

[mc-integra111]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone used street tires for racing in the rain?

Yes. If the weather requires real rain tires, street tires with tread will be better than your DOT slicks (a V710 or a shaved RA1, etc.), but that's about it. The DOT tires with tread will still be better.

It's all about your goals. My old street tires were my rains for my first 2 seasons since I didn't want to buy a set or rains. This was fine, but not fast. I am currently using full tread RA1's, which are pretty quick in the rain, but will lose significantly to the good rain tires (dirt stocker or Hoosier wet). Now that I am getting faster, I would like to try a good rain tire (really wish the W710 would come out in my size :)).