What are the best/cheapest road racing slick? should I downsize my rim? any info appreciated.

 

I run Avon Tech Rs. Forget how much they run. I run them on 17" Kosei wheels, I would definitely downsize to a 17" (much cheaper on tires) or even a 16" but more importantly I would try and get a lighter wheel for them as well mine are 17lbs and that seems to work nicely, light enough to feel a difference in handling/acceleration but still heavy enough to have a solid-handling feel.

 

Seeing as the tires are one of THE most important things on the car.... I wouldn't go by "cheapest".

The Tech-a's are a great tire, and to get them, you will have to change wheels size of you run the 18's, since they don't make a tire in 18".

There are TONS of choices out there, including buying used race tires. There are alot of sites that sell them. All depends on how many track days you're looking at doing.

Hoosier, Hankook, and many others offer some great tires out there, and depending on the size... you can get a decent deal. Tech'a's area great example.

Also agree on the wheel decision. Spend the $$ and get a nice lightweight wheel that's durable. The only downside is that there's not alot out there that fits our cars right now. 17-18 lbs for a 17/18 wheel are about the lightest you'll find.

 

As far as some nice r-compounds I have always used khumo ecsta V700....however they are slowly discontinuing them. Another slick that I sometimes use for the car is the Kukmo Ecsta V710. They are quite good and they last pretty well. THe V700 is cheaper and my favorite by far. Stay away from hoosiers....they are good....but they are expensive and the corners just dont last too long. So again I beleive that the biggest bang for the buck for r-compounds would be the V-700's.

Have you tried the Falcen Azenis? not r-compounds, but quite good too. And you can drive them on them everyday. Best of the both worlds.

Also I agree with the other members, try smaller wheels. Shorter ratios and cheaper tires.

Good luck.

 

I have heard numerous great things about the Azenis, and that's the tire of choice in the street tire classes here, as well as STS/STX... Once you get into SCCA regions' classes, the Stock class guys all run some form of r-compound, so you just can't compete traction-wise with them on the Azenis.

I came very close to having them for street use/wet autocrossing, but I put way too many miles on the car for it.

 

Yeah, the Azenis are going to be my "wet" tire as soon as I can scrape up the $$$ to buy yet another set of rims.