Pls.advice:daily driven tires but good for track/auto-X use

[aejhayl17]

yup, next time na may auto-X clinic ang GT, i'll run my stock altis hehehe ma-experience lang.

wala ng hiya hiya!

choosing between:

Kumho SPT (KU31)
Yokohama S.Drive
Goodyear eagle F1 GSD3
Federal 595Evo


seeking for 215/40r17 since its cheaper than 215/45r17.

did my research online, pero cannot find a direct comparison between these tires.
wala pa po ako experience sa said tires except sa 595EVO which is a good tire.

hanap ko po sana ay yung pang daily use, pero ok pang track/autocross. yung hindi po agad mauupod pag daily use. Out n po ang AD08, any bridgestones, and other expensive tires, medyo budget mode po ako. so limit ko po sa apat na to ang options ko,pero open pa din ako sa ibang suggestions.

currently using westlake cheap tires, hindi na po ako at ease kase medyo madalas na ma-flat at wala talaga ko tiwala. so ill be investing to a more expensive but more reputable brand.

any experience sa mga tires na to, please do share it here. place your votes na po.

thank you very much mga tsikot gurus

[aejhayl17]

up ko lang po

[niky]

I definitely wouldn't go autocrossing on Westlakes... :hysterical:

If you want the best street/track tire, AD08s are it. But you pay through the nose for them.

There are other good track tires that can be used on the road, but they wear down really quickly.

A few serious events will really destroy most tires. I'd suggest Ecsta SPTs, though the sidewalls are kind of soft... or even Federal 595SS's (don't know about the Evos... the SS's are pretty good), which have decent sidewalls.

Federal's 595RS is a track tire at street tire prices. It is supposedly equal to or better than AD07s and most of the current crop of Bridgestone track tires. Service life is horrible, though... it's really a racing tire.

But my first and foremost suggestion: Buy a secondhand set of 16" mags, then buy your track tires in that size.

This saves you in money in tires, will make you faster in the autocross (just put more pressure in the tires), and allows you to save your bling-blings from curb-rash and other track damage.

I'd even suggest 15", but it's going to be hard to find the right rubber in that size, unless you also go way undersize in rubber (205-50R15)... in which case, mags and tires will be even cheaper. (secondhand set of 4-stud 15s: 4k pesos... full set of tires: 12-15k)

[aejhayl17]

thanks sir niky, i was really waiting/expecting for your reply.

im still weighing my options, but leaning towards the Feds(the evo or the SS, which ever comes with a 215/40r17) because they dont easily wear unlike the other choices. budget wise, ill go for feds.

actaully we have a 595EVO, 195/55r15. pwede ko siya isalpak sa altis ko on 15" rims , lalo na pag may activities like autocross. hehe masubukan lang

what really stopping from slapping 595's on my 17's is the Fed's reliability? may doubt kase ako since its a budget tire. but its a 3-5 or even 7 steps ahead against the westlake.

sorry, first timer...excited lang sumubok at sumabak. ma-experience lang


or on the other hand, bili na lang kaya ako ng seperate rims and tires for trackday use? a second hand Altis asterisk rims with 205/50r15?

[niky]

Better to have a second set. But secondhand stock rims will be kind of narrow. You want at least a 7" wide rim to keep your tires' sidewalls straight.

That means secondhand ROTA 15s.... which should cost you around 4k or so (with some luck).

I had Federal 595 SS's a long time ago. Didn't like them. Didn't feel any grippier than my Champiros, wore down unevenly (even with perfect alignment) and bugged me no end. But the new SS's have a different tread pattern, and I drove them on a friend's RS and was impressed.

I like the Ecstas, but like I said, I felt that the sidewalls were too soft when I tested them, and others echo this sentiment. If you're buying an autocross tire, you want something that stays straight even under hard cornering. I don't know if the 595s will do that, but there's only one way to find out.

[vinj]

Forget the Eagle F1 GSD3. Good dry weather grip and doesn't hydroplane on the wet roads/highways but has lousy traction on slippery or limited friction surfaces when wet (i.e. ascending or descending a slippery parking ramp, looses grip when accelerating hard then you run over painted road lines, etc).

I'd also go with buying a set of track tires/rims in 16" or 15" size. Cheaper in the long run. Go for a lightweight set of Rotas such as the Real Light or Circuit 8. Easy to dispose as well later on if you dont need them anymore.

[aejhayl17]

thanks sir niky and sir vinj, nagresearch ako online, 12k ang second hand set ng rota 15x7 rims. still waiting for the right rims at lower price.

in a few days or weeks, ill be getting the tires, the one on our vios (fed 595evo 195/55r15) because my mom will be replacing them with goodyear NCT5's.

so i have tires, but i dont have rims yet. hehe

i'll be looking for cheap deals. thanks again

[norrissee]

So far, no daily driven tire that lasts long enough is ever good enough in autoX hehehe sad but true... the compromise is still there... they just don't grip as much as the semi slicks out there.

My advice would be to buy the cheapest and longest lasting tire for your daily drive (I use westlake H550s) and keep a pair of Federal RS-Rs just for autocross or track events. Have an extra pair of rims also so that you can just swap out the front tires when you get to the track / venue and swap back the daily tires after the event. When driven properly (no unnecessary burnouts, etc) the RS-Rs should probably last you a full season of racing (and probably some more).

[norrissee]

To illustrate my point:

Here you can see the Federal RS-Rs literally dragging the less sticky Westlake H550 along with it on a mid speed 180 turn during an autocross event held last month.





The Westlakes have a treadwear of 480 so it'll be a long time before you'll be replacing them... I had them installed 2 months ago and went through a 400+kms trip to Bacolod and also through 3 different autocross races (average of 8-10 runs per race). They still look new if not for a few chips on the corners due to the rough tracks.