V1 Tire advice south Florida

[mike_sno]

Getting to the point that I need new tires. Would love to have something with more grip. In south Florida it's usually always warm, if not hot. I was wondering what would be the tire which works best in this conditions.

Any recommendations?

 

[Gtstorey]

Primary use of vehicle and driving style might be important in this decision.

And even tire/wheel size might be helpful.

 

[Rauq]

I'm a big fan of the RT615K+, they're one of the cheaper options out there in 200 treadwear but they have good comparison reviews. If anything, I've read they're better on lighter cars than heavier ones. Plus they're nondirectional so you can rotate them side to side. I'm also in the skinny tire gang, I don't think a Goblin has enough weight to get heat into something much wider than a 245 in street legal driving.

You can go more aggressive, but I would recommend 200tw as a minimum stickiness (stickier going down from there).

 

[Gtstorey]

Another question is how many miles to you expect/want to get out of a set of tires? What is your appetite for tire replacement?

 

[devianteng]

When I first started running on the street last year, I was running Conti Extremecontact Sport 02, which is a 200tw tire. 275/40R17 in the rear, 245/45R17 on the front. I ran these for 1800 miles on the street, and really they have no wear at all. I got used to them and thought they were pretty good.

This year since starting in with autox, I wanted something more sticky. Bought Nankang AR-1 tires, which are 100tw. 275/35R15 for the rear, and 245/40R15 on the rear. Running Jegs Star wheels for these, and originally planned to run the 15s for track and 17s on the street. But after experiencing the 100tw tires, I saw no benefit of running the Conti's, except that I get better gas milage with the 17s (25.7" overall diameter, which is the same as the factory 05-07 Cobalt I believe versus 22.6" on the 15s, so I basically dropped a gear through the full power band).

So about a month ago I moved into a new house and the driveway has a curb that is taller than I'd like. Even with curb ramps, I bottom out with the 15s so I went back to the 17s so I can get out of the driveway without being on the trailer. Driving with the 17s again, I realized how sketchy it is and I believe it's because the 200tw tires. Borderline unsafe, IMO. I'm in Kentucky so not quite as hot as south Florida, and maybe hotter roads would make these tires more sticky.

Now I'm looking at getting new tires for my 17" wheels, something 100tw that's decent on the street. Maybe AR-1's, maybe Nitto NT01, maybe Toyo RA1...not sure yet. But when my AR-1 15's need to be replaced, definitely going with something like Hoosier A7 as a dedicated autox tire. Longevity is not a priority for me on a "fun car", so grip and performance are top of list. AR1/NT01/RA1 on the street, I'd still expect to get 2-3 years out of them. A7 autox tires, I would hope to get 2 full seasons out of them.

This is just my experience.

 

[Stretch2126]

I run Falken rt660s on the street. Pretty soft and one of the few 200s that will fit on a 15x10 wheel. It’s a 245 but runs wide enough to fit decent.

 

[Sluggonaut]

When I first started running on the street last year, I was running Conti Extremecontact Sport 02, which is a 200tw tire. 275/40R17 in the rear, 245/45R17 on the front. I ran these for 1800 miles on the street, and really they have no wear at all. I got used to them and thought they were pretty good.

Are you sure the Conti's were 200 TW tires? I ran those on my Mustang a few years back and thought they were 300 or harder. I also may have been running a different version (DWS maybe?) but even in that heavy pig, I felt I needed something softer.

I tried the Hoosier R7's (245/18) on the Goblin and couldn't come close to heating them up on the street despite my best efforts. They might get up to temp with some hot laps at AutoX but I think Nate (Fozda) had problems AutoX'ing them.

I was set on the Toyo's based on feedback from other owners at Goblinfest and on the forum, but in the end, I went with the RT615K+ and saved a bunch of money over the Toyo's.

 

[devianteng]

Are you sure the Conti's were 200 TW tires? I ran those on my Mustang a few years back and thought they were 300 or harder. I also may have been running a different version (DWS maybe?) but even in that heavy pig, I felt I needed something softer.

I tried the Hoosier R7's (245/18) on the Goblin and couldn't come close to heating them up on the street despite my best efforts. They might get up to temp with some hot laps at AutoX but I think Nate (Fozda) had problems AutoX'ing them.

I was set on the Toyo's based on feedback from other owners at Goblinfest and on the forum, but in the end, I went with the RT615K+ and saved a bunch of money over the Toyo's.

Well, now I have my doubts on these Conti's. Conti's website says they're 340tw, but I know Tirerack told me they were 200tw (or maybe 220tw??) when I ordered them (it now says 340tw too). Even this autox tire buying guide says they're 200 UTQG treadwear:

Grassroots Motorsports ultimate track tire guide

What you need to know before choosing your next track tire.

grassrootsmotorsports.com

So I don't know for sure, but this definitely would explain a lot, haha. Either way, my point stands that you should go as sticky as possible for your driving needs.

Regarding the Hoosier's, it's my understanding that the A7's warm up faster than the R7, but the R7 has a better heat tolerance than the A7. So A7 for autox or drag, but R7 for time trial or endurance. I have no experience with either, though.

 

[Sluggonaut]

I remember the Conti's were considered super sticky (relatively speaking) compared to other touring tires, but not nearly as sticky as the dedicated summer/performance tires like the ones you mentioned. So if the site says 340 that makes sense to what I remember when buying them. I also remember how badly they tramlined on our back roads with the 315/275 stagger - the fronts would be following the ruts one way and the rears the other way.

 

[Dsteinhorst]

I've had RT660s on my Goblin for 3 years and about 8k miles and they're pretty much toast from camber wear. I took them to the dealer to flip over on the wheel and they wouldn't do it.

I do quite a bit of road driving, so will probably do a higher tread weight tire next. Will get a dedicated autocross set if I start racing again.

 

[mike_sno]

Primary use of vehicle and driving style might be important in this decision.

And even tire/wheel size might be helpful.

I have (17x7.5) rims currently with Nitto NT555 Tires (front 225/45ZR17, rear 255/50ZR17). I guess I am kind of flexible on the tire size... Primary use would be street with some autox.

Another question is how many miles to you expect/want to get out of a set of tires? What is your appetite for tire replacement?

Don´t really have much expectations. I just want more grip at the moment.

 

[duthehustle93]

We can give a more refined answer with some more details, but generally speaking for street + some autocross you'll probably want to stick to the super 200TW category. Those compounds are generally great in the rain and dry, and are fastest within the first few laps (or in your case, for autocross). The only downside to them is they wear pretty fast and suffer from excessive heat and performance drops as they start overheating after several laps, and don't hold up well in endurance racing.

Checkout this article, (in my opinion) it's the most accurate tire comparison out there: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/track-tire-buyers-guide/

 

[mike_sno]

What's the opinion on tire width front and back? I read to wide is difficult to get on temperature. How wide is to wide?? My hubs are 5x110 can't really find another set of rims for a decent price so I'm sick with 1set and 17x7.5in

I'm in between the Toyo Proxes R888r 100TW or the Falken Azenis RT615K+ 200TW. My current tires have 320TW.

The falken is much more affordable.

 

[Ross]

I don't buy collision insurance... as I don't want an insurance paycheck if I end up in a ditch of my own fault... I would rather spend those extra dollars on 100TW tires, and avoid the ditch in the first place. Think of the extra cost of the tires as an insurance policy. Besides the 100TW tires have more smiles to the mile, making the car fun to drive.

 

[mike_sno]

Yeah, I hear those arguments a lot. Buy good tires, it's your only connection to the road... however, as more grip the tires have as faster you go... I usually get tires for my Beamer which are hard rubber. They brake lose earlier, you can drift at lower speeds,... The coin has 2 sides. For the Goblin I am on the fence. Will the once in a while autox be enough reason to get some expensive rubber? I guess that's a question I have to answer myself. Regarding the width, that's something I rather hear your guys experience.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

What's the opinion on tire width front and back? I read to wide is difficult to get on temperature. How wide is to wide?? My hubs are 5x110 can't really find another set of rims for a decent price so I'm sick with 1set and 17x7.5in

I'm in between the Toyo Proxes R888r 100TW or the Falken Azenis RT615K+ 200TW. My current tires have 320TW.

The falken is much more affordable.

Mike, VORS makes a few 17x8/17x9 wheels with the 5x110 bolt pattern - and they are not too expensive. I plan to run 225-45s on 17x8s front and 255-40s on 17x9s rear. Looking at 100 TW tires, since a Goblin is light and grip is important (like @Ross stated, better to stay on the road than the ditch). But it does get quite hot out here, so maybe 200 TW for summer and 100 TW for winter?

 

[mike_sno]

Mike, VORS makes a few 17x8/17x9 wheels with the 5x110 bolt pattern - and they are not too expensive. I plan to run 225-45s on 17x8s front and 255-40s on 17x9s rear. Looking at 100 TW tires, since a Goblin is light and grip is important (like @Ross stated, better to stay on the road than the ditch). But it does get quite hot out here, so maybe 200 TW for summer and 100 TW for winter?

That width combination is exactly what I have right now.

 

[Rttoys]

I’m a big fan of the R888R. Only going to get a couple of thousand miles out of them, but I’m fine with that for the incredible grip at all times (except last weeks autocross…….f them tires). They are great

 

[Stretch2126]

What's the opinion on tire width front and back? I read to wide is difficult to get on temperature. How wide is to wide?? My hubs are 5x110 can't really find another set of rims for a decent price so I'm sick with 1set and 17x7.5in

I'm in between the Toyo Proxes R888r 100TW or the Falken Azenis RT615K+ 200TW. My current tires have 320TW.

The falken is much more affordable.

Unless you’re racing all the time I wouldn’t worry too much about much about width vs temp. I’m in Florida and anytime it’s not winter the tires get plenty warm. Under 55 degrees mine don’t want to be as responsive unless you really scrub them in . As for our normal temps from 70-100 degrees the 200s heat up fine. Alignment is key as well.