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**RHennin** · 01-15-2011, 10:35 PM

Ok guys, the new autox season will be upon us soon. The Civic Si has been sold to solo atlanta autoxer and I'm now getting the new Mark 6 Gti ready for G stock. The biggie as always.... wheels and tires.

1st off, I want to be competitive (who doesn't), but I'm not quite ready yet to go all out and spend tons of dough on setting up my car. Because of this, I'm sticking with a street tire for now; namely the Hankook RS-3. I've done a good bit of reading from just about every source I can get my hands on and these seem to fit the bill for a good performer and good value (i.e. $$$). I'm still however lacking the quantity of reviews like you'd typically see w/ a bridgestone etc. Anyone have any experience w/ these? I've also picked up a set of smaller and lighter oem 17s since 17s were an option on the Gti and make for cheaper tires and taller gearing.

Post up comments/technical info or reviews on tires your running or have experience with.

Here is some info I've found.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/top-tires/

zps2004 · (This post was last modified: 01-16-2011 10:06 AM by zps2004.)

I haven't heard much from them but they seem good. I think a huge advantage for them is that they make a 225 for the 15" guys. But since your in the GTi now that isn't really an issue. I don't know about the RS-3. But for the others here what I know. Bridgestones are good and last forever, but they do cast a little more. Star specs are really good and cheaper, and we were surprised how much of a beating they took on out chumpcar without them wearing down much. I heard that the Toyo's are good light cars I believe it was, and when they start to get old the die fast. I also heard that the Khumo's are good but don't last long.

If it was me I would pick the Star Specs out of that group. Might not be the fastest but you are going to be running in the tire class so you might as well save some money while your at it. Again I am saying this without really having much knowledge about the RS-3's. My next set if going to be Nitto's NT-01 so I haven't been keeping up with the street tire stuff much.

Did I mention that you can get Ohlins for GTi's now?

Chill2008 · 01-16-2011, 10:38 AM

I haven't even been racing a year and don't claim to be any kind of expert. However, my S2000 came stock with Bridgestone RE50s which were pretty decent performance tire, but IMO they are designed to be driven down the highway on. They were forgiving, really quiet and had excellent wet traction...great tire for the road. I replaced those with Star Specs and noticed an immediate difference all around. Star Specs were louder, harder, taller, wider, and had much bigger shoulders. Also, they threw every stone on the street into my fender wells, even after 10k miles. Best of all, they were significantly cheaper.

I would recommend Star Specs (I bought another set for my MZ3) or RS-3s. I have seen RS-3s on pro driver cars at SCCA events (STR, STU, STX) and they appear comparable dimensionally and tread architecture. Lastly, I read an article that said these tires are the best at 6-8 32nds tread...they just get better with time.

**300zmankellan** · 01-16-2011, 11:14 AM

I don't know anything about the RS-3's, but I love star specs. I have driven from clemson to charleston and back several times and done several events. I have a fair amount of camber and a lot of toe out in the front. They still have gobs of tread and grip. Not to sway you, but as far as grip and life per dollar, star specs rock.

**RHennin** · 01-16-2011, 11:30 AM

I just got 2 of the 4 wheels yesterday and the RS-3s came in as well. I'll say, Tirerack is probably one of the quickest on shipping of anyone I've bought from online. Ordered tires lunchtime Thursday. Arrived 5pm friday.

I'm looking at running spacers to make up for the difference in offset my 17s have from stock. Max I can run w/ SCCA rules is 9mm. The main concern i have is getting a good match that will obviously fit the hubcentric ring thats on the actual hub of the wheel and (if possible) having hubcentric rings on the spacers to fully align the tires. From what I'm seeing, most offer a relief in the backside of the spacer for the oem hubcentric ring, but no hubcentric ring on the frontside where the wheel now mounts. Anyone have any companies they would suggest for some spacers w/ custom hubcentric rings? From everything I've seen so far, these guys seem to be the best.

http://www.motorsport-tech.com/wheel_spacers.html

Mr_Bill · 01-16-2011, 12:27 PM

There are plenty of good spacers out there if you are looking to only go 5mm, but if you're wanting to do the 9mm gap then the custom pick with motorsport-tech would be a good choice.

As for the wheels / tires, I have never ran on street tires but I don't think you could go wrong with either the Hankooks or Star Specs. One big downside with the street tires is just trying to keep them cool during hot summer days...I'm still up in the air as to whether the water spray actually does anything. As for slicks pretty much everyone runs the Hoosier A6. A select few use the Kumho V710 since they do last a bit longer, but there is a noticable grip difference on mild-cooler days.

Also from my experience / reading you are better off spending the extra money on tires as opposed to wheels. With AutoX it seems that wheel weight is a very small factor in lap times and in some cases it would make sense buy a cheaper/slightly heavier/wider wheel and spend the price gap on the rubber.

Out of curiosity which SCCA region are you planning to run in?

**RHennin** · 01-17-2011, 12:10 PM

(01-16-2011 12:27 PM)Mr_Bill Wrote: There are plenty of good spacers out there if you are looking to only go 5mm, but if you're wanting to do the 9mm gap then the custom pick with motorsport-tech would be a good choice.

As for the wheels / tires, I have never ran on street tires but I don't think you could go wrong with either the Hankooks or Star Specs. One big downside with the street tires is just trying to keep them cool during hot summer days...I'm still up in the air as to whether the water spray actually does anything. As for slicks pretty much everyone runs the Hoosier A6. A select few use the Kumho V710 since they do last a bit longer, but there is a noticable grip difference on mild-cooler days.

Also from my experience / reading you are better off spending the extra money on tires as opposed to wheels. With AutoX it seems that wheel weight is a very small factor in lap times and in some cases it would make sense buy a cheaper/slightly heavier/wider wheel and spend the price gap on the rubber.

Out of curiosity which SCCA region are you planning to run in?

I'm probably going to do the SCR events since I live in Aiken; although it's def. not close to any of the events they have. I might even do a few soloatlanta and ccr events as well.

anyone here done the Evo driving school? There are two coming up this year in GA. I'm going to be going to the one in march probably. I've heard it's well well worth the money if you're looking to improve.

dave99rt · (This post was last modified: 01-17-2011 04:01 PM by dave99rt.)

hey ross,

i'm fairly positive if the model/trim of your vehicle comes with 18's than you must use 18's.
there is no update/backdate for wheels if you are in stock class scca.

where did you get 9mm from?
i thought the max change in offset was 1/4"

**RHennin** · 01-17-2011, 05:14 PM

(01-17-2011 03:42 PM)dave99rt Wrote: hey ross,

i'm fairly positive if the model/trim of your vehicle comes with 18's than you must use 18's.
there is no update/backdate for wheels if you are in stock class scca.

where did you get 9mm from?
i thought the max change in offset was 1/4"

Dave, I looked into the wheel issue. The original sticker with all the options on my car show it coming from the factory with a 17x7" wheel. The 18s had to have been installed at the dealer. For 2010, VW went a little out of the norm and let customers and dealers order just about any variety of options together instead of the usual, pkg 1, pkg 2 pkg 3 deal. Generally, some options are found together, if you look, you'll find certain ones that didn't; i.e. my car has bixenons, sunroof and 6 speed manual, where typically the bixenons would come on a higher package like a leather or dsg optioned car. Per the SCCA rules discussed on the CCR boards, if my car doesn't fall under an optioned category, and the sticker indicates 17s, I should be able to run 17s.

The wheels I'm running have a narrower offest, therefore I'm running the max offest I can run within the rules. Trust me, I went through the book on this one. If I'm going to pay for some nice spacers to get the hubcentric relief and a new hubcentric ring to match the wheels, I'm getting the entire offest I can get.