TRM-C1 Wheel & Tire choices

[Artful Dodger]

Are the BFg's 225/50-15? I prefer the 225/45-15. they are a bit shorter like having a short diff ratio. 225/50-15 is a more common size for some of the other manufacturers.

[Artful Dodger]

the Gsports on tirerack are not going to be very good for autox. the treadwear rating is a 340. most of the Street Tire class tires are around 190-200. not that the treadwear indicates grip but, a softer compound tire is going to grip better than a hard compound tire. then a tire that is a softer compound wears faster. I think the hankooks are 200 treadwear. 340 is more like a sport highway tire. So, the BFG with 340 is going to last a lot longer than the others...

[Artful Dodger]

Actually the Hankooks are 140 according to tirerack. Make sure that a 140 tire is legal for ST.

[Ian F]

Actually the Hankooks are 140 according to tirerack. Make sure that a 140 tire is legal for ST.

140 is the ST minimum. The RS-3 was pretty much designed to run in that class. BFG currently does not offer a competitive ST tire, if that matters to you. Unfortuantely, the RS-3 can be a bit hard to come by right now. It seems to sell out as fast as Tire Rack can get them. Some ST class front-runners have reported amazing levels of grip and good wear - for an auto-x tire. Were my E30 a daily driver, I'd run a harder tire during the week and swap the auto-x wheels on before the event... Hell, my E30 is a garage queen and I still plan to do that...

[Jean]

You can run DOT R tires in stock classes as well btw, that's how guys in stock cars with just upgraded shocks and dot-r tires kick ass locally lol. Not that you have to do this, but just saying DOT R tires are legal in stock classes, they ALONE don't bump you to a higher class.

I was pretty happy with fresh rt615s myself, friend of mine was happy with the rs2s. I used the bfg g-force sports on the street and they are good dd tires, but probably not really an autocross geared tire like the rt616s/rs2/rs3/and the new dunlop autocross tire.

[nando]

Hoosiers are technically DOT-R, but you'd be mad to try to run them on the street!

[Ian F]

Since there seems to be some confusion (and this is only with regard to tires):

Stock Class (a 325is is in D Stock): Dot-R (the Hoosier A6 and Kumho V710 are most popular). Wheels must be the same diameter, width and +/- .25" offset as factory-original (14 x 6.5 +21 in the case of a 325is; no Euroweaves since they were not factory installed on US cars)

Street Touring (ST, STS, STX [325is] & STU): Tires with minimum 140 wear rating. Wheel size unrestricted. Tire section width restrictions, depending on class (not a problem for the E30, since the car's physical limits are under the rule limits). Fenders may be moderately rolled, but not cut for clearance. Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec, Hankook RS-3, and Bridgestone RE-11 are the current darlings of the class, but this can change yearly as new models are introduced.

* It's worth noting that wear ratings are labeled by each manufacturer and not by any independent party. While in theory the numbers should be roughly the same between brands, in reality they are not. At the moment, there is something of a tire war and the top ST tires are soft enough that running them as a daily driver tire would be questionable. A friend of ours tried Star Specs on his daily driver MCS. No auto-x or track, just driving around. They didn't last a season for him.

Street Prepared (DSP for a 325is): Same tires as Stock. No wheel size restrictions. No tire size restrictions. Bodywork may be cut for tire clearance. Tires may extend past bodywork.

Street Modified: Same as Street Prepared. (more liberal engine and suspension allowances than SP)

Modified: No tire restrictions. Full-on race tires may be used, although the Hoosier A6 is still common on production-based cars.

[nando]

yeah, treadwear ratings basically mean nothing. I pretty well ignore them entirely. about the only thing you can tell is a 800 treadwear tire is harder than a 200 treadwear tire, but how much? who knows!

[FredK]

I like the RE-11s. They wear like iron.

Ian F, I'm not sure how your friend wore out a set of Star Specs just driving around on them! I have a buddy who drives pretty "loud" at HPDE and autocross events and he's just getting to wearing them out after a year or so.

[Ian F]

Ian F, I'm not sure how your friend wore out a set of Star Specs just driving around on them! I have a buddy who drives pretty "loud" at HPDE and autocross events and he's just getting to wearing them out after a year or so.

1. He was driving a lot that year for work, so one Summer season probably equaled a couple of years of 'normal' miles. 2. He's a pretty aggressive driver. 3. MINI's (even with the camber plates I installed) are not easy on tires.

Right now, my favorite all-around Summer tire (although not the best for auto-x) is the Goodyear GS-D3. Good grip. Great wet traction. Seem to wear like iron (my g/f got 3+ seasons out of them on her MINI, including a few auto-x events). She's a bit p.o.'d at Goodyear for discontinuing them in the 16" MINI size (205/50-16). We'll probably go with the Star Spec next since we have them on our other MINI and like them.

[Jean]

Yep, G3DS is a very good tire. It's weakness was/is the soft side wall. It was stock tire on my 04 r32 and I managed to get 2nd place for the season in the stock class, the car that beat me was on v710s :(

[calz4m]

I'm running the C1 wheels 15x8 with Nitto NT-01 225/45/15s. Got over 50 heat cycles on them and they still have grip. Predictable, easy to slide, similar to RA-1s in that regard. I highly recommend this combo for DE use.

[rammstein]

Update-

I've done 2 AutoX events and a track day at Homestead. The R888s are ok for AutoX, obviously much better than the all seasons I had on there.

On the track, good lord... they really came alive. After a lap they got nice and hot and just stuck. I am VERY happy with my setup.

[Eric]

Glad you like the R888's, I'm running them in 195/50/15 mounted on euroweaves on the clubman and love them as well. the MINI isn't as fast as my 325 at the ring, but with no aero at 140mph, it's just as fun!

15 laps in one day and the tires look brand new!

[SkinnyVT]

15 laps in one day and the tires look brand new!

First I was going to bust your balls about only 15 laps in a day and then I realized where you were lapping...