Tires... Commuting, Tracktime and managing the two.
#1
Tires... Commuting, Tracktime and managing the two.
Ok guys I figured this would be the best place to ask being we are all here from the Bay Area and deal with the same traffic conditions and even drive on the same tracks as one another. I had spoke to Blue about this briefly earlier this week in text messages and even another friend without an S2000 but I'm wondering if I'm onto something.. Or if I need to pull my head out of my ass and suck it up and pay the price for having fun and commuting all on the same setup.
My thoughts are with the cost of Starspecs and commuting 20 miles/ day for work + having fun on weekends from time to time and a trackday or two I may go through about two sets of tires over the course of a year or so. Not that bad overall but would it be in my better interest to possibly use my 16 inch AP1's for the grip factor and fun stuff by throwing some RS3's on em?? or would I be better off with sicking to the 17's I'm currently using for commuting and fun?
I don't have room to buy another set of 17's and still keep my OEM rims like I want. My only concern is that the car will get much more "happy" in the rear using 16's again and I may lose the wow factor when I'm on the track or just having fun in the twisties. I will admit the 255's in the rear tamed the car and in a way and pampers me over the stock setup I had. I just don't wanna burn through two sets of tires a year if I can make one set last by having the best of both worlds at my disposal.
My thoughts are with the cost of Starspecs and commuting 20 miles/ day for work + having fun on weekends from time to time and a trackday or two I may go through about two sets of tires over the course of a year or so. Not that bad overall but would it be in my better interest to possibly use my 16 inch AP1's for the grip factor and fun stuff by throwing some RS3's on em?? or would I be better off with sicking to the 17's I'm currently using for commuting and fun?
I don't have room to buy another set of 17's and still keep my OEM rims like I want. My only concern is that the car will get much more "happy" in the rear using 16's again and I may lose the wow factor when I'm on the track or just having fun in the twisties. I will admit the 255's in the rear tamed the car and in a way and pampers me over the stock setup I had. I just don't wanna burn through two sets of tires a year if I can make one set last by having the best of both worlds at my disposal.
#2
Registered User
Personally, I'll roll around on stock wheels and use the 17 for track rather than the other way around. If you do concern about looks, let's face it, who doesn't? Get another 17" wheels and sell your 16. You can always get another 16 later on. Later on, no one might want that 16 anyway.
#3
Personally, I'll roll around on stock wheels and use the 17 for track rather than the other way around. If you do concern about looks, let's face it, who doesn't? Get another 17" wheels and sell your 16. You can always get another 16 later on. Later on, no one might want that 16 anyway.
#4
In your situation; Andre is spot on. Get a set of decent 16" tires & run them on the street. If you want to get a little more rotation/fun - run 4x AP1 rears for the street, the additional benefit of being able to rotate the tires.
Then save your set of 17" for the track or those spirited weekend drives. Running on 16" AP1s in the mountains are actually fun for practice!
Then save your set of 17" for the track or those spirited weekend drives. Running on 16" AP1s in the mountains are actually fun for practice!
#5
Join Date: Jul 2009
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If you only go through two sets of tires a year you certainly are not burning through them. I probably go through 3-4-5 sets a year depending on if I'm on my best behavior. That's combined commute and twisty roads.
#6
In your situation; Andre is spot on. Get a set of decent 16" tires & run them on the street. If you want to get a little more rotation/fun - run 4x AP1 rears for the street, the additional benefit of being able to rotate the tires.
Then save your set of 17" for the track or those spirited weekend drives. Running on 16" AP1s in the mountains are actually fun for practice!
Then save your set of 17" for the track or those spirited weekend drives. Running on 16" AP1s in the mountains are actually fun for practice!
You are all bringing up pretty valid points. I guess a determining factor would be seeing how much I have left after my trackday in November, and factoring in whether my car will still be the commuter or not next year. I may/may not end up driving the kid to daycare and if I do have to give up the S during the week that opens up the doors for putting an even stickier tire on there and just keeping what I have.
#7
Get one tire that does the streets a little better and the track alright. If you're really fast and the tire difference matters, get a second set of rims and consider changing to a setup that allows for 17 on both street and track.
I opted not to go dual wheel setup. Been very happy with my setup.
I opted not to go dual wheel setup. Been very happy with my setup.
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#9
Registered User
will you really swap wheels whenever you want to have a spirited drive? sounds like a pita.
20 miles a day for commuting isn't much. I would just drive RS3's. They're relatively cheap for the grip you get.
The other alternative is to get a less sticky tire...like a sumitomo hrziii. They're about $100 each and last forever. I've run a few slow track days on them and they're fun because you learn how to drive the car better versus letting tire grip cover bad driving habits.
20 miles a day for commuting isn't much. I would just drive RS3's. They're relatively cheap for the grip you get.
The other alternative is to get a less sticky tire...like a sumitomo hrziii. They're about $100 each and last forever. I've run a few slow track days on them and they're fun because you learn how to drive the car better versus letting tire grip cover bad driving habits.
#10
Get one tire that does the streets a little better and the track alright. If you're really fast and the tire difference matters, get a second set of rims and consider changing to a setup that allows for 17 on both street and track.
I opted not to go dual wheel setup. Been very happy with my setup.
I opted not to go dual wheel setup. Been very happy with my setup.
What tires are you using? I'm not that fast but I do like having that piece of mind when I am "attempting" to be fast
I love em to death.. And whats nice about them is since I can't rotate due to being staggered they will last just the right amount of time before a rotation would need to happen.
will you really swap wheels whenever you want to have a spirited drive? sounds like a pita.
20 miles a day for commuting isn't much. I would just drive RS3's. They're relatively cheap for the grip you get.
The other alternative is to get a less sticky tire...like a sumitomo hrziii. They're about $100 each and last forever. I've run a few slow track days on them and they're fun because you learn how to drive the car better versus letting tire grip cover bad driving habits.
20 miles a day for commuting isn't much. I would just drive RS3's. They're relatively cheap for the grip you get.
The other alternative is to get a less sticky tire...like a sumitomo hrziii. They're about $100 each and last forever. I've run a few slow track days on them and they're fun because you learn how to drive the car better versus letting tire grip cover bad driving habits.
Not a bad idea.. If I do get a second set they will be RS3's for sure. I'm not really inclined to use them to daily on though, especially during the winter. From what I've read they don't perform as well in rain and so forth. The Sumitumo's are another tire I've looked at are relatively cheaper compared to some others out there but I never hear about how well they do on the track aside from how "they are a step down from RS3's and Starspecs."