RTA tires - 2013 edition

OK, autocross friends: we need fresh tires for Dear Daughter #1's Impreza wagon by the spring autocross season. It's on 16xwhatever stock WRX wheels, 205/55/16. They will be used for regular spring/summer/fall driving under all conditions, and in RTA/GS during events. It's got decent Michelin winter tires on the stock steelies now.

Buy current stock Star Spec Z1s now for $135 each? Wait for Star Spec Z2s in March or so, for $??? each? Buy Yoko AD08s at some convenient time for approximately $160 each?

The new Star Specs are supposed to be a little faster in the dry, but from the tread pattern, they don't look as forgiving in the rain.

Car is camber challenged due to stock suspension setup. If I get lucky and ambitious, I want to put WRX sedan front control arms under it to pick up some camber, but I cannot rely on this happening.

Place your bets!

If the first event is after the Z2s come out, or you can do the first event on the old tires (choose carefully - had to do my first one this year on 6yo hockey pucks and I lost a ton of points after a day of plowing through cones) then wait for Z2s.

If not get Z1-SS. The Z2s are only a tiny bit better and with their R888-like joke treads I also suspect they won't be as good in the rain.

Forgive me for bringing this up, but is she really competitive enough in a stock impreza wagon that she would actually bemoan the difference between the Z1 and the next gen? If she's just learning and having a good time then anything decent will work. If she's going for points then I'd think full-blown R-comps would be the ticket in stock classes.

Also, I wouldn't put any tire on there that didn't handle rain well. If these are her only non-winter tires then that would be a higher priority than hundredths of a second. Just sayin.

Matt B wrote: Forgive me for bringing this up, but is she really competitive enough in a stock impreza wagon that she would actually bemoan the difference between the Z1 and the next gen?

Agreed. But because there is no pressure to put tires on the car right now , I was actually questioning whether it would be better to buy Z1s or Z2s from a driving standpoint.

Matt B wrote: Also, I wouldn't put any tire on there that didn't handle rain well. If these are her only non-winter tires then that would be a higher priority than hundredths of a second. Just sayin.

Also agreed. That's why I'm asking. Andy Hollis seems to like the Z1 as the best utility all-rounder, but he also points to tests that show the AD08 as being a little better in the wet at the cost of a small amount in the dry.

I have Conti DWs on my daily, and I love them, so they are in the hunt too, but they are a whole notch down on the dry performance chart.

Ah, makes sense. If you'll be happy with AD08's pricing, then you could afford to wait until the wet-testing data comes back on the Z2. If-it-were-me, I'd probably just get the current gen Star Specs and call it a day since they're a bit less expensive and we know they work well in all the necessary conditions.

As z1's handle rain well, I'll play devils advocate and say go that route.......maybe you can get them on closeout.

I run the same size on my TDI. 225/50-16 is the same diameter and adds a bit more width.

I found the Z1 to work ok on wet roads if it was warm enough. However, a wet road on a cool, Fall day was a bit scary until they got at least some heat into them. Once down to about 50% tread, they did not like standing water at all.

Ian F wrote: I run the same size on my TDI. 225/50-16 is the same diameter and adds a bit more width. I found the Z1 to work ok on wet roads if it was warm enough. However, a wet road on a cool, Fall day was a bit scary until they got at least some heat into them. Once down to about 50% tread, they did not like standing water at all.

Funny, I never felt unconfident in the rain on my *specs- and I ran those to the cords.

I'd go with the star specs. I've autocrossed several subies including wrx wagons. Their wheels are 16.6.5. If you can get the RS wheels from 98-01 those are 16x7. The width will be noticable if you go with a 225/50 16 vs the 205/55. The 225 on the 6.5 rims feel very vague.

mndsm wrote: Funny, I never felt unconfident in the rain on my *specs- and I ran those to the cords.

Might have been the car. Whenever I was driving the MINI in a "spirited manner" there was always an adjustment period for me since it was used infrequently and so different than the VW I drive every day. Combine that with cold tires, a wet and unfamiliar road and my tension level was high. That said, I still had no trouble keeping up with the guy in front of me who knew the road and was driving a modded MCS...

The standing water issue was more a complaint from my g/f. She hated the Z1's on the 'vert compared to the Goodyear GSD3's on her DD MCS. Those tires are freakin amazing in the rain.

I've argued for autocrossing your DD as a noob for this reason - you can pay attention to the course and driving correctly rather than adding an unfamiliar car to the mix. I was ultimately faster in the MINI than the TDI, but my first couple of runs in the MINI were usually "throwaway runs" as I got used to the car again.

sachilles wrote: The width will be noticable if you go with a 225/50 16 vs the 205/55. The 225 on the 6.5 rims feel very vague.

I figured that would be the case. Unless I can trade these wheels for the RS wheels even up, new rims are not in the picture.

Anyone want to trade?

If you want to run it in Stock/RTA you can't change the control arms or wheel sizes.

You can change the camber bolts though. Go to the 14mm ones I think. I think the wheels are ok under update/backdate rules.

moxnix wrote: If you want to run it in Stock/RTA you can't change the control arms or wheel sizes.

I think the wheels are OK in Stock. If I change the control arms they will also be used OEM Subaru pieces, just from a sedan not a wagon... and even if not technically legal, the car is so outclassed in GS that she'll never get protested. I'm just trying to make it more fun to drive for her.

Unless the wheels are the same size/width as stock for your car they are not legal for SCCA stock/RT. Unless those OEM pieces are sold as OEM replacement parts for your car (Not the sedan version. the wagon version) they are not legal either. I keep trying to find the rule that says it's ok to cheat as long as your car is not "competitive" but I can't find it.

There is no update/backdate in SCCA stock class.

If all you care about is making it fun to drive then run it in the class where it is legal for.

No, it's not legal, thanks for the detailed explanation of what I already knew. Point taken. We run with a very informal group. If the car was even remotely in contention, I would never consider the changes I am without moving to the proper class.

Put me in the camp that says 'If you're not even close to winning your class, you can fudge some mods and i really dont give a E36 M3.'