Looking for Tires is a Royal Pain in the
 

So I have been looking for a new DD +track day on the side tire. I started with a range of sizes and nearly lost my mind keeping track of it all because every place I go to has different sizes, load ratings, and tread wear then the manufacturer. Because of this I just set my size goal to 275/35 and 305/30 ~1% difference in diameter.

Anyway I narrowed it down to 2 choices (Feel free to recommend something if you want)
Michelin Pilot Super Sport 96Y 300AAA & XL 102Y 300AAA $1,320
Continental ExtremeContact DW 100Y 340AAA & 102Y 340AAA $1,068
Hankook Ventus R-S3 V2 96W 200AA & XL 102W 200AA $1,266

It seems the Conti ones are just as good or better then Mich ones and are noticeably less expensive. What do you think?

Hankook RS3 V2 is a great track tire, and totally fine for street duty as well, and definitely a better tire than those two listed. I've driven on the highway in moderately heavy rainfall on my half worn RS3s without any problems.

Also, with stock wheels/suspension, I think you'll be happier with the balance on a square setup (275F/275R), and you'll be able to wear them more evenly by rotating/flipping.

Edit: Oh, you have a NISMO so wider wheels and a bit stiffer. I don't have any firsthand experience with a NISMO, but I'd imagine the balance with stock suspension isn't much different from the sport package. I would still go with a 275s on all corners if it were me.

Thanks, I'll look into those, I will probably be switching out the suspension soon.

KW Variant 3 Coilover Kit
White Line Front Sway bar - 27mm heavy duty blade adjustable
White Line Rear Sway bar - 24mm heavy duty blade adjustable
White Line KLC141 Sway bar - link assembly Rear Adjustable
Nismo Chassis Brace Kit
GTSPEC 6 Points Ladder Brace
GTSPEC 2 Point Rear Lower Brace
GTSPEC Front 4 Point Ladder Brace
But that's another discussion =P

Where are you finding those prices? I'm looking now for stock Nismo wheels remember 19" not 18" unless you have aftermarket. I ran RE-11 in 265/35/19 Front and 305/30/19 rear all last rear with the majority of that time on the track or commute to and from. Really good tire and my rears still have a bunch of tread on them. I wore the outside shoulder about mid season on the fronts and had to by new ones.

I'm currently trying to switch to a track only 18" set up and have been looking at the Toyo R1A and the Nitto NT-01 for my first foray into the 100 UTQC category.

The Bf Goodrich Rival is adored by our local Auto x club and this year they make a 285/35/19 for around $300 a tire "Tirerack" I have no experience with them though. RS3 is supposed to be "THE TIRE" to get but, they are on back order until April Mar time frame.

For me if the 18" setup doesn't pan out then I can run a few events on my RE-11's and I will go to the Rival or RS3 to try something different. If I go 18" the skys the limit as far as choices are concerned.

I love my PSS 's for street use but they are not a great autox tire. They fall off pretty fast one you start getting a lot of heat in them. If you don't daily the Z then I would stick with just the Rivals or RS3s. I plan on using rivals this season as soon as I have the funds for a dedicated tack set up.

Tirerack or onlinetires

Ok mis read the conti s thought they were the contact extream for like 400 when I looked. Oh BTW even though tire rack doesn't show the rivials 19" I called and they do have the 285/35/19 in stock which I think is the only 19" they offer in Rivals.

I DD and tracked PSS's for 2 two years. 275/35-19 and 325/30/19. 10,000 miles and 18 trackdays. The PSS's are good until they got hot. Depending on outside temps. I could go between 20 to 25 minutes of a 30 minute session before they would get greasy. When they got greasy. You could feel them. Which is a good thing, because they told you what was about to happen.

Corner 3 garage or martin82 on these forums should be able to get you a set of Rs3's for 1K shipped(don't quote me but it should be close to that).

I made this chart for myself in my trackday binder, it might be of assistance to you:

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5ygydxmj.jpg

Sorry I got lazy and havent finished it or redone it like I planned. Please excuse the poor handwriting and crude drawing you can see from the reverse page haha
http://s1119.photobucket.com/user/na...tml?sort=3&o=1

Good luck getting those RS-3 275/35/19s for the front anytime soon....they've been on back order a few months already and according to tirerack they won't be available till the end of April :(

:iagree:

I have the DW for a street tire and love them, had the super sport on the rear of my crossfire and they preformed well on the street but got worn out faster then I hoped. The DW is a great all around tire but I wouldn't autocross those, I have rivals 285 square and think that's a great set up. If you can still find them kumho XS had a285 that I think was the best street/track/autocross tire. Best advice I can give though is get a second set of rims for track tires

Thanks all, too bad about the back order on the R-S3v2, first track day weekend of the year is mid April and I am sure my current tires wont last the weekend. Thank you ValidusVentus, I made a spreadsheet very similar to that, I might just keep working and expanding it and create a tire info thread so people don't have go go looking. I do want to get a dedicated track wheel/tire setup, I don't think I'm at that level yet, maybe next year.

Here are a few impressions from the tires I have used:

Mich PSS: Great street tire that also works very well on track. Best dry and wet grip out there. Pricey. Good heat capacity but will get greasy with track use on hot/sunny days (90+). Moderate low temp performance.

S-04 Pole Positions: Very good street tire, only slightly less grippy than the PSS. Relatively poor heat capacity. More than just a couple laps on an autocross course in mild weather and they got greasy. I would not track these on a dry track. Good wet performance and low temp performance though. Of note, small section/tread width (visually noticeable on vehicle) and 4-5 lbs heavier/corner than a PSS. Very good bang for the buck street tire.

Continental DW: softer sidewall, less feel but otherwise pretty similar to the S-04s. No track experience.

I recently got to drive a stock Nismo as full tilt and it does have quite a bit of understeer (seemed more than base/sport), crisper handling though of course. I second a more square setup. Just try to keep your tire outside diameters the same to avoid messing with the speedo and your F/R brake torque balance.