200 UTQG Tires for DD
 

Hey guys, planning on taking my car ('02 5spd Corolla) to track events for the first time this summer. Already have all the suspension sorted out (springs, struts, poly bushings), but now I need some advice with my first set of summer tires ever (205/50R15).

Given that I'll be using the car for DD purposes 95% of the time, does it make any sense to get a very sticky tire for street/highway driving? How quickly will say, an RT615K+ or RE71R wear when being used as a street tire for mostly highway use?

Cost-wise, stickier tires are very similar to something that's not as sticky with higher treadwear, say Conti ECS or DZ102, so I don't mind stepping up a performance category for something more sticky, but not if I have to replace my summer tires every year. I'd be swapping out the summers for winters as soon as the temps drop.

I'd like to hear some experiences of people using sticky tires for mostly DD purposes in the summer with the occasional track/autox use.

For your usage, I'd recommend buying some Conti ECS from Tire Rack. They'll be far more comfortable than either RT615K+ or RE71R, likely wears better for street use, and only give up maybe 5% of the ultimate grip in the dry. In the wet, they'll be on par or better than the 200TW tires. For what it is worth, I am running some Conti ECS on my daily / autox car, and I absolutely love the tire. It is grippy, communicative, has a broad and gradual breakaway characteristic, so it is a very easy tire to drive.

I don't like having RE71R for track use because the tire just wears way too fast under those conditions. They are cheap to buy, but securing stock locally is often difficult. They are fanstically grippy though, and at least when they are new-ish, I find them to be communicative and very easy to drive as well.

I have ridden on RT615K+ at both the track and at autox, and love it for its grip levels. It is no RE71R (in terms of grip), but it doesn't seem to wear nearly as fast as the RE71R either. I haven't tried it for street use yet, so I can't comment on the everyday civility when it gets used on a daily. Judging from past experience though (with various older RE615 tires that kept the same tread pattern), I can't imagine the latest K+ version being as comfortable / quiet as the ECS.

Sorry I have nothing to add to this thread.

BUT

I'm super excited to see that you want to track this thing!

I'll be waving every single person through.

Might as well just tape one of these on the car :lawl:
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....bL._SY355_.jpg

Will be curious to see if I'm faster than the Miatas.

Continental ECS for sure

An equally important issue in addition to the tire is your wheel size. How wide is the wheel you plan on using? With a 205/50/15 tire, I really wouldn't recommend anything narrower than a 7" wide wheel. Depending on the tire (model) that you plan on buying, the sweet spot for wheel size would likely be 7.5" or 8".

It'll be a 6.5" wide wheel. I've seen photos of both the ECS and RT615K+ on 6.5" wide wheels, the sidewalls are actually quite flat, unlike that of the SC2 which runs super wide and bulges out pretty far on a 6.5" wide wheel.

I could run 8" however on my car, in order to have the wheels fit under the fenders I'd have to run around 2.5 degs or more of negative camber. Having run that much camber on my last car (albeit 1000lbs+ heavier than my current car) and using it for DD duties (around 100km/day at least 4-5 days a week), it was too much, and I got crazy camber wear even with zero or close to zero toe. I wore out a set of 450tw tires in around 20,000kms :badpokerface:

I agree with everything above, but just want to add that I have dailied the Azenis on two different vehicles (e30 / miata) and they lasted longer than expected. Grip levels in the wet were also above what I expected. That being said these were on light vehicles and I wasn’t putting in huge commute km’s either.

According to Tire Rack reviews and other owners sharing info online, the RT615K and RT615K+ don't wear anywhere near as quickly as the Star Specs or RE71R on a car under 2500lb. My car is just under that number, should be around 2450 or so.

Yeah if you had to pick one tire for first track days and street tires, price out the difference for some pilot super sports (or the new pilot 4s). Depending on the size the azenis aren’t much cheaper

Edit: just looked again at your size. Yeah I don’t think they make MPSS that small. Although that’s the same size I ran on the mists/e30. Loved that tire... and they stretch well! 15x10.5 :p

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8310/...a6ab0c0c_z.jpg
Generated from my Apple iPhone using tools.rackonly.com

Alright, I think I'm going with the ECS, will order tonight from Discount Tire Direct and take advantage of that 15% off everything coupon on eBay. A set of ECS in 205/50R15 comes to around $400 CAD only :fullofwin:

A set of ECS in that sizing here costs nearly $700 CAD after taxes :heckno: