[kevkaz]

I swapped out my RFTs today and kept the old tires, thought maybe someone would want to pick up what's left of them. I am in the NW Chicago suburbs.

The fronts (225) have about 1/4" of tread depth. The rears are pretty worn, down to about 3/16" left. Yeah, not much, but I thought I'd throw it out there. If interested, PM me an offer.

-kevkaz

[bimmerpath]

What did you replace them with?

P.S. I am the sparkling graphite 335 with sstt at autocross

[kevkaz]

Originally Posted by bimmerpath

What did you replace them with?

P.S. I am the sparkling graphite 335 with sstt at autocross

I threw on some Toyo Proxes R888 for autocross and track, they are R compounds. These seem to be the only tires that match the OEM size (225/255), and since I was no longer using my 18"s I thought I'd give them a try. Another excuse was that this would prolong the life of my PS2s on the M6 reps that I was on at the last autocross.

There happens to be a perfect 'test autocross' lot nearby, and I just threw them on 30 min ago to heat cycle them once. Tires are definitely broken in now... There's a big difference between the R888 and PS2s, thats for sure. Either the R888s make much less noise in turns, or I was just not pushing the car hard enough. Where I expected understeer, there was none, the car almost seemed more neutral. I could get the back end to come around but I really had to push it.

In regular driving the tires are by far the noisiest I've ever had, but given their treadlife of 100, you probably wouldn't drive these on the street. I bought some of the tire totes from tire rack and will throw them in my car & change at the events. You can fit all 4 in the 335 if you fold the seats down and move the front seat all the way up.

Are you (and anyone else) going to the BMWCCA event @ Tire Rack Sunday? I will be there, just Sunday though.

- kevkaz

[bimmerpath]

I had forgotten that you had the 19 in. reps - I like your use of the OEM's for track days.

Unfortunately I am unable to make the event, I really wanted to go, but had other commitments.

You will have to report on your times from the Tire Rack event - good luck!!

[kevkaz]

Originally Posted by bimmerpath

I had forgotten that you had the 19 in. reps - I like your use of the OEM's for track days.

Unfortunately I am unable to make the event, I really wanted to go, but had other commitments.

You will have to report on your times from the Tire Rack event - good luck!!

Thanks! Maybe I'm setting the bar too high, but I'd at least like to finish in the top third, I was close to doing that at the first event. Tires should help a ton, they add 7 points which is one of the biggest adjustments that exist in the list. I'll let you know how it goes.

I might get some in-car video too. My friend with the Grey Mini bought a HD vid camera and mount that attaches to the headrest, I should be able to throw it in my car for a few of the runs.

Hopefully you'll make some of the other events later in the year!

[kevkaz]

So I've come to learn that driving on R tires is a whole new ballgame... it took me a few runs to adjust. Unfortunately I didn't make it on Saturday (fun runs) so my first few runs on Sunday were rather poor. I did improve significantly the second time around, middle of the pack overall. The course at Tire Rack was tough, that's a great place to run though. While the tires have more grip, there's much less warning on when traction goes, and when it does, you can get into a heap of trouble pretty quick if you aren't expecting it. Now I know exactly why BMWCCA doesn't allow novices to run R compunds... I didn't spin out, but I wasn't far from it.

I would definitely not drive on a high speed track with R tires without having a good deal more experience on the track first!!!

Anyways, back to the original topic, is there anyone interested in some used tires???

[kevkaz]

Also I'll post a few vids in a week or two. I captured 3 runs from inside the car with my buddy's camera and mount, but I won't get a chance to hook up with him and get the videos for a week or two.

[bimmerpath]

Can't wait for the videos...

I had heard the same thing about R compounds. If you don't sell your tires by the end of the summer, check with me, I may have worn through my set by then - :-)

[kevkaz]

Hey, all of you new Windy City BMW guys, sign up for Autocross III now... registration opened this week and there is already 30 of 85 filled. The first one at Maywood was completely full and the one at Tire Rack in South Bend had even more people. There is a link from the windycitybmw website.

(I know this is OT but it serves as a nice 'bump' as well).