Best tires for STU class? - Mitsubishi Evolution Forums: Mitsubishi Lancer Forum

Lumpskie · 09-29-2008, 12:13 PM

I posted this in the autocross forum, but I'm not sure if anyone checks that any more.

So... next year I think I want to run in the STU class, but I'll have to ditch the V710s. I've been looking into the Toyo R1Rs and the Dunlop Direzza Z1s (are any other tires better?). Does anyone have any suggestions as to which tire would work best in STU? I'll be running them on stock evo8 wheels. If anyone has any experience in STU, or any knowledge, I'd appreciate your inpute!

(FYI: STU requires tires with a treadwear rating of 140 or higher)

Justin

mainline · 09-30-2008, 05:43 AM

The ones that wartalon was running I think were really good ask him.

Lumpskie · 09-30-2008, 05:55 AM

Hey Warr,

Are you running the Dunlops? I'm starting to lean towards those... Also do you run STU?

Warrtalon · 09-30-2008, 06:37 AM

I run SM, since I'm too heavily-modded for STU, and I use 285/30-18 slicks. In STU, you are limited to 245-width tires as an AWD car, so the best you can get is the 245/40 or 245/45 Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec (Star Spec is key). Next in line are the Bridgestone RE-01Rs that are much more expensive, so the Z1s are the best value.

You may want to also go to scca.com and browse to the national championships results to see the tires used by the top STU finishers. I heard that maybe an RE-01R car won STU, but that was just hearsay. I haven't looked myself...

Lumpskie · 09-30-2008, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warrtalon

I run SM, since I'm too heavily-modded for STU, and I use 285/30-18 slicks. In STU, you are limited to 245-width tires as an AWD car, so the best you can get is the 245/40 or 245/45 Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec (Star Spec is key). Next in line are the Bridgestone RE-01Rs that are much more expensive, so the Z1s are the best value.

You may want to also go to scca.com and browse to the national championships results to see the tires used by the top STU finishers. I heard that maybe an RE-01R car won STU, but that was just hearsay. I haven't looked myself...

Thanks for the info, man.

Yeah, RE-01R did win.. but the Z1s were 2nd through 5th, I believe. I found the star specs for 135 per tire on Tire rack... pretty flippin cheap tires! Don't have the money for them now... but come next year, I think I'll go with these.

Warr... do you know if they will hold up to an occasional track day? I was hoping to get into the NASA HPDE scene a little...

Warrtalon · 09-30-2008, 03:09 PM

Absolutely...they will last a lot longer than actual race tires but will also outperform any other street tire. They are considered superior to the RE-01Rs (and all other 140+ tires) for road course action, too.

russjnco · 09-30-2008, 05:17 PM

Dunlop and Yokohama Neova are the two best STU tires right now. The Toyo is too soft in terms of sidewall and the re01r is a good tire but kind of vague with good steady state cornering grip. They also don't handle heat very well. Yes, Bridgestone did win Solo Nationals but it did set up nicely for that tire. Short course, single driver, and courses that weren't too heavy on quick transitions. All the things that kill it on normal courses. Bridgestone was first, Neova second and Dunlop cars were third through tenth. I ran on the Dunlops and finished 5th, a half second out of first so it's not like the Dunlops were boat raced. They're a good tire, inexpensive and fun to drive on. I ran the Neovas last year and the first part of this year until swithing. The biggest difference for me was that the Dunlops are more forgiving.

Hope that helps.

Lumpskie · 10-01-2008, 05:39 AM

Thanks for the info, guys. I know what to ask for Christmas now! Do you guys have any suggestions on the best place to buy them. Like I said earlier, I found 245 45 17s on Tirerack.com for $135 a piece... just wanted to know if you guys knew of anything better...

russjnco · 10-01-2008, 05:43 AM

The Tirerack is the best, discount will match but that's a damn good price.

BTW, you want the 245/40/17 size and not the 245/45 for STU. The price on those is $148 compared to the $135 price of the 245/45's. Still pretty good.

Lumpskie · 10-01-2008, 10:18 AM

Russjnco,

Thanks for the info. Do you think that the size difference is worth the price?

russjnco · 10-01-2008, 10:23 AM

If you're truly buying these to run in STU then yes, the difference is worth the price. I think there were a number of people who tried the 245/45 experiment last year and they found out the 245/40's are clearly faster.

Lumpskie · 10-01-2008, 12:43 PM

alright, 245 40 it is. I'm an autocross noob, so I'll need all the help I can get!

Thanks!

RanE5 · 10-07-2008, 08:27 PM

Ive had a chance to drive on almost all of the top ST tires at auto-x's (save the toyos) and the dunlops are overall the best, to reiterate Clay and Russ. Auto-x is a good time for how cheap it is, youll have fun. Check the RM solo website for winter events too, if you get tires anytime soon.

Have you done any mods to your evo?

Lumpskie · 10-09-2008, 06:33 AM

Yeah, I've modded the evo a bit. I've been running BSP (in CA and here) because my friend sold me his stock evo 8 wheels with 710s on them. I'm not competitive in that class for obvious reasons.

My mods are:

Drop in filter
Down pipe, HFC, Catback
MBC
Tune
coilovers w/ camber plates

Powerwise, I'm making 303whp and 330wtq

russjnco · 10-09-2008, 08:03 AM

For STU you will have to lose the MBC, everything else is legal. It will be good to have another Evo competing in STU locally, it's a good class!