need wheels/tires, ...autocrossing Options

[Schnell944]

hey all. I'm getting my car ready for the autocross season and am new to the 914 scene. i was wondering what you guys consider from experience to be a good, relatively low budget, autocross wheel/tire setup. im prob. looking to buy used, and yes, ill be looking at the classifides here....i just would like some background info to help me with the choice....and if anyone knows of a set available please let me know! thanks! btw, this is a '72 914 1.7L w/o any mods.

Ryan Z

[Dave_Darling]

Do you have two sets of wheels so you can swap to "race tires" and then back to "street tires"? Are you running in a class that requires "street tires", or just "DOT-rated tires"?

If you have two sets of wheels and can use DOT-rated "sticky" tires, those offer by far the best grip. They're pretty poor as street tires, as they don't last and are uncomfortable and loud, and can be dangerous in the wet and disastrous if you ever hit snow. The A032Rs are the least sticky of the sticky-tire set but last by far the longest. They're fine for learning on. The Kumho Victoracers are the least expensive, middling grip, and middling lifespan. Hoosiers are expensive, don't last at all, and grip like crazy! I don't know who's running BFG R1s any more...

For a "street tire", the Azenis is one of the kings of dry grip. The only real competition that I've read of for it costs quite a bit more. They don't last as long as most street tires, but a lot longer than the "sticky" tires. And there are other good options for street-type tires as well, but the Azenis seem to be a really good way to go for cheap traction.

--DD