it seems the best spot for the S is in stock or STR and that is what i'm mostly seeing in this board. however, a friend of mine will be lending me his car which is an AP1 with eibach pro kit springs, koni yellows, tanabe sway bars front and rear, and a final drive (not sure the actual spec). i will be driving the car basically as is (i dont want to be modding or de-modding his car), only thing i can do is wheel and tire selection. i was just wondering what would be the best class for me to run in and also what should i do about tires? I know i'm out of stock class for sure, and i believe the final drive would put me out of STR as well which means i'll probably be looking for some Kumho V710 because they last longer? recommended specs? 16s or 17s? stagger or not? thanks in advance!

 

Final drive does put you out of STR and i believe into SSM (someone else can confirm)... in either case if you are new to this just drive it as is for now to learn, if you've been at it for a while and are looking to be competitive, get the widest wheels you can fit with the widest hoosiers you can fit. THat said, the stock final drive is about perfect for autox so anything shorter will be more of a hinderance than a help.

 

Pretty broad question.

Depends on:
Budget
Distance to events
Goals at events
Level of competition
Level of your driving

If you're borrowing a car, I'd stick to street tires. Less chance for breakage. And you won't be competitive in SSM unless the competition is really weak. So just work on your driving and have fun!

 

thanks guys! SSM might be a good way to go, my friend suggested EM but that didn't seem right so i wanted to check.

been autocrossing seriously (competitively in my region) for 5-6 years, 3 years in an STU RX8, 2 years in a CSP miata, and am just kind of getting out of it. I still want to do it for fun and primarily just want to experience new car styles. i actually had my heart set on an MR-S, Elise, or Exige since i've got no experience with mid-engine driving, but haven't been able to find a car and my friend offered up his S for me to drive in the mean time. im not looking to be competitive in it, just have some fun in a new and different car. one thing i found surprising is that V710s are cheaper than RE11s so SSM is probably where i'll be. i may end up just borrowing some of my friend's spare rims and buying tires for those. he has a set of stock AP1 rims as well as some 17x8/9. at that point the cost difference is small, i was wondering if you guys are going stagger or same tire all the way around? i was thinking 245/40/17 all around, or 225 front and 245 rear?

ive always wanted an S2000, so i may eventually pick one up and set it up for STR just keeping my options open for now

thanks again!

 

STR guys run 255 all around and BS guys run 275 all around on CR's... non-staggered tends to be the way to go.

 

awesome, that's what i like to hear. i was just curious if perhaps the specific setup of this car might change that (mainly the tanabe front and rear sway bars). would it be weird to run 245s all around but on 8 wide fronts and 9 wide rears? =X

 

Ive used to do that. I was in 18x8 and 18x8.5 runnin 245s. No one even noticed.

 

PM'd the OP.

 

Technically you're not allowed in STR, but I'd personally put on STR wheels and tires and try to get into a class that runs the same time as STR and you can compare times on your own with STR - the car will probably be pretty even with a typical locally prepped STR car.

Then if you start getting serious about it you could always swap the final drive for a stocker and you have an STR car.