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You probably already know this, but tires are probably one of the most important parts of tuning your car for drifting. I learned on skinny, hard tires and eventually worked my way up to wider, stickier tires with a smaller sidewall. Use this thread to let everyone post what kind of tires they are using and their experiences with these tires. Alot of people steal used tires from the tireshops trash bins (I used to do it alot!! hehe) because they are FREE. Good stuff to learn on. But I would like to keep this thread more oriented toward what types of tire changes have you done and what differences did you feel while drifting. And remember sizes and brands aren't everything, if you have more info, please share
I'll go first.
Fronts:
----------
Started on:
Size: 195/60/r15's
Make: Generic - Star Performance
Compound: Hard
Construction: Steel Belt
Now use:
Size: 255/45/zr17
Make: Kuhmo 712's
Compound: Medium
Construction: Steel Belt
Rears:
----------
Started on:
Size: 195/60/r15's
Make: Generic - Star Performance
Compound: Hard
Construction: Steel Belt
Now use:
Size: 225/60/r15
Make: BF Goodrich Comp T/A
Compound: Medium
Construction: Kevlar Belt
At first, the 195/60/r15 tires seemed great. It was very easy to use weight transfer to kick the rear out at around 20-40 mph. I noticed the front tires were not gripping very well, sometimes I did not have the control I wanted. I could tell by the way the front tire was marked that the 60 sidewall caused too much flex. Combined with a very lame camber setting, the outsides of the sidewall were getting destroyed. I needed something in front with less sidewall (less flex) and more traction (wider). So I decided to use my 17's on the front and the 15's on the rear. This helped alot with more traction in the front and less flex, but the rear was still very easy to kick out. Perfect! Around this time, I decided that steel belted tires were not a good idea on the rear of my car. The steel belts would damage the wheelwell and wrap around the axle when the tires blow up. So I decided to move up to a kevlar belted tire. Kevlar belts dont destroy the wheelwell when they come loose. They just make a 'clunk clunk' noise that lets you know its time to slap on a new set. Kevlar belted tires are a higher quality, so the compound moved from hard to medium and the size went from 195 to 225. It was now a little harder to kick the car out, but much easier to control. I solved the issue by going harder and faster (45 - 80 mph) Now this setup works great for me.
I'll go first.
Fronts:
----------
Started on:
Size: 195/60/r15's
Make: Generic - Star Performance
Compound: Hard
Construction: Steel Belt
Now use:
Size: 255/45/zr17
Make: Kuhmo 712's
Compound: Medium
Construction: Steel Belt
Rears:
----------
Started on:
Size: 195/60/r15's
Make: Generic - Star Performance
Compound: Hard
Construction: Steel Belt
Now use:
Size: 225/60/r15
Make: BF Goodrich Comp T/A
Compound: Medium
Construction: Kevlar Belt
At first, the 195/60/r15 tires seemed great. It was very easy to use weight transfer to kick the rear out at around 20-40 mph. I noticed the front tires were not gripping very well, sometimes I did not have the control I wanted. I could tell by the way the front tire was marked that the 60 sidewall caused too much flex. Combined with a very lame camber setting, the outsides of the sidewall were getting destroyed. I needed something in front with less sidewall (less flex) and more traction (wider). So I decided to use my 17's on the front and the 15's on the rear. This helped alot with more traction in the front and less flex, but the rear was still very easy to kick out. Perfect! Around this time, I decided that steel belted tires were not a good idea on the rear of my car. The steel belts would damage the wheelwell and wrap around the axle when the tires blow up. So I decided to move up to a kevlar belted tire. Kevlar belts dont destroy the wheelwell when they come loose. They just make a 'clunk clunk' noise that lets you know its time to slap on a new set. Kevlar belted tires are a higher quality, so the compound moved from hard to medium and the size went from 195 to 225. It was now a little harder to kick the car out, but much easier to control. I solved the issue by going harder and faster (45 - 80 mph) Now this setup works great for me.
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