I want to stay in stock class, money is a factor

 

What series is it you are running in? Are you looking for an R compound or just a good street tire?

 

This is mainly time trails & autocross, I am planning on getting another set of rims so a R compound is OK

 

I like the Yokohama A032R's They can be run at 6/32" and can be remounted "inside out", or so that what was the outside on the right side is now the inside on the left side for longer use out of them.

 

I'm hearing good things about the new Hankook. And of course both Kumho's are pretty good all purpose R types. Hoosier at the autox but can't speak about them on our car for roadracing.

One roadracer not on the .org is David Efflandt.
http://www.autox.chicago.il.us/autox/
He'll probably have some opinions on both rubber and weak points on the Maxima.

 

I have yet to put R compounds on my max, the season has ended here and I didn't have enough money this season but here's what I've learned in my research:

Hoosiers-by far the stickiest and lightest but only last for like 30-45 minutes, not the tire you're looking for unless you have alot of money to burn

Toyo RA1- they suck for an R compound, but they suck for a very very long time, meaning they are a good value. not the stickiest R out there but one of the longest lasting and still a significant improvement over Z rated tires

Yok A032R- now they have an H and S compound for hard and soft, but another long lasting R compound that can be driven to the track if necessary

Kumho Victoracer- a classic R compound... doesn't really do anything extremely well but does all things well enough to be used over and over again

Kumho V700- not as sticky as the Victo but longer lasting, more in the streetable R compound class

Not sure if this info helps you any as I noticed you said you already have a race car so you may know all of this already. I don't have any firsthand experience as of yet with Rs on the max so it's all I could offer. Good luck

 

Wow, that's a great write-up Neal. Everything you pointed out is pretty much what I've heard as well. I guess you need to chose from those criteria. It all depends what you want. The main reason I want race tires is to keep my street ones from getting ripped up in an afternoon. I also like them to last a while since it costs me nearly 50 bucks everytime I want to change tires on rims, not counting the tire cost. Others don't care about all that and just want the most grip they can get. I want that too, but just can't justify spending that kind of cash.

 

Looks like Hankook will have R-compound tires. Can't tell if they're
DOT. Ventus Z211. Several sizes soon. Looks like the Miata cup guys are using them already. Anyone know if they are being used in SoloII yet? http://www.hankooktireusa.com./index0.html

 

Great info, but what size tire are people running on stock 16" rims?

By far Hoosiers are the best but not for the money, I run Nitto Extreme 555R II on the Vette but they only come in 275 40/ 17

 

Yeah I have heard from some F body guys I've been at the track with the Extreme 555R II is a great tire and they swear by them, but I didn't mention them because of the fact they come in only one size

As far as stock 16" rims I'd probably go with a 225-55-16 unless you have a favorite track that you always go to and for some reason need a specifically larger or smaller gear ratio in order to avoid having to make a certain shift. I have aftermarket 17" wheels (and the brakes to fill them, thats why I didn't ever look at 15" R compounds) so I haven't looked into the stock sizing options much.

 

As soon as my crap OEM's are bald (which won't take long) I'm going with Falkens 512.

 

Why not pick up a set of used wheels for race use only (probably for less than $50 each) and get your "race" tires mounted on them? That way there's less stress on both sets of tires - and your wallet - in the long run.

 

I think my first venture on R compounds is going to be the Kumho Victoracers. Predictable, Grippy, rather long lasting, and not too expensive. And they will still be a heck of a thrill after so much time on street tires. Just my 2 cents.