The STX thread!
08-11-2010, 08:48 PM
#1278
Row faster, I hear banjos
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Yeah, I'm still way underprepped to consider making the trip. Next year...
Best of luck in Lincoln folks. It's nice to see STX leading the ST classes with the highest number of entries!
Best of luck in Lincoln folks. It's nice to see STX leading the ST classes with the highest number of entries!
08-11-2010, 09:52 PM
#1279
Thanks, Chike.
Has anybody read the latest GRM? They tested 3 sizes of Star Specs on their STR MX-5 project car, and the lighter, narrower, shorter tire (245/40-17) was quicker than both the 255/40-17 and 255/35-18 sizes they tested.
I do believe the 245 had the lightest wheel in the test, so perhaps it was a bit unfair, but it is an interesting result.
Has anybody read the latest GRM? They tested 3 sizes of Star Specs on their STR MX-5 project car, and the lighter, narrower, shorter tire (245/40-17) was quicker than both the 255/40-17 and 255/35-18 sizes they tested.
I do believe the 245 had the lightest wheel in the test, so perhaps it was a bit unfair, but it is an interesting result.
08-11-2010, 11:03 PM
#1280
Row faster, I hear banjos
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Next season I'll be back on 255's, however, I plan on giving the Star Specs a try. While the RS-3's are great in the dry, I don't feel they are the best tire for a "single driver" car over 3 runs. 1st run is a throw away, and if you happen to be in a large heat (or run on a cooler day), all of your runs could end up being throw-aways!
08-11-2010, 11:35 PM
#1281
Although, on a short, super tight course it just might be the better tire. Or maybe at cooler temps, etc.
FWIW, we did an informal test of the 265 Bridgestones vs. some 255 Yoks. The Yoks were practically brand-new and shaved, on light 17s. The 'stones had a good amount of heat cycles & wear on them, although still not optimum tread depth, on my 18" SSRs.
The course was very non-technical and easy to drive consistently. My last two runs on the 'stones in the morning were within .050 of each other, if I recall correctly.
In the afternoon, I could never quite match my times on the 255 Yoks - I was about .2 slower than my morning times on the 'stones. But, that could have easily been driver fatigue (it wasn't the first time I was slightly slower in the afternoon) or maybe I just wasn't pushing the Yoks correctly. But, while the test was imperfect and inconclusive, I'm fairly confident that there isn't a half-second waiting for me if I simply switch to 17s (we were hoping, though - who wouldn't want to find more speed in a cheaper tire?).
The only really obvious difference to me, subjectively speaking, was that I liked the braking better on the 18" 'stones.
08-11-2010, 11:38 PM
#1282
Seems like the Dunlop's are somewhat the opposite for me. This past weekend out of 6 runs, my first run of a 42.8 +1 was my fastest scratch time. I was running consistant 43.0's the rest of the day.
I'm not sure if the tire's are getting too hot, it was about 90 degrees outside, or if I just have my pressure's off.
I usually start at 36 all around, fronts get to 40-41, rears usually 39. I'll lower it to 39F/37R and keep it there. The car feels better once I do that but the times do not show it...
Discuss!
I'm not sure if the tire's are getting too hot, it was about 90 degrees outside, or if I just have my pressure's off.
I usually start at 36 all around, fronts get to 40-41, rears usually 39. I'll lower it to 39F/37R and keep it there. The car feels better once I do that but the times do not show it...
Discuss!
08-12-2010, 08:36 AM
#1284
Row faster, I hear banjos
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FWIW, we did an informal test of the 265 Bridgestones vs. some 255 Yoks. The Yoks were practically brand-new and shaved, on light 17s. The 'stones had a good amount of heat cycles & wear on them, although still not optimum tread depth, on my 18" SSRs.
The course was very non-technical and easy to drive consistently. My last two runs on the 'stones in the morning were within .050 of each other, if I recall correctly.
In the afternoon, I could never quite match my times on the 255 Yoks - I was about .2 slower than my morning times on the 'stones. But, that could have easily been driver fatigue (it wasn't the first time I was slightly slower in the afternoon) or maybe I just wasn't pushing the Yoks correctly. But, while the test was imperfect and inconclusive, I'm fairly confident that there isn't a half-second waiting for me if I simply switch to 17s (we were hoping, though - who wouldn't want to find more speed in a cheaper tire?).
The only really obvious difference to me, subjectively speaking, was that I liked the braking better on the 18" 'stones.
The course was very non-technical and easy to drive consistently. My last two runs on the 'stones in the morning were within .050 of each other, if I recall correctly.
In the afternoon, I could never quite match my times on the 255 Yoks - I was about .2 slower than my morning times on the 'stones. But, that could have easily been driver fatigue (it wasn't the first time I was slightly slower in the afternoon) or maybe I just wasn't pushing the Yoks correctly. But, while the test was imperfect and inconclusive, I'm fairly confident that there isn't a half-second waiting for me if I simply switch to 17s (we were hoping, though - who wouldn't want to find more speed in a cheaper tire?).
The only really obvious difference to me, subjectively speaking, was that I liked the braking better on the 18" 'stones.
Btw, I agree 100% on your thoughts about running a 245 on a RX-8. The larger 255 would definitely provide more heat resistance and the RX-8 already gets a huge gearing advantage from running a 255/40/17 over our stock tire size (~4%).
P.S. Quite frankly, I'm enjoying running my RX-8 in STX so much that I may stick with this car & class for another 2 years.
08-12-2010, 09:05 AM
#1285
Row faster, I hear banjos
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Seems like the Dunlop's are somewhat the opposite for me. This past weekend out of 6 runs, my first run of a 42.8 +1 was my fastest scratch time. I was running consistant 43.0's the rest of the day.
I'm not sure if the tire's are getting too hot, it was about 90 degrees outside, or if I just have my pressure's off.
I usually start at 36 all around, fronts get to 40-41, rears usually 39. I'll lower it to 39F/37R and keep it there. The car feels better once I do that but the times do not show it...
Discuss!
I'm not sure if the tire's are getting too hot, it was about 90 degrees outside, or if I just have my pressure's off.
I usually start at 36 all around, fronts get to 40-41, rears usually 39. I'll lower it to 39F/37R and keep it there. The car feels better once I do that but the times do not show it...
Discuss!
One reason the Star Specs do so well in the wet, is that they work well with little to no heat in them. If I was running Star Specs, I'd spray them...often. I haven't driven an RX-8 on them, but I have driven a STS miata, and I also found that they worked best for me, with a small to moderate amount of heat in them. Once they started feeling hot to the touch, performance and times fell off noticeably.
You may get some use out of the following info... While Andy Hollis tested these tires on his ST Civic si, this data could still serve as a useful starting point when deciding what pressures to run. He posted this info on miata.net after the latest GRM tire test:
Originally Posted by Andy Hollis
AD08 - 28, though you can go up 8 lbs w/o much loss, which may help feel.
Dunlop - 40, up or down up to 4 lbs w/o too much loss
Falken - 44, down up to 8 lbs w/o much loss
RS3 - 40-44
XS - 40, up or down 4 lbs w/o much loss
Dunlop - 40, up or down up to 4 lbs w/o too much loss
Falken - 44, down up to 8 lbs w/o much loss
RS3 - 40-44
XS - 40, up or down 4 lbs w/o much loss
Last edited by chiketkd; 08-12-2010 at 09:08 AM.
08-12-2010, 11:39 AM
#1286
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Seems like the Dunlop's are somewhat the opposite for me. This past weekend out of 6 runs, my first run of a 42.8 +1 was my fastest scratch time. I was running consistant 43.0's the rest of the day.
I'm not sure if the tire's are getting too hot, it was about 90 degrees outside, or if I just have my pressure's off.
I usually start at 36 all around, fronts get to 40-41, rears usually 39. I'll lower it to 39F/37R and keep it there. The car feels better once I do that but the times do not show it...
Discuss!
I'm not sure if the tire's are getting too hot, it was about 90 degrees outside, or if I just have my pressure's off.
I usually start at 36 all around, fronts get to 40-41, rears usually 39. I'll lower it to 39F/37R and keep it there. The car feels better once I do that but the times do not show it...
Discuss!
08-13-2010, 01:14 AM
#1287
Power!!
hm. When I go below 35 on the Star Specs. They get really screechy and i can feel them roll over alot. The steering gets very vague. Couple other guys up here run 38-40 as well.
08-13-2010, 08:25 AM
#1288
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Really? Wow. When I chalked it I'm getting zero roll-over at those pressures and if anything the tires feel great. Unless I'm doing something wrong, I dunno.. I mean they feel much better and seem to be pretty good. Anything else you guys recommend I do for testing then since I have a test and tune tomorrow, other than the chalking?
08-13-2010, 08:54 AM
#1290
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Really? Wow. When I chalked it I'm getting zero roll-over at those pressures and if anything the tires feel great. Unless I'm doing something wrong, I dunno.. I mean they feel much better and seem to be pretty good. Anything else you guys recommend I do for testing then since I have a test and tune tomorrow, other than the chalking?
08-13-2010, 12:28 PM
#1293
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lol I guess I just wanted to make sure is all. This is only my 3rd year running, most of you guys have been doing this for a long time.. Not to say you guys are old or anything 
But yeah I'm not seeing edge roll-over at all. Seems to be pretty spot on with these settings so I dunno. And yes, I check the gauge twice a season and it's pretty spot on with two other gauges I match it against.
But yeah I'm not seeing edge roll-over at all. Seems to be pretty spot on with these settings so I dunno. And yes, I check the gauge twice a season and it's pretty spot on with two other gauges I match it against.
08-20-2010, 07:55 PM
#1295
hey everybody im new on this thread! ive been running cs/bs for about 2 years now and im looking into going with stx next year. ive spent about a week reading all the posts you guys have made and its really informative but i have a few questions. im looking at coilovers but noone seems to push any brand in particular and i havent seen anything about tein. any reason why? once again thanks for your time and answers!
08-21-2010, 07:51 PM
#1297
Row faster, I hear banjos
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^Agreed Mike. If I had to summarize the coilovers that active STX people who've posted in this thread are using (or were previously using), the brands would be as follows:
--Chike
P.S. FWIW, some systems like the PSS9's, Fat Cat Bilsteins and AST's are *modular* and you can upgrade your coilovers down the road as money permits (e.g. go from a single adjustable to a dual; add remote reservoirs, etc).
- AST
- BC Racing
- Bilstein PSS9's
- Endura Tech
- Fat Cat Bilsteins
- Koni DA's
- KW Variant 3's
- Moton Club Sports
- Stance
--Chike
P.S. FWIW, some systems like the PSS9's, Fat Cat Bilsteins and AST's are *modular* and you can upgrade your coilovers down the road as money permits (e.g. go from a single adjustable to a dual; add remote reservoirs, etc).
08-21-2010, 08:17 PM
#1299
hey everybody im new on this thread! ive been running cs/bs for about 2 years now and im looking into going with stx next year. ive spent about a week reading all the posts you guys have made and its really informative but i have a few questions. im looking at coilovers but noone seems to push any brand in particular and i havent seen anything about tein. any reason why? once again thanks for your time and answers!