olie05 Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I just ran in my first autocross on saturday! It was realy fun, but I was sliding everywhere and when I finished all my runs I noticed that the tread blocks were starting to peal off my back tires. I've been looking at pete paulsen wheels for a while now, for their cheapness and custom sizing, so I know I'm getting paulsen wheels for sure. (15x7 3 1/2" backspacing and the "lightweight model" 19lbs.) I have also been looking at tires for this setup... My setup is totaly stock, with blown shocks (will replace when all this happens, so new shocks) and this car is street driven. Is the falken ziex 512 a good street/autocross tire? Keep in mind that I just want more grip than my stock 195/ 60 14's can hold up, I am a novice at autocross, and this car is driven more on the street than at autocross. (autocross once a month, normal driving otherwise) so again, is the falken ziex 512 (205 50 r15) a good tire for what I intend to do with this car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RCNSC Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Jmort will be posting shortly.... Stand by. 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 The Falkens are great all purpose tires and offer excellent grip in the dry and wet......I use them on ALL of my vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DiZeased_240 Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I agree with Tim, the Falken's are great. I autocross using the Falken Azenis 205/50/15. The tread pattern has more contact patches(better grip) than the ziex and the tread life is good for a long season of autocrossing. My co-driver and I put over 200 runs and also were street driven for the last set. Plus we were very competitive, winning most local events entered in the class. Also, 19lbs seems a little heavy for a 15x7. You be better off to limit the amount of rotating mass and wheels are a good place to start. You should be able to find something that weighs a little less that is not overly expensive. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Well I wasn't going to say anything, but I've been using Paulsens on mycar for... well... forever. I bought them because that's what my friend had, and I didn't know any better. Now I wish I had considered some lighter wheels. Diamond Racing Wheels http://www.diamondracingwheels.com/ has some lighter options, still cheap, and there are many many more out there. I can tell you that I've slammed curbs on the track at 90+ and never bent a rim, but if I were to do it over I'd go for a more fragile but lighter wheel. I'd think you could find a 15 x 7 at about 15lbs or maybe even less in steel. Rotating weight makes a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie05 Posted August 10, 2004 Author Share Posted August 10, 2004 After looking at the diamond racing wheels website I notice they don't have 15x7" wheels, only 15x8. How hard would it be to fit 8 inch wide wheels into my Z and can I still use 205 50 15's, or would the tire be stretched out too far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 205s on 7s 225s on 8s Keep looking though. Just search the web for "custom circle track steel wheels spun shell" or some combination thereof... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2slo4u Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 People used to say my falken ziex's were crappy cheap tires. Well after using them for several years on two of my zx's and never having a blowout or problem at high speeds or autocross I say they can't be all that bad. Mine made more road noise than I like, but for the price and the performance, I could not find a better tire. I even had them on my subaru but they were too sticky and seemed to suck the mileage out of the poor 1.8. 81zxturbo 95slobaru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorreia Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 If you want a great autox tire, get the Falken Azenis. They come in a 205/50 size and for autox there isn't anything better (besides R compounds of course). I don't autox my Z, but I do run my Integra and I use the Azenis, amazing tire. One thing to note about the chunking, what tire pressure were you running? Chalk the sides of your tires to see how much rollover you are getting and just keep upping the pressure until you aren't grinding off the sides. Also, concentrate on being smooth. That's a huge factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zguy95135 Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 I agree that about the Azenis tires, we put them on my dad's old 280z 2+2 and even with a shot shocks it turned out some competitive times (and thats with 2 passengers) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 falken azenis are incredible tires, just short of a race tire for the street. a lot of the drift guys run those tires, I would if they made a 60 series, as it is i have a huge wheel gap and couldnt stand it getting any bigger! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 ziex 512 tires suck for autocross. I have them on my neon (switched FROM azenis 195/60/14 to 512 205/60/14), and they are quieter, but squeal like a stuck pig and have half hte grip of the azenis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2slo4u Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 I think mine were 502. And the neon probably performs differently than an older zx with the same tires either way. Totally different cars. Maybe you should have been running 15" 215/60 and would have gotten better results. 81zxturbo 95slobaru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 you're right, the neon is STIFFER than the older Z or ZX, and has almost no chassis flex. If I jack up front right 6", the rear right will be 5" off the ground. Why do you think stock Neon ACRs were beating the crap out of competition in autocross for years? Also, I don't think you're aware of FWD cars that have limitations on tire sizes, like Z cars do. 215 would rub, and offset my speedo, let alone the fact that I have 14" wheels on the car. You're telling me that a car with 215/60 tires will perform better than the same car with 205/60 tires. Now, let's break this down into simple math: stock size: 185/65/14 = 120.5mm tall sidewall falken azenis I had: 195/60/14 = 117mm tall sidewall - treadwear 200, AA traction, A temp rating ziex 512 tires I have now 205/60 = 123mm tall sidewall - treadwear 420, A traction A temp rating ziex 512 tires in 215/60 = 129mm tall sidewall. treadwear 420, A traction A temp rating Hm, let's see... oh yeah! I'm certain that a tire with a weak sidewall like ziex512 will handle LOADS better when you INCREASE the sidewall height! Well crap, obviously I made the wrong choice, time to go back to America Tire Co and have them slap on some 215/85 size tires! Maybe you just don't know how to read tires Shorter sidewall = stiffer sidewall = less flex = better cornering in most, if not all, situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2slo4u Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 Dude, get a grip, literally. Obviously you can't put 215/60 on your car, maybe if you could, you would be able to put some real meat under those fenders, though. I am well aware of tire size calculations and even if I wasn't I could go get a chart and copy it verbatim to this forum. I guess your one negative opinion about Falkens cancels everyone else's out. Maybe you should let your chassis "flex" a little and not be so "stiff". Then you wouldn't get so worked up about your one bad experience with one tire. Maybe when you were doing the tire size calculation for your 512's you neglected to mount them pointing in the right direction? They are directional, no? Ha, Ha, just kidding. Take it sleazy. 8) 81zxturbo"super flex" 95slobaru"super stiff, super slo" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 falkens have an incredibly stiff sidewall, azenis I mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 My initial reply was a comparison of 512 tires to azenis. I've also read reviews that said people claimed 502s had better grip than the 512s. I've also clearly noted that I ran both tires in question on the same car. Exact same setup, the only thing that changed was the tire size and type. It doesn't get any clearer than that, does it? Clearly, given that information, I'm talking out of my ass. Going back to your original reply: Maybe you should have been running 15" 215/60 and would have gotten better results. You're telling me that after I posted about running 205/60 tires. a 215/60 tire on a 14" wheel has the same sidewall height as a 15" one does. Obviously you can't put 215/60 on your car, maybe if you could, you would be able to put some real meat under those fenders, though and again, reinforce your statement that 215/60 would provide better handling than a 205/60. Of course, 10mm in width makes such a huge difference. On a side note, if you saw the footprint of the azenis vs. the footprint of the 512, you'd notice that a 195/60 tire would cover just as much as a 205 because of the difference in sidewall design. But then again, what would I know? It's not like I had both tires to compare at the same time or anything... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2slo4u Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 Like I said... I had 502's, not 512's. My wheels are 15", yours are 14". Maybe if you had room, you could fit 15" with 215/60 or 205/60 15", 15", 15", 15". But you don't. Sorry you bought a neon. Oh, by the way like I said, 15", 15", 15". I don't like arguing about cars with head gasket problems or fwd cars with traction problems so I'll leave you with : "You're sooo right. Man, how could I even THINK that. " 81zxturbo"one plus one =502" 95slobaru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RCNSC Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 I don't like arguing about cars with head gasket problems or fwd cars with traction problems so I'll leave you with : "You're sooo right. Man' date=' how could I even THINK that. " 81zxturbo"one plus one =502" 95slobaru[/quote'] But he has a really, REALLY sexy 240Z..... so be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2slo4u Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 Yeah, I guess you're right rcnsc. Maybe when he starts posting his progress on his 240z instead of his "neon", I'll quit picking on him. I just have a soft spot for z's. Maybe he should take that awesome neon motor and put it in the 240. I haven't heard of that hybrid combo yet, wonder why? Just kidding. 81zxturbo(slow and flexy) 95slobaru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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