As the title says, I'm looking for an all around good tire which is both good or OK at drifiting but is also a good drag tire. I only drive my RX in the summer so there's no use for anything that would be remotely good in the snow. If it helps, I'm looking at a set of Tokico White struts, Tein springs, and either Enkei EV05 17x7 wheels or MB Wheels Weapon 17x7. I want something that's low profile as I'm going with a relatively big wheel for our cars though I have a friend with 17's and they look great... but he has small tires.

 

Just buy any random street tire. That'll give you a good balance.

Drift and drag require vastly different tires so picking one to do both will you a tire that does neither very well.

 

UHHHHH.

 

Are you talking about just-*******-around-**** or seriously doing both?

If you're serious, you need to rethink about your suspension.
Drifting requires high spring rates.
The Tokico's cannot handle "big" springs.
The Tein springs are too soft for serious drift.
This almost requires aftermarket coilovers.

Also, classicauto has already pointed out - both require almost opposite types of tires.
Dragging requires all out traction, and a softer sidewall actually helps.
Drift requires a "balance" tire, and tire slipping is actually part of the performance.


-Ted

 

lets downgrade our cars. yay.

 

Thanks for the useless ******* comment *******

I'm 17 and I can't exactly afford to spend $2000 on a set of wheels

 

lol. if you think you need to spend $2000 to get wheels and tires in sizes that don't suck, you need to stay away from cars.

edit:
adding useful info

function before form.

if you go with smaller diameter wheels, you reduce unsprung weight (improving just about every aspect of car performance) AND you can save money on tires, enabling you to get tires that don't suck in widths that don't suck. wow!

plus, 17s may look nice from the side, but 7 looks like complete *** from behind. you want traction, go wider. you want looks, you need to go wider as well.

i just noticed you're n/a. assuming you are serious about drifting, its easiest and cheapest to start out with stockish sized wheels. this keeps tire cost down since you'll be going through them like potato chips. and it keeps the speeds low so you don't fly off the track. something like 15 x 6 or 16 x7. it also lets you pick up and mount a wide variety of used tire sizes from your local tire shop on the cheap.

for drag, if you feel like spending cash, just get some 16 x 8 fd wheels, autornd spacers and good tires. not that it matters too much.

 

I'm only NA for a little bit longer though. I'm getting a J-Spec S5 13BT with 44k on it from Japan2La in the next couple of weeks here

 

Does it even make sense to just buy tires for my stock GXL wheels? I mean the only reason I was going to get wheels is for some reason I thought it was necessary, but if they're not even going to be good wheels what's the point of wasting my money?

 

For serious. UncleDavid218 you just need to read and understand Ted's post.

Opposite tire types

Opposite suspension types

Opposite engine types



I mean the list goes on...

 

I fully understand that they're opposites. This is why I want a good all around tire that can do a little bit of everything pretty well. I'm not going to be on any drag strips or tracks with this car very regularly.

 

All around tire = whatever street tire you want.



There's many to pick from each lending themselves to a specific niche of motorsports.

Think of it this way - you want a tire thats good in the winter, and in the summer? You buy all seasons. Are they good in the summer? not really. Are they good in the winter? not really. But they get the job done.....

See where I'm going with this? There's no magical brand that will cut the mustard for the entire spectrum of driving.

 

Hmmm...complaining about $2k in wheels, but trying to do a J-spec 13BT swap?
Interesting...

I dunno if you realize this, but better performance tires usually mean softer compounds.
Softer compounds usually mean high tire wear.
Can you handle a tire that will need to be replaced within a year?
I mean...you did mentioned you're right on money.

Check out tire brands like Falken, Federal, Toyo, and Kumho.
They have good tires for good prices that should fit your budget.


-Ted

 

And if your drifting... 4-6 tires a day....

 

I'm prioritizing right now. You don't need to be a presumptuous bastard just because I asked a valid question that doesn't necessarily adhere to your high and mighty ideals. This summer I have enough money to get the swap done with very high quality parts but the budget doesn't currently allow for a great suspension or wheel/tire setup. These things are much more easily upgradeable than engine components which is why I'm going to "skimp" on them for now. In the future I'm going to go with coilovers and really nice wheels and tires but I simply don't have the money as a 17 year old high school student. I'd do it completely right the first time if I could but I can't. You don't need to come in here and put every single person down (yes, I've seen your other posts... about 10 percent of them are actually helpful) just because they can't afford to get the greatest ******* setup ever. Go somewhere else.

 

imo, you need to set your priorities straight. I would get quality suspension parts before ever touching the motor. I would pick a NA fc with good suspension parts over a turbo with mediocre parts. Don't skimp on your suspension stuff. You can get really good parts on a budget. And if you look hard enough, you can find nice wheels for cheap if you buy used.

 

In that case, I'm just going to tell you to go **** yourself...


You shouldn't be owning this car cause it's a money pit, and you can't afford to be racing anything at this point in your life.

My replies end here, since you're not listening anyways.

Godamn ******* kids nowadays...
I think I was the only one that offered any help with your questions, and I get called a "bastard"...


-Ted

 

Cause the help you offered isn't what he wanted to hear.



Let me try:

UncleDavid218, from my personal experience, running 17x7 +42 Konigs with 215/40/17 tires all around is a great balance. I use Negotiator brand tires, which I have found to be a GREAT balance between drifting and drag racing. For drifting, they are smooth and don't chunk, and will last 6-7 events before needing to be changed. For drag racing, they made my car do wheelies.

As for suspension, don't waste your money! Stock shocks on FCs are still good and since it is a sports car they are basically the same thing as coilovers. What I would do though is get a really really high end set of lowering springs to stiffen things up for drifting. Teins are the best because they are JDM also they are green, also they are better for drifting than coilovers because they still keep your ride good compared to coilovers which are way too hard.

If you do all that, You'd be out maybe $1200 max and your car would be set.

 

I can't believe this. You guys are going out of your way to help this guy and he is turning around and talking down to you guys...

You have to realize doing wheels, tires, suspension etc properly is going to cost alot of money. You should also do it properly the first time and don't look back. Buying not so great rims now, will have you back tracking to get better ones in the future, in return costing more money.

If there is anyone who knows about sinking huge money into a car its probally me, I think I have over $20,000 - 30, 000 into my FB now and it's still not running...

 

its natural for a 17 year old

 

Hay hay gais! I'm only 19 and i wants to lower my car but i'm broke, i am going to cut the springs ok, is there be any negatives to this? kthx in advance mens, i will be ultimate drifter one day!

 

I only disrespect you if you disrespect me. I KNOW this isn't the OMG HAX cream your pants setup. It is, however, better than stock and will hold me over. I love this forum. Everyone complains and bitches at the first sign of somebody not thinking their way. At 17 I have a 3.95GPA, am a member of Student Council as well as being a Captain of the Varsity Soccer Team. I value respect but I won't give respect to somebody who gives me short answers. If you're going to reply, at least give some valuable, tangible information which can be used to further the discussion instead of posting useless things like "dude, that setup sucks." Of course it does, don't you think I've seen the nice Tein Coilovers and BBS wheels that are out there? Duh, I'd love to have those. But I can't afford it. I still want to have money to take care of my car when it's all said and done and not blow my money on a very expensive set of wheels. Other than weight and size wheels are wheels despite what a disgruntled forum member may say.

I asked for a good general tire setup but instead I got feedback on my suspension setup. That was not the question posed.

If anyone wants to flame me further I'd be happy to report you to a moderator.

Stay out of my thread unless you're going to answer the question.

 

Get cheap used wheels and shocks/springs. "Good" doesn't necessarily mean JDM. In fact, europe is probably the place to look for suspension stuffs.

edit: And god, gpa doesn't mean anything in the real world. But who cares, really? :p

If you really want to, IM me or something. My AIM sn is in my profile, and if I'm online, I'll probably be willing to help.

 

Thank you I had honestly never really taken that into serious consideration. I guess I thought that new would mean better but it would stand to reason that it simply doesn't. I may take you up on the offer by the way.

 

I would go on ebay and get som sportmax wheels, the 006s looks like sex, i'm getting a staggered set up for my FC. They aren't too expensive either. My friend also has a set of sportmaxs, the 5 spokes that are gold with a silver lip, and hasn't had any problems with them racking or bend or anything, he has an S14 with an RB25. No reason to get anything but Khumos if youre on a budget. I'm getting the SPTs on my car, well, when i'm close to being done. It has brand new potenzas on stock wheels for the time being.

Honestly i'd rather get sway bars and shocks before springs anyways, try that first.