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Message started by Platinum6316 on 09/16/5 at 20:36:16

Title: Newbie question about tires
Post by Platinum6316 on 09/16/5 at 20:36:16

OK, what's the difference between gravel tires and snow tires.
In the winter I run my 99 Hyundai Accent on 155/80R13 GoodYear UltraGrips.
Would these do for one of the rallycross events?
Or would I be better off with 14" Gravel Tires?
I'm not going to use my 16" Street tires! :)

Thanks!

Title: re: newbie question about tires
Post by Daveh on 09/16/5 at 23:36:23

This will be much better once I post a photo of my snowtires sitting beside my gravel tires...but that will come later. In the meantime:

Gravel Tires have a tread pattern that is more widely spaced then your winter tires. The tread blocks are deeper as well, and have a much stiffer block to them. The sidewalls are also significantly stronger, which keeps the tire from rolling over as you load them sideways while cornering. Basically the gravel tires will 'squirm' less and thus have better traction.

Running your snow tires is fine, I ran snow tires in the MLRC mini rallies and the first two seasons of rallycross. Your snow tires are more then fine for getting a taste for it and deciding if investing in gravel tires (likely used) is a wise choice. No point in buying them if you're only going to use them once.

Don't dismiss your street tires just yet! I ran on my Yokohama A520's one year because it was so dry and loose the wider tire helped the car to 'float' up on top of the surface better. My times on my A520's were faster then when I switched to the winter tires. Mind you, I didn't care about the rims I had them on.

-Dave

Title: Re: Newbie question about tires
Post by AnthonyT on 09/21/5 at 19:47:23

I too used my snows for my first rallycross events. They worked better then the all seasons I tried. I would bring a full size spare though. My Hakka1s came off the rim twice last season (never any damage thankfully) - the spare allowed me to keep running. I got mine from the wreakers for 25$ including the bald tire.

Anthony