A7s as street tires? Looking for tire suggestions

**jid** · August 5, 2019, 07:44 PM

My A2 is ready for some new tires. I run 16’s up front and 17’s in the rear and I find that the R888’s dont really ever heat up enough. The car is 90% street but I’d like to get a stickier tire. Would A7’s be a horrible idea? If not R888’s or A7’s, what are some other options?

Thanks!

Joseph

**argonaut** · August 6, 2019, 05:11 AM

I love A7s on the track but as a street tire I'd have some reservations: they are easy to damage/puncture with their soft compound and thin tread and they wear out quickly - on track wear is measured in heat cycles, they basically are are peak grip the second time you drive them and then gradually lose grip / get hard with each subsequent use. They'd be super fun on the street but might not hold up well depending on where and how much you drive. Hoosier R7, BFG R1 are pretty much in the same boat.

**cvjoint** · August 6, 2019, 10:49 AM

Carcass is too soft, I wouldn't do it. Got a puncture on Hoosiers at 80mph turning on track, not fun. Tire rolled off the rim.

I would go with autocross tires, there have to be softer compounds than R888. That one turns on at 160* or so, you'll never get R888 hot enough, I agree.

**jid** · August 6, 2019, 02:47 PM

Any AutoX tires that aren’t the ones mentioned above that would be worth considering?

**cvjoint** · August 6, 2019, 04:02 PM

https://racer.com/2018/08/23/video-t...s-to-the-test/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Autocross/c...ire_selection/

Contingencies complicate things a bit. If there are two versions of a tire pick the soft one (usually the one people want to run in the cold or the one they overheat more easily). I would also check in with the manufacturer and ask for the optimal heat range. Pick the one with the lowest midpoint. Mine is a dedicated track car so I go with Hoosier or Avon and haven't tried any street tires. The 200 thread tires for autocross are cheaters nowadays with compounds pretty close to medium slicks but still have a nice sidewall and carcass for street use.

**Chris McCarthy** · August 12, 2019, 01:43 PM

My car came with R6s on it when I purchased it and replaced them after a few months with RE71R. The used R6s had significantly less grip, kicked up everything they touched, and caused white knuckles at the sight of anything (water, sand, objects) on the roadway. The main problems were that they didn't ever get up to temp to stick and lost their stick way before they lost their tread.

The A7s would make a great tire for driving to/from track events, but I would stick to an autocross tire like the RE71R for street use.