I guess I'll keep this here since it's autocross only, and this way I can keep an eye on it and edit out comments I don't agree with. (Kidding.)
So, my experience, and that of other Contour owners, seems to sometimes differ from experiences other drivers have in similar-seeming cars. Please post here and tell me what tires you autocrossed with, your car setup, and how they did. I'm espeically concerned about my problem (keep reading) but this should be a good repository for data in general.
I ran a season on 205/50R16 Fuzion ZRi. They were surprisingly soft and grippy, but the carcass was flimsy and they were too small to handle my beast. Not a bad tire for the ocassional autocross, but not competitive. I midified the car throughout the year, starting with wheels (16x7) and ending up with full coilovers, camber kit, swaybar, etc.. The shortcomings of the carcass became more apparent the stiffer my suspension got. These tires loved camber, and they were fastest maxed out (-3* or so).
This year I got some used 205/55R16 Kumho MXs to start with. The car has been tweaked a bit, and the suspension is close to fully prepped for STS. It's very stiff, especially in the rear. These tires are over 1" taller than the Fuzions, and the meat makes a big difference. I have much less wheelspin, and more overall grip. The compound doesn't feel that much stickier, but it gets faster with heat, where the Fuzions went off. The carcass is still not that solid, but it's a big improvement. They're a lot better all-around, but they are hurting my acceleration a little. The tradeoffs are well worth it as far as lap times, though: I seem to be around 1.5-2 sec faster because of the tires. I have no back-to-back data, and there are many variables, but in any case it's a very significant change. Testing on a VERY tight skidpad I found that more caster and less camber was faster than more camber and lass caster. I attribute this to dynamic camber gain on the tight turn. However, the car felt great with street alignment at the last event, with only -1.5* of camber up front. Hmm. I'm planning on messing around with camber tomorrow if we get enough runs to do real testing.
Now the Kumhos are wearing and it's decision time again. Here's the current thinking:
The Azenis are king according to most. The lack of stiffness that the 615s have compared to the 215s is significant, but they are faster on light, stiff, balanced cars. They feel good at full tread. They don't get greasy quickly like the 215s did. They do get slower as they get hot, so it's key to spray them down for the fastest times. You can get 215/45R16 or 225/50R16. The 225 is heavier and taller, but the extra rubber is almost certainly worth it for a car this heavy.
The Kumho MX is slower for the Civics, but people (J Rho, for one) think it's possibly a better choice for us. His 240 cooks Azenis terribly, even with mad camber and good weight balance. Others have suggested the heat-friendly MX for our cars. It's not as good at full tread, it is softer in the transients, and there's no choice in size but 225/50R16. I like my tires now, and an extra inch of width would be killer. These are tempting.
The Hankook Z212 is decent. Some claim they like heat, but most spray them some. They wear faster than the MX, but are better in the wet. They are NOT faster than the 615 for light cars. I can get a nice 225/45R16 size, or the 225/50R16.
I obviously want to go as fast as possible. I'm dominating locally, so I'm more concerned about long courses at big events. Right now I'm thinking that the 615s are a safe bet, I'd just need to keep them cold and not over-cook them in the corners. The Kumhos have done well for me, though, and I like not having to worry about tire temps.
I've heard people here say they like the Azenis a lot. What setup do you have? How good a driver are you? What's your style like? How sure are you you dropped time because of the tires? How much do you attribute to the tires repsonsiveness matching your driving style, and how much is sheer grip? Have you run 615s, or just 215s? Any data is welcome!
