Rally E marked tyres

[stevieturbo]

Anyone any opinions on these for sprints, hillcimbs, short track type of stuff ?

Some seem fairly keenly priced, and there are some soft compound options. But is a rally tyre soft really soft ?

I dont strictly speaking need an E marked tyre, but it would be handy if they were for driving to/from events instead of changing wheels/tyres.

Only really used 888's before, but would like something that offered more grip, but dont want to spend a fortune, as it's just for fun and the car is not competitive in those arenas.
I've tried some of the Kumho Ecsta V70's in medium and super soft in previous years. SS is too soft and really didnt do anything better for me over a basic 888. And they dont last any mileage for me compared to an 888 so those arent an option.

8x16 or 8x17 wheel options, preferably with 225 width or greater.

[notax]

I can confirm that some rally tyres are very soft - on an abrasive surface I've destroyed some in under 25 stage miles when the weather turned out to be much warmer than expected! 225/40/18 is a popular size so you can always try some part worns and see how you get on. Bear in mind that very few rally tyres are E marked, D Mack certainly are and are a very good tyre - even if you've never heard of them (used in WRC) Be aware that you will need advice - for example a medium D Mack is marked S very often...

I recommend calling Steve at Harkness Tyres, really good guy and sources many of my rally tyres, both new and part worn:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/dealer/6193...

Feel free to mention that Chris with the BMW Compact rally car pointed you in his direction

[stevieturbo]

Yea, I called Steve a few weeks back about some SS Avons he had, but we came to the conclusions they'd probably be far too soft for my heavy car.

18" are not an option for me, only have 16" and 17" wheels.

I see Silverstone and Kumho seem to be the ones with sizes that might work. Hankook maybe less so.

Usage wouldnt be as aggressive as a full rally so presume tyres would last a fair bit longer

[Greensleeves]

I use Silverstone soft compound tyres and they are fairly good. Half a lap around Croft in the winter and they are up to temperature. Can't knock the grip. Used them for a hillclimb in the summer as well and they were good.

I'm not sure how long they would last on the road but I was warned against doing a 15 minute race at Silverstone.

[stevieturbo]

Greensleeves said:

I use Silverstone soft compound tyres and they are fairly good. Half a lap around Croft in the winter and they are up to temperature. Can't knock the grip. Used them for a hillclimb in the summer as well and they were good.

I'm not sure how long they would last on the road but I was warned against doing a 15 minute race at Silverstone.

Which Silverstone was it ? They seem to have a few S575, 585, 595 etc ?