Probably different being in sales. I get paid full days and car to drive. Where do you go Montreal(boucherville) I should say.

lol nono..Acura hosts training here in Ottawa. Typically out of our convention center where we also participate in the "new" annual Ottawa-Gatineau Auto Show. No NSX again this year but the RLX will be there.

Have you seen our new district sales manager?

ps. wtf is fairview doing selling $2000-$4000 trade-ins? gm's with 200kms on them? They don't belong on your website

Oh cool! We have to travel to Honda Canada in Markam. I really Have know idea what sales does up there I am just glad we never see those in the shop.

Do you track the talon? What events/lapping days do yo typically attend?

I can easily fit a floor jack, jack stands, full ratchet set, enough fluid to for a complete swap, a large box of hand tools and for wheels/tires in my Talon. Don't know what you guys are smoking. And yes, I've done it all before. In fact, minus the tires, it's what normally occupies my Talon on a daily basis with everything easily fitting in the trunk besides the floor jack itself which resides in my passenger footwell should I feel it necessary to bring it along.



The Talon has only been to the drag strip or auto-x'ed as I have to figure out adequate cooling before I'll touch a lapping day, not to mention I need to invest in some high end rotors and pads, if not a better braking set up all around. I'm hoping to get 'er out for a few lapping sessions this summer.

I mainly track my Mazda and I typically go with SRTA (Sigma Racing Time Attack). By far the best group in Ontario - incredibly organized, VERY safety oriented, in car lap-timers, leaderboards, refreshments/food, prizes, etc. I've also done some lapping days that S-Ville or other groups put on, but predominantly SRTA as it is the best bang for your buck.

Once I get my Talon track-worthy I'd like to make a trip to Calabogie, Tremblant, etc. for some real fun. Calabogie even does night racing

I was just messing I know you had a ton of other stuff from school in your car at that time.

That SRTA stuff looks cool!

SRTA it is. Solomon, Ive been dying to hang out with you at a track since meeting you. Hopefully this summer is the union of a bunch of us who im sure will get along great and get some decent lapping days in.

The only thing left for me is to grow some balls for the full potential of my brakes and suspension. BRAKE LATE!! BRAKE LATE!!

What kind of Mazda?

I almost exclusively go out with touge or lately it has been invite only events that people hold. i'll have to check out SRTA this season.

i'd love to see a DSM out at a track day!! Give the Mini a run for its money.

And i'll be spending this season trying to max out my AP racing 4pots. Really need to grow some balls to brake to these potential.

No mods for the mini this year except maybe some sway bar end links for the rear. The money will be spend building the 4g63

oh and to stay on topic, I'm cheap and don't even balance any of my wheels...lol

No mods? Buddy! The two days spent installing your Aqua mist kit is considered in my books a worth while mod to brag about. Im itching for a ride when its all hooked up finally.

Never thought Id say a mini can give a DSM a run for its money.

Aquamist was purchased last May so it doesn't count.

Amazes me that you two are probably standing next to each other on your phones posting here.

Pretty close, We both chat on iMessage after we close shop

Sounds like a plan. If the Talon isn't up to it, I'll just toss around the Mazda. May not have a lot of power but she sure handles like a champ for what she is.

Driving at the limit in a controlled manner definitely takes some practice, but there's nothing like it once you get to that point. I've spun out at 160+ km/h before with cars behind me...just gotta get back at it figure out what you did wrong so you (hopefully) never do it again.



Mazda 3 Sport. But, on the more technical tracks (like Mosport DDT) I can keep up in a pretty much stock Mazda 3 (just better rotors/pads and SS lines) on R-comps to Speed 3's and more. In fact, I originally started tracking when the car was heavily modded and even though it was noticeably slower without the mods, I still demolished my old time(s).

'Driver mods' really do make all the difference. But R-Comps will net even a pretty beginner driver a few seconds on a technical track if they're willing to push it a bit.

I've heard mixed reviews about Touge, but SRTA is hands-down the place to be. The pricing is great, they have a 50% cash back if it rains (assuming you bought early enough in advance) and winner for each group gets their money back. Then there's all sorts of other prizes, food/drinks/etc. and the biggest draw, if not everything else, in car laptimers for everyone for the whole day



For the record, those who have never run R-Comps before, be careful. Make sure you take a lap or to warm them up...hard braking, etc. Secondly, street tires (Even the high performance ones) will 'speak' to you i.e. they'll squeal, etc. on the limit of grip. R-Comps either grip or they don't...they don't talk back, they fight back i.e. if you throw too much at them you won't know until it's too late and your spinning around.

You've almost convinced me to buy some r's for my enkei gtc01's.

Do these count?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

They're only $68 more than the S-Drives (300trdwr).

Or are you talking about these?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...fromCompare1=yes&vehicleSearch=false

No, but they're not far off. Honestly, the RS-3s are more than adequate, because they are still a street tire they are winning all the events. Like I said earlier in this thread, Hankook makes the stickiest compound - they wear out quicker, but if you want a tire that holds, ain't no better bang for your buck.

When I purchase a set of rims for the Talon I'll be getting a set of RS-3s for DD use and then keeping R-Comps for track use since I drive HARD and I don't want to wear out my street tires.

But like I said, the RS-3s will be an awesome experience and you won't have to worry about 'chunking'/etc. like you do with some street tires when they get hot because these are made for it. And, these are a good stepping stone to R-Comps because they will give you feedback at the limit. More than an R-Comp but still less than any regular street tire.

These are R-Comps and are what I us...ep them for the track and the dry days.

That's the other bonus about a tire like the RS-3/Direzza/etc...they will still perform on a wet day like a champ. My r-comps would have me skating across the track if it's raining hard. They do make rain tires in r-comp equivalents, but I can barely afford the 1 set of rims/tires, let alone a second. And, my Talon ain't that damn big!

Have you any experience with the star specs Solomon? I showed you my set when you were at the shop. Im stoked to try them out. Comments, suggestions?

Not on a track, no. Threw my buddy's Ford Fiesta around a parking lot with them once but that's hardly much to go by.

They are a sticky tire. In the dry the RS-3 will beat it any day of the week, but I hear the Direzza is a better wet performer and also better treadlife. An overall tried and tested tire with consistent performance and a large following. Our very own Ghiz Tha Wiz loves his!

The DZII is released in Japan and available for pre-order here in NA, so I'm curious to see not only what's new and improved vs the DZI (what you have), but also how it compares to the RS-3, etc.

The star specs are discontinued. Z2 is the new hotness for Funlop.

Hmmmmm.....what's an extra $68 to try out 140's vs. 300's. If I do this, I will have to keep my 18's as a daily and forget selling them..or, find another set of 17's and keep the costs down by buying 17" tires vs. 18's. I'm just really disappointed with how heavy the EKM3's are. 24.6 lbs vs. 17.6 lbs goes a long way. It's almost 30 lbs off the power train.

If you can afford to keep a separate set of rims/tires for the track, it's well worth it, especially since you DD the car and do heavy mileage.

The beauty of something like the RS-3 is that it will last you for ages if you're strictly using it for the occasional track days. What makes it even nicer is you could always throw them on for some spirited weekend crusing, since they are a street tire.

That 30lbs is HUGE because it's unsprung mass. Unsprung mass is THE DEVIL.

I believe that unsprung mass they say 1 lb is equal to 10 lbs sprung weight.
My 17 inch rims are 16 lbs I figure thats a weight savings of almost 10 per rim over stockers and they were only 16inch. That is a huge help. On my old VW with its 11 pounder rims it would light the tires up in 3rd where with the 17 inch tires it struggled to spin 2nd

Guys, don't get caught up in what you need. Show up with a half decent tire that wont overheat and get greasy and you'll have plenty of grip to go out there and learn.

Everyone here needs to stay away from R-comps at this point till your driving level requires it.

I have a set of advan neovas that have more grip than my Rs-3s but i still prefer the RS-3 as the feedback they give to drive to the limit is great for driving at the edge of grip.

FACT: i have a set of KW V3 adjustable coilovers on my Mini and never adjusted a single knob since i installed and leveled the car.

Mike makes a good point.

I started tracking on Nankang NS-2's. And then jumped up to a set of R-Comps that I got a wicked deal on. My Nankangs scrubbed hard and got pretty chewed up but as mentioned, if you're running a tire like the Neova/RS-3/Direzza/NT01/etc. you'll be thankful for it. I should reiterate, R-Comps do not give feedback...they grip or they don't - you need to know how to drive to make R-Comps work for you.

As for everything else, don't blame lap times on the car. Go out there, and drive your car until you've not only reached the max potential of its current settings but have also developed enough as a driver to be aware of everything and able to properly translate a lapping day into knowing what kind of adjustments need to be made. This comment is more aimed at suspension/handling/dynamic adjustments but just in general. Experiment more with stuff like early/late/trail braking, heel-toe, throttle control, line of attack, etc. THESE will make you a better driver. Don't be afraid to spin your car out or lose control. If you drive with fear, you will never drive well.

Also notice in talking about getting your car ready for the road course there is no talk of what size turbo do I need, my car needs more power, etc. tires are the number one thing!

Its all about having a car that is setup properly with what you got and making it all work together RELIABLY.

On that note, I feel it would be worthwhile to prepare a 'track prep' sticky in the tracking forum.

The other thing about tires is that the smaller the rim size you can get away with the lower priced tires will be. 18" track worthy tires are incredibly expensive compared to a 17". !7" is pretty much the norm these days and most DSMs should be on 17" at the largest for the track if not 16" if they haven't upgraded there brakes yet.

Agreed, other than looks I too don't believe there is any benefit from running anything bigger than 17" on a DSM.

Or almost anything. The width makes a hellofa lot more difference than the diameter.

Evo Brembos w. 2-piece rotors under a 17*8+ setup is more than anyone in a DSM will likely ever need. 17*10 if you're going full-out, but most people will never need that much meat, nor want to put in the effort/money to make that much meat fit safely and reliably.

Anyone running 225/50/17's versus the 225/45/17's?

I think the higher sidewall "looks" better than the 45's.

I would keep the stock circumference. The bigger wheels will ride like crap and make the car slower.

Thanks Reza!

If you have 45 minutes to kill and want to learn how a tire is made, check out this vid;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUaou5A9jyk

Michelin Pilot Super Sports.

A buddy of mine at work swears by these, they have a 300 tread ware and he's used them for 3 track days, and 20,000kms, they're at least 40-50% left. Warrantied until 50,000kms.

I just find they're such a boring tread block pattern they will suck horribly in the rain. For me, I do a lot of highway, and am still partial to hankook evo v12's or the yoko s-drives.

BUT, hankook's are stickier so I may go back to those.

I dunno, I had S-drives on my PT and they only lasted one season of semi-aggressive driving. Sure they were comfy and decent in the rain, but a track tire they're not.

Which is why I'm thinking of going back to Hankook.

Yoko's are POO!!!!!!

Hey, totally unrelated, but I checked the data sticker on my hitch, says 5,000 lbs max load. What do you think?

I think the hitch is rated 5000lbs. If your mdx can pull that much or not is the question.

I honestly think it can, but for a long trip..probably not.

I've pulled a CSX out of a snow bank with a tow strap, and it was STUPID easy without any fuss from the MDX.

I know it's not much of a comparison to hauling a trailer and my eclipse but frack me, I don't want rent a truck AND trailer for the S/O. Nor do I want to drive the DSM down there either.

Grrrrr!!