Can anyone recommend good track day tyres,specifically for wet days. I did my first wet track day last Sunday, spun once and got very sideways on a few occasions - a combination of bad driving and little grip. It was dry but cold at the start of the day so I kept the road tyres on and the grip was rubbish and got worse as the rain, hail, sleet and snow fell at various times throughout the day. Still a great days craic had by all, all went home in one piece apart from a guy in an Astra who lost his front spoiler. I have a set of Yokohama AO48's ( 205/50 & 225/50 ) on 16" Fuchs for dry days and they're good. I was using my normal road tyres on Sunday, Falken ZE 512 ( 205/50 & 225/50 ) on 15" Cookie Cutters. The car is an early dash 1985 2.5. Any experiences / recommendations would be appreciated.
Track Day Tyres
- Thread starter magicrat
- Start date
edh
New member
Maybe you just need to slow down a bit ?[
]
Especially if you're used to A048's & a dry track, the difference is going to be enormous.
Where were you? - if it was Donington, that's very slippy in the wet, particularly when it's just a bit greasy (and looks almost dry). I think it gets easier there when it's really soaking.
Wet days are good opportunities to get a feel for the balance / handling of the car at relatively low speeds. Unless you want to go to the expense of buying wets & haul 2 sets of tyres to a track day, I can't see many options. Any road tyre is going to be pretty slippy in the wet IMHO
]Especially if you're used to A048's & a dry track, the difference is going to be enormous.
Where were you? - if it was Donington, that's very slippy in the wet, particularly when it's just a bit greasy (and looks almost dry). I think it gets easier there when it's really soaking.
Wet days are good opportunities to get a feel for the balance / handling of the car at relatively low speeds. Unless you want to go to the expense of buying wets & haul 2 sets of tyres to a track day, I can't see many options. Any road tyre is going to be pretty slippy in the wet IMHO
Guest
New member
I'd be inclined to keep using your road tyres and adjust the tyre pressures from your usual dry track use settings. It'll take a bit of experimentation to get it right, but you'll notice qute a large effect in grip levels by just adjusting the pressures by a pound or two.
Adjust front and rear independently to get the required levels of grip and ballance of the car. Don't be tempted to adjust both at the same time, as you won't know where you are.
Adjust front and rear independently to get the required levels of grip and ballance of the car. Don't be tempted to adjust both at the same time, as you won't know where you are.
Thanks for the advice everyone - especially the advice to slow down. All good sensible stuff, and I had been adjusting the tyre pressures just as the instructors advised. Just for information purposes the track was Kirkistown in N Ireland - it bills it's self as Ireland's fastest circuit. There's a couple of clips on YouTube from the past weekend of a couple of guys in a Civic, I appear in the third clip - passing him as he spins at the hairpin. A very quick 968CS also appears in the same clip.
The 968CS appears at the start and then disappears into the distance. I appear about 4 minutes in after he spins at the hairpin - easily done, as I did it earlier in the day. It's me that he starts to chase after, can't wait for the next track day at the end of April, hopefully the weather will be a lot better!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpCtuwTard4
Didn't know we could put links on here, hope no one objects.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpCtuwTard4
Didn't know we could put links on here, hope no one objects.
edh
New member
Most of the track tyres come in different compounds - with the softer compound being better for lighter cars & for short events like sprints. Go for the harder compounds and you will be fine.
The 3 budget (i.e. cheaper than Pirelli / Michelin) choices are 888's, Yoko A048R's and Kumho V70a's. They all have their fans. I'd price them up & buy the cheapest. For my car the A048's were 15% cheaper than the other 2. I have heard that V70a's wear very well, so may actually be better VFM.
Also consider that increased grip will enable your brakes to work much harder, and will make standard pads hotter & more likely to fade. Might be worth putting in better pads - something like Mintex 1155.
The 3 budget (i.e. cheaper than Pirelli / Michelin) choices are 888's, Yoko A048R's and Kumho V70a's. They all have their fans. I'd price them up & buy the cheapest. For my car the A048's were 15% cheaper than the other 2. I have heard that V70a's wear very well, so may actually be better VFM.
Also consider that increased grip will enable your brakes to work much harder, and will make standard pads hotter & more likely to fade. Might be worth putting in better pads - something like Mintex 1155.
Diver944
Active member
For out and out grip in the dry then the best I have experienced are the Michelin Pilot Sport Cups, they were very almost as grippy as a set of Full Race slicks (hard compound) that I used to have. After that the Pirelli P Zero-C's were also very good but they are no longer available. I currently have a set of the Kumho V70 in medium compound and they are great for the money, just not as grippy as the Michelins. I have not driven any others
Peter Empson
PCGB Member
Big thumbs up for the 888's from me, can't really fault them to be honest. I haven't tried the direct competitors, but can't really say I've been looking to change from them. The only 'issue' is that on the road they take a while to get heat into them (probably less of an issue in a heavier car) but they're really progressive when they let go.
Big Dave
New member
My personal favourite track tyre is the Dunlop D01J. But as you can get them anymore the DZ03G is the newest one in the range.
Better than a Mich Pilot Cup,
WAY better than a R888. They go "off" when pushed hard..
WAY WAY better than a standard road tyre...
Only drawaback, they aint cheap.... But then quality never is....[][]
Better than a Mich Pilot Cup,
WAY better than a R888. They go "off" when pushed hard..
WAY WAY better than a standard road tyre...
Only drawaback, they aint cheap.... But then quality never is....[
][]
Peter Empson
PCGB Member
Interesting, never experienced that on my car even after a session over 45 mins long, and I wasn't hanging around. Perhaps it's a weight issue?
Big Dave
New member
Pete.
This comment wasnt from personal experience, BUT i have spoken to a lot of folk at T days who were on R888,s + they told me they were having trouble with there tyres. They were fitted to a wide range of car makes ..All experienced the tyres overheating + going off...Also with strange wear patterns...
I suppose its all down to the driver + how smooth they are, knowing you are "smooth" + sympathetic with your car probably helps a great deal...[][]
This comment wasnt from personal experience, BUT i have spoken to a lot of folk at T days who were on R888,s + they told me they were having trouble with there tyres. They were fitted to a wide range of car makes ..All experienced the tyres overheating + going off...Also with strange wear patterns...
I suppose its all down to the driver + how smooth they are, knowing you are "smooth" + sympathetic with your car probably helps a great deal...[
][]
Diver944
Active member
Hopefully MarkK will pipe up with his experience, I know he uses the R888's on his racecar and he has said that in full on race conditions they do start to 'go off' which is not the case with the Michelins that some of his competitors use. Again it's all down to cost and the Michelins are £££££££'s whereas the R888's are only £££'s []
He still wins though []
]He still wins though [
]
edh
New member
I have seen pics of unusual wear on 888's - in bands. Have also heard of heavier cars suffering a bit - and the 944 is getting towards heavy for a track car.
Having said all that, it matters very little if your tyres "go off" a touch on a trackday. Sympathetic driving helps, and the 944 is very light on tyres - as long as you avoid corner entry understeer with decent geo and a bit of trail braking. I'd still say buy whatever you can find cheapest. Look at 15's in something like 205/50 or 195/50 for a 2.5 n/a 944. I ran P Zero C's in 225/50/16 on a 300hp turbo and they were great. Same width F/R also helps the balance I found.
The dedicated (and wealthy) racers will only run their tyres a couple of times while they are at an absolute optimum - it might save them ½ a second a lap, which could be crucial for them. The tyre budget for a Clio Cup car is £10k per season! (if anyone wants some part worn Clio Cup tyres I might be able to point yo in the right direction...)
Having said all that, it matters very little if your tyres "go off" a touch on a trackday. Sympathetic driving helps, and the 944 is very light on tyres - as long as you avoid corner entry understeer with decent geo and a bit of trail braking. I'd still say buy whatever you can find cheapest. Look at 15's in something like 205/50 or 195/50 for a 2.5 n/a 944. I ran P Zero C's in 225/50/16 on a 300hp turbo and they were great. Same width F/R also helps the balance I found.
The dedicated (and wealthy) racers will only run their tyres a couple of times while they are at an absolute optimum - it might save them ½ a second a lap, which could be crucial for them. The tyre budget for a Clio Cup car is £10k per season! (if anyone wants some part worn Clio Cup tyres I might be able to point yo in the right direction...)
Neil Haughey
New member
I have heard the same things as Dave, a mate down here does sprints, hillclimbs and track days in his 400+ Bhp evo 6 RS, I mentioned the sorts of stuff he has told me to Kev Eacock/EMC and they say some pretty similar things so there seems to be a consensus. Basically my mate had less problems with the R888's as long as he had them on a wide enough rim to keep the tyre tight, he reckoned they move around to much on the rim and this eventually causes them to overheat.
My race car will be running on either Michelins or Dunlops.
My race car will be running on either Michelins or Dunlops.
Posts made and opinions expressed are those of the individual forum members
Use of the Forum is subject to the Terms and Conditions
