Track day tyres

[edh]

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.

 

[Ryan944]

Hi Guys


Does anyone know the best track day tyres, been looking at toyo r888, i read a few reviews that there not really for track use more hillclimb and sprints .

Any suggestions ?



Thanks
Ryan

 

[Diver944]

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]

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]

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....[][]

 

[Peter Empson]

ORIGINAL: Big Dave WAY better than a R888. They go "off" when pushed hard..

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]

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...[][]

 

[Diver944]

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 []

 

[edh]

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...)

 

[Neil Haughey]

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.

 

[Big Dave]

Unfortunately [&o][&o],i will have to use the R888,s as thats the control tyre on the E30 im racing later in the year...So ill be able to speak from experience then....[][]

 

[Peter Empson]

All good points, I trail brake as I hate understeer and also have a lot of negative camber which I'm sure helps (tyre wear is uniform on track, but does wear the insides on the road - but they can be swapped to the other side of the car to give longer life).

 

[Neil Haughey]

ORIGINAL: Big Dave Unfortunately [&o][&o],i will have to use the R888,s as thats the control tyre on the E30 im racing later in the year...So ill be able to speak from experience then....[][]

Good luck Dave, we should really think about starting a racers blog or something on this forum. Mark has sort of done one, all 3 of us are on a massive learning curve this year. My latest lesson is to book the ARDS course when you find they have availability not ring a week or two later only find its fully booked up and you can't now get a slot till the end of the month []. Sods law I committed myself to lots of meetings on Thursday then rang Castle Combe only to find I could have done an ARDS this Thursday []. It just gets worse and I feel a bit of a burke at the moment. First thing Monday morning I am getting something somewhere booked.

 

[MarkK]

One benefit of R888s that no one has mentioned is i reckon they are great on track in the rain and wet track conditions,not as great as Mich cups in the dry but as an allrounder in the uk(will often be wet) they are winning a place in my heart now especially after the Spa race....One of the very fast guys was on Mich cups and i just drove straight around him.As it dried he was laying down some awsome times though.For all round performance though (and value) i am starting to like r888s more.They come with more tread than cups too so are road legal longer or at least look that way,cups look bald very quick...........

 

[Neil Haughey]

Pete Morris?

 

[MarkK]

No he drives Dunnys..

 

[Neil Haughey]

Makes sense Mark, Kev raves about the Dunlops.

 

[Big Dave]

ORIGINAL: Neil Haughey Makes sense Mark, Kev raves about the Dunlops.

Thats coz there good, see my first post on this thread......[][]