Yokohama A539's and CR500's
Discussion
Hi forum,
We're formulating plans for track days in a 7. Historically, we've always used CR500's, but whilst they are great as an all round tyre, they;re pretty slippery in intermediate conditions. We also want to be able to enjoy track days when it rains, and potentially could cover this by running2 sets of CR500's, one with lots of tread for wet, and the worn ones for dy etc.
Bookatrack have what seems like a brilliant offer on Yokohama A539's - which looks like a wet orientated tyre (180 quid a set, fitted). Does anyone have any experience of these tyres? We would envisage using CR500's on the road, and the yokos on track. The interweb seems to imply the Yokos are decent in wet and dry, but maybe a little soft for dry use?
The other consideration is that our days of racing are over - so we want to turn up, and enjoy the day, not spend hours spannering at / between events. Will the geo for CR500's suit the same geo for Yokos? We have got our last 3 7's handling brilliantly on CR's, and wouldn't want a car that has to be a big compromise over 2 sets of tyres.
Thanks in advance to any posters that have experience in such matters
AG
We're formulating plans for track days in a 7. Historically, we've always used CR500's, but whilst they are great as an all round tyre, they;re pretty slippery in intermediate conditions. We also want to be able to enjoy track days when it rains, and potentially could cover this by running2 sets of CR500's, one with lots of tread for wet, and the worn ones for dy etc.
Bookatrack have what seems like a brilliant offer on Yokohama A539's - which looks like a wet orientated tyre (180 quid a set, fitted). Does anyone have any experience of these tyres? We would envisage using CR500's on the road, and the yokos on track. The interweb seems to imply the Yokos are decent in wet and dry, but maybe a little soft for dry use?
The other consideration is that our days of racing are over - so we want to turn up, and enjoy the day, not spend hours spannering at / between events. Will the geo for CR500's suit the same geo for Yokos? We have got our last 3 7's handling brilliantly on CR's, and wouldn't want a car that has to be a big compromise over 2 sets of tyres.
Thanks in advance to any posters that have experience in such matters
AG
I use 539s on my 15" wheels and have covered '000s of road miles on them in all conditions - a good all round tyre IMO. On track I've found they can be a little hard to get heat into but once up to temp they offer good all weather performance. I use my 7 mainly on the road so the all-weather aspect is more important than the absolute dry grip. They were a sprint tyre too, not sure if they still are.
A539s are £45 each delivered at Blackcircles.com if you're interested. I preferred the lower grip levels of my 539s to the AO21s I was on previously, as the car is now (if I hadn't lunched the engine!) easier to slide!
If you are looking for highest grip in the wet (and dry), AO21s are pretty damn good. George Polley Motorsport should have some.
If you are looking for highest grip in the wet (and dry), AO21s are pretty damn good. George Polley Motorsport should have some.
Edited by chris_speed on Saturday 21st August 18:26
Edited by chris_speed on Saturday 21st August 18:27
Assuming you are running 13 inch wheels, the CR500s run a 175 profile and the A539s a 185 profile, which means a 10mm difference between the two. So you would be running 10mm too high on one or 10mm too low on the other - in which case you would need to watch your sump/kerb clearance.
The main difference you will find is that A539s are basically rock-hard van tyres, and CR500s are semi-race tyres. A539s cut through standing water better due to the tread pattern and profile but I'm not sure you'd notice too much difference in damp conditions. Neither will get properly warm.
CR500s are known as a good wet tyre so personally I would just stick with that in your position. HTH
The main difference you will find is that A539s are basically rock-hard van tyres, and CR500s are semi-race tyres. A539s cut through standing water better due to the tread pattern and profile but I'm not sure you'd notice too much difference in damp conditions. Neither will get properly warm.
CR500s are known as a good wet tyre so personally I would just stick with that in your position. HTH
eh? On a radial the 55 bit means 55% of the width therefore a 175 55 13 cr500 has a sidewall height of 55% of 175mm in theory. A 185 60 13 will have 60% of 185.
I am not sure of the size of the yoko van tyres but a 185 60 toyo r888 is quite a lot bigger than a 175 55 cr 500. I would get some s/h slicks personally and keep the cr500s for rainy days.
W
I am not sure of the size of the yoko van tyres but a 185 60 toyo r888 is quite a lot bigger than a 175 55 cr 500. I would get some s/h slicks personally and keep the cr500s for rainy days.
W
we used to run A539's on the BaT Cat rental cars but haven't done now for a number of years. They are a great all-round budget tyre and if you're just after a bit of fun (sliding the car round and airfield days etc) they are fine. However, on a car like the caterham you compromise the performance massively by fitting joe-average tyres. The CR500's are nearly 3 times the cost of the A539's and yet we still run them on the rental cars - that should tell you all you need to know about the two tyres really.
Jonny
BaT
Jonny
BaT
I bought some of Jonnys second hand ex rental A539s and they are still going now, well over a year has past, two wet races, four trackdays and at least 5000 miles! No matter how much drifting I do they will not wear out!
They are definately not as grippy as CR500s in wet or dry, but they wear well and the deep tread did seem to cut through deep water when racing.
They are definately not as grippy as CR500s in wet or dry, but they wear well and the deep tread did seem to cut through deep water when racing.
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