Track tyres- what do you use??
Discussion
Esp interested in what Front wheel drivers are using.
A bwildering array of track rubber out there with Yoko A032R & A048R popular although I dunno the differences between those two? A032 better in wet? also Dunlop formula R seem popular.
Or Colway do a moulded road legal slick called a Formula 2 & a tyre called an Intermediate both of which I belive have been used in production racing. The price is right but are they cack?
Also in the road tyre camp Kumho Ecsta v70a seem well rated for track use, but anyone any experience?
To further confuse my tiny brain all seem to be available in hard/med/soft compounds.
Road tyres seem to get eaten on a front wheel driver even more if they are new, will track based stuff last longer?
Or should I just try & get hold of some used slicks? (altho some organisers dont allow 'em) might be less fun tho as sliding about fun= harder to happen I guess as so sticky when warm?
Cheers in advance- confused lizard.
A bwildering array of track rubber out there with Yoko A032R & A048R popular although I dunno the differences between those two? A032 better in wet? also Dunlop formula R seem popular.
Or Colway do a moulded road legal slick called a Formula 2 & a tyre called an Intermediate both of which I belive have been used in production racing. The price is right but are they cack?
Also in the road tyre camp Kumho Ecsta v70a seem well rated for track use, but anyone any experience?
To further confuse my tiny brain all seem to be available in hard/med/soft compounds.
Road tyres seem to get eaten on a front wheel driver even more if they are new, will track based stuff last longer?
Or should I just try & get hold of some used slicks? (altho some organisers dont allow 'em) might be less fun tho as sliding about fun= harder to happen I guess as so sticky when warm?
Cheers in advance- confused lizard.
Choice of tyre will depend on what you want them to do!
On my modified VR6 I used to use Bridgestone S-02 in 225/35 Z17 and these were great on any circuit - although I mainly bought those as when I had the car (over 3 years ago now) there was not a lot of choice.
Do you want to goon around an airfield or do some very smooth and fast laps of a circuit.
If the former, then get the cheapest, crappiest tyres you can and thrash them with a bog grin on your face.
If the latter, then I would go for the 48R's or the Dunlops as they suit the heavier (1000k+) car better - the 32Rs suit the lighter (less than 100kkg) cars!
Also it worth getting a second set of tyres to enable you to get home safely rather than risking worn track tyres! The other point is to optimise your suspension - coilovers are a good option for the Corrado and a bit of negative camber will help the sticker tyres as well!
On my modified VR6 I used to use Bridgestone S-02 in 225/35 Z17 and these were great on any circuit - although I mainly bought those as when I had the car (over 3 years ago now) there was not a lot of choice.
Do you want to goon around an airfield or do some very smooth and fast laps of a circuit.
If the former, then get the cheapest, crappiest tyres you can and thrash them with a bog grin on your face.
If the latter, then I would go for the 48R's or the Dunlops as they suit the heavier (1000k+) car better - the 32Rs suit the lighter (less than 100kkg) cars!
Also it worth getting a second set of tyres to enable you to get home safely rather than risking worn track tyres! The other point is to optimise your suspension - coilovers are a good option for the Corrado and a bit of negative camber will help the sticker tyres as well!
m-five said:
Do you want to goon around an airfield or do some very smooth and fast laps of a circuit.
If the former, then get the cheapest, crappiest tyres you can and thrash them with a bog grin on your face.
Nothing wrong with the tyres on my Golf for the track, not very grippy, very noisy and a lot of fun and extremely cheap to replace. Some make called "Stunner"
If you just want to hoon around then cheap tyres are the way to go.
The Ginettas run the Dunlop Formula R's and they are fantastic in the dry and very scary in the wet (although lightweight RWD so not that much help).
I get about six to eight hours out of the fronts - a bit more at the rear - though, so as mentioned above, if you are fitting track specific rubber, you may want a spare set of road tyres to get you home again later.
I get about six to eight hours out of the fronts - a bit more at the rear - though, so as mentioned above, if you are fitting track specific rubber, you may want a spare set of road tyres to get you home again later.
Yokohama A032R and A048R are very popular with Caterham drivers. The 32 comes in several compounds with most people using soft all round or soft rear and super-soft front. For a heavier car (Caterham is about 550kg) you would probably want medium. 48s are only currently available in medium but this seems to be softer than a 32 medium! 32s are not the greatest in the wet and very poor in standing water. 48s are better in the wet and from my experience on a rain soaked A1M they will at least funtion in standing water. If you want the nearest thing to a road legal slick then try Avon ACB10's. Apparently terrible in the wet, they are as close to slick performance as you can get - again they come in a number of different compounds.
Cheers chaps, confused me further! 
Car = Golf, 1000kg'ish'(pos down to high 900kgs), Eibach suspension & ARBs 1.5deg neg camber, track use only no airfield days.
Planning to take spare wheels (slightly narrower jobbies) with good road rubber for wet track & return home anyway so cackness in wet not that much of an issue.
Old rubber will last a trackday or two then I'll see what to do about what to purchace next.
Car = Golf, 1000kg'ish'(pos down to high 900kgs), Eibach suspension & ARBs 1.5deg neg camber, track use only no airfield days.
Planning to take spare wheels (slightly narrower jobbies) with good road rubber for wet track & return home anyway so cackness in wet not that much of an issue.
Old rubber will last a trackday or two then I'll see what to do about what to purchace next.
Front wheel driver, 1,200 kgs, 250+ bhp and loads of torque. Weekend car, but driven all year round (so need wet weather ability/safety). 1 Set of wheels/tyres (16 x 6.5").
Tyres: Toyo Trampio R1R. Special order from Japan through the Dutch importers. So far I'm $(*&^% impressed, but these are my first semi-race tyres (as well as the only ones I know of that would fit the bill given the main proportion of my driving will still be on the road).
Tyres: Toyo Trampio R1R. Special order from Japan through the Dutch importers. So far I'm $(*&^% impressed, but these are my first semi-race tyres (as well as the only ones I know of that would fit the bill given the main proportion of my driving will still be on the road).
I had a set of r888 toyo's fitted a couple of weeks ago on my clio 172 for a track day at oulton park this weekend, all i can say is awesome, better grip than road tyres when cold (michelin pilots} amazing grip when hot but with a progressive predictable breakaway and excellent treadwear, also not to shabby in the rain. I prefare r888 to yoko 0038's
i got them from www.bmtr.co.uk
fortunatly for me they were in a sale so i got 5 of them fro £350,normally £110 each.
the size i have are Crossply 7.0/22.0-15
so basically 195/45/15. best suited to a 15x7 j wheel though
fortunatly for me they were in a sale so i got 5 of them fro £350,normally £110 each.
the size i have are Crossply 7.0/22.0-15
so basically 195/45/15. best suited to a 15x7 j wheel though
iguana said:
Road tyres seem to get eaten on a front wheel driver even more if they are new, will track based stuff last longer?
As I found to my cost when I needed a new set of fronts to stay legal then did a trackday on them that destroyed the nearside tread!
I've since got a spare set of wheels and have my nearly-worn road tyres on them - because the tread blocks are nowhere near as tall I can do a day on them and not see much wear at all. Can change a set of wheels pretty quickly now too.
Have heard good things about the Yoko 539s, they have quite an unusual tread pattern and apparently hold up to track use much better than most, even when new. They're cheap in typical hot hatch sizes too, I'm going to get a set after I properly wear out my current track ones.
Never seen much point in going for any of the soft cut slicks on a hatch - you end up with way more grip but (probably) not the power to exploit it, they stress the car beyond what it was designed for and they're bloody expensive. On a trackday, what difference does a few seconds a lap make?
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