Cadwell Park in the wet - Tyre choice
Discussion
I'm off to Cadwell in my MX5 tomorrow (driving up tonight) and it looks like it's going to be a wet one.
I have the choice of Pilot Sport 4 (not the S version) or a set of Nankang NS-2R which have seen a few trackdays already, but still have plenty of life in them.
I've heard that Cadwell can be slippery in the wet especially with the trees around the mountain. I've also read that the Nankangs are 'lively' in the wet.
Are the non-S Pilot Sports the better option in this weather?
I have the choice of Pilot Sport 4 (not the S version) or a set of Nankang NS-2R which have seen a few trackdays already, but still have plenty of life in them.
I've heard that Cadwell can be slippery in the wet especially with the trees around the mountain. I've also read that the Nankangs are 'lively' in the wet.
Are the non-S Pilot Sports the better option in this weather?
Cadwell is always slippery when wet, especially under the trees/the mountain entrance.
That being said if there is no standing water NS2R will be fine, standing water & forget it, there will be 3 rivers running across the track.
Middle of the main straight.
Middle of the back straight.
Bottom of the hill after The Goose-neck/before the mountain entrance.
That being said if there is no standing water NS2R will be fine, standing water & forget it, there will be 3 rivers running across the track.
Middle of the main straight.
Middle of the back straight.
Bottom of the hill after The Goose-neck/before the mountain entrance.
I did an Airfield day at Keevil yesterday. Being a bit of a tght wad, I didn’t fit my new set of triple 8’s and persevered with the existing set with 1 mm of tread. The rain was epic during the day with huge amounts of standing water on track. I was in aquaplane city and had wheel spin at 90 mph.
There was a guy with a mk7 golf GTi fitted with pilot sport 4’s, He lapped me they were so good in the rain!
There was a guy with a mk7 golf GTi fitted with pilot sport 4’s, He lapped me they were so good in the rain!
Krikkit said:
I was there in August on a torrentially wet day, the section under the trees wasn't the problem, the entrance to the goose neck was!
I'd take the PS4s, the forecast looks like very heavy rain and they'll cope very well.
I've driven up on the PS4s.I'd take the PS4s, the forecast looks like very heavy rain and they'll cope very well.
I did a fair few laps on Assetto Corsa to get my bearings on the circuit as I've never driven here before. The entrance to the goose neck seems tricky enough without standing water!
Seems sensible. I had ns2rs on my mr2 for a wet to dry trackday and they were ok in the wet (probably would have been better if i wasn't a chicken and had got more temperature in them) but not as progressive as good normal road tyres ( still a lot better than some normal tyres i have experienced). Probably best to have confidence over potential for more grip/durability if it does dry.
I live 45 miles from you and it is still pissing down here . My drive way is flat and is covered in lakes.
If it was my car I would head for home, on the basis that there is no fun to be had from tippy toeing around at half normal speed, just waiting for some clown to crash into me.
But do come back to Cadwell Park - for a car than handles it is my favourite circuit in the dry.
If it was my car I would head for home, on the basis that there is no fun to be had from tippy toeing around at half normal speed, just waiting for some clown to crash into me.
But do come back to Cadwell Park - for a car than handles it is my favourite circuit in the dry.
QBee said:
I live 45 miles from you and it is still pissing down here . My drive way is flat and is covered in lakes.
If it was my car I would head for home, on the basis that there is no fun to be had from tippy toeing around at half normal speed, just waiting for some clown to crash into me.
But do come back to Cadwell Park - for a car than handles it is my favourite circuit in the dry.
That's exactly what we're doing. It's not drivable. 6 Res flags alreadyIf it was my car I would head for home, on the basis that there is no fun to be had from tippy toeing around at half normal speed, just waiting for some clown to crash into me.
But do come back to Cadwell Park - for a car than handles it is my favourite circuit in the dry.
WetTrack Days are fine with the right car and right tyre but if there is really heavy rain with standing water, that can be dangerous.
As I said earlier, the track day on the airfield at Keevil on Friday had torrential rain, so much so that they closed the circuit down early for lunch and then finally at about 3:30 pm. I have never seen so much standing water as the rain was torrential. The upshot is, it would be easy to slide off at any speed into another car hence the closures. The sensible move.
Said that after all the preparation and anticipation that you didn’t have a decent day at Cadwell Park. As QBee said, a brilliant track in the dry, my favourite.
As I said earlier, the track day on the airfield at Keevil on Friday had torrential rain, so much so that they closed the circuit down early for lunch and then finally at about 3:30 pm. I have never seen so much standing water as the rain was torrential. The upshot is, it would be easy to slide off at any speed into another car hence the closures. The sensible move.
Said that after all the preparation and anticipation that you didn’t have a decent day at Cadwell Park. As QBee said, a brilliant track in the dry, my favourite.
k that That was truly awful, no fun at all.
Persevere and book up again and hopefully it will be a dry day. Hopefully you didn’t have too far to go.
He’s a few minutes from a few weeks ago when the weather was dry, thank goodness!
https://youtu.be/b38ZJuknLBo
Persevere and book up again and hopefully it will be a dry day. Hopefully you didn’t have too far to go.
He’s a few minutes from a few weeks ago when the weather was dry, thank goodness!
https://youtu.be/b38ZJuknLBo
Cambs_Stuart said:
Much as i love a track day, and have a done a few when it's been wet, that looks really treacherous. Did it dry out at all?
Didn't wait to find out. Left around 1130phazed said:
That was truly awful, no fun at all.
Persevere and book up again and hopefully it will be a dry day. Hopefully you didn’t have too far to go.
He’s a few minutes from a few weeks ago when the weather was dry, thank goodness!
https://youtu.be/b38ZJuknLBo
3.5 hours! Stayed up the night before. So it was an expensive couple of sighting laps! Persevere and book up again and hopefully it will be a dry day. Hopefully you didn’t have too far to go.
He’s a few minutes from a few weeks ago when the weather was dry, thank goodness!
https://youtu.be/b38ZJuknLBo
TBH this is most of the reason why I never booked a TD until a few days beforehand, it just means that you can miss out, but a call to the TDO the day before may also give an opportunity to join a "full" day if there are few "reserve drivers", I have turned up to several on the basis of this & have never not got out on track.
E-bmw said:
TBH this is most of the reason why I never booked a TD until a few days beforehand, it just means that you can miss out, but a call to the TDO the day before may also give an opportunity to join a "full" day if there are few "reserve drivers", I have turned up to several on the basis of this & have never not got out on track.
I normally take this approach too, I generally only do trackdays for some cheap(ish) open pit lane testing, it's very useful for trying stuff as opposed to sessioned test days, and on the basis that I need the weather to be relatively decent to try setup changes I tend to leave it till a few days before booking. Can normally get a decent enough weather forecast upto 3-4 days before. Gassing Station | Track Days | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff