Advice on trackday/road tyres for a Mk1 GT3 ?
Advice on trackday/road tyres for a Mk1 GT3 ?
Author
Discussion

oppolock

Original Poster:

38 posts

243 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
I've recently purchased a red Mk 1 GT3, which is on P-Zeros. After my first PCGB Trackday at Brands (Indy) it has become patently obvious that these are not the correct tyres for the car, or the job!
I've asked around and the suggestions to date have been the Pirelli Corsa R's, Michelin Pilot sport's and Toyo R888.

I'm not intending to do much more than six track days a year, and the car is for "pleasure" use only. Sunny sundays, trackday blats and the odd early morning jaunt to blow away the cobwebs.

Any suggestions would be greatfully received. The car is totally standard, and unmolested.

s3am

1,383 posts

282 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
Pilot Sport on my 'road biased' mark 2 GT3 have been great in all weather and would reccomend them unreservedly. For more serious track day rubber, my brother has Michelin PS cups on his CSL, and I would be tempted to try them (not his set!) on my car at some stage.

Other than that P-Zero Assimetricos were on the GT3 RS weren't they?

oppolock

Original Poster:

38 posts

243 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
Thanks for the advice. The car is on old P Zero Asymetricos, but I think they did they're money a few years ago now! They were pretty awful around Brands.
I have a PCGB day booked at Bedford on 12/8 when I fully intend to kill them off, and new tyres will be needed after that.
I'm still getting used to the car, so poor-ish tyres and limited grip are still, in my opinion, a good way to learn. ( When I raced Karts, I learned a lot on worn tryes!)

I have an E30 M3 too, which has a set of trackday wheels with Dunlop DO1JR's, whcih are fantastic tyres,and Road legal(ish). Unfortunately,they don't make a size for the GT3. They would have been my first choice.
I'd like to know about these Toyo's though........ they look just like the Dunlops.

tsantos

101 posts

271 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
GT3 RS have Pirelli Corsa System fitted... Might be a good option for a few trackdays plus sunday blasts: have more thread than Corsa R's but are not normal road tyres...
If you find something out/try the Toyo's please let us know!

oppolock

Original Poster:

38 posts

243 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
I must admit.....I fancy trying the Toyo's. They are a bit cheaper that the Pirelli's and Michelin's, but i'm pretty sure they won't last nearly as long. They do have the exact GT3 sizes though.

I would hope to get about 6 trackdays plus "getting there" miles out of as set. If they are similar to the Dunlop DO1JR's, then the only problem will be a funny "whining" noise, which must come from the tread, as you drive past.

Maybe it's time for another set of wheels from E-bay.....

peterpeter

6,438 posts

287 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
Ive got the toyo r888s on and I think they are brilliant.

However, they are pretty soft, and I dont think they will last much more than 4 track days.

Grip is tremendous though. Ive done Spa and Brands on one set so far and coming from Dunlop SSrs they were incredible.

Braking is awesome too.

and they are pretty cheap to boot. (best price so far seems to be Bracknell tyres at just over 600 squid the set)

Wet performance is non existent, but they should get you home safely.

Oh BTW, they are the loudest tyres Ive ever driven on.(bloody whining)

Edited by peterpeter on Wednesday 26th July 20:41

oppolock

Original Poster:

38 posts

243 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
Thanks for letting me know about the Toyo's .

I think they are classed as a Medium compound, according to their website, so maybe 6 Trackdays was optomistic.

For £600, though, they have to be worth a try. I guess a second set of wheels would be the answer to the "whining".


If anyone has any feedback on the Corsa R's, I'd love to hear it. They want about a grand for a set, which was what I was expecting.

The car though, is probably the best purchase I have ever made! She can have whatever tyres suit her best!!
I read the CSL/GT3 MK1 gassing station debate with interest, but I smile every time the garage opens. For me, the Porsche is an event to drive, and looks great. It's also got a real gearbox!!

peterpeter

6,438 posts

287 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
oppolock said:
Thanks for letting me know about the Toyo's .

I think they are classed as a Medium compound, according to their website, so maybe 6 Trackdays was optomistic.

For £600, though, they have to be worth a try. I guess a second set of wheels would be the answer to the "whining".


If anyone has any feedback on the Corsa R's, I'd love to hear it. They want about a grand for a set, which was what I was expecting.

The car though, is probably the best purchase I have ever made! She can have whatever tyres suit her best!!
I read the CSL/GT3 MK1 gassing station debate with interest, but I smile every time the garage opens. For me, the Porsche is an event to drive, and looks great. It's also got a real gearbox!!



from what I have read, if money is no object the corsas are a better all round tyre.
and they should last a little longer, but if you are going to do quite a few track days, it can get pricey.

If you are free on saturday, come to bedford. I will have my toyos on then and will be pleased to give you a passenger lap.

oppolock

Original Poster:

38 posts

243 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
Thanks for the offer, but unfortunately I have other plans ( dictated by my better half) on Saturday. I will be up at the GT circuit on 12/8, on the Porsche Club trackday.

I've not been to Bedford for 3yrs and last time was in the M3. Apparently it's pretty hard on the brakes for Porsches.

I've driven a friend's GT3 (a local dentist) with an Alcon brake conversion, and a short shift, among numerou$$$$$$$$$££££ other mods he's carried out on the car, and the brakes were simply awesome. I need those brakes!!!

I recently sold and Evo VII Extreme (to make way for the GT3) with AP brakes, which were equally as good.

Thamks for the advice and offer, I appreciate your help. I'm still not sure which way to go. Some wet grip would be nice, for the motorways on the way home............

richardb.jones

326 posts

255 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
Hi - I had exactly the same situation a while back and needed to replace my track day rubber. I did a little experiment with Kumho KU15 track day tyres and for approx £450 (yes £450 for the set!) I think they are fantastic tyres. Again a soft compound, so don't expect them to last more than 5-6 track days but for the money you can't go wrong. A fairly agressive tyre tread - see pics below. And from the wet journey to Beford a couple of months ago, pretty good in the wet too.

Fronts -

[pic]http://rbjtech.bulldoghome.com/photos[pic]

Rears -

[pic]http://rbjtech.bulldoghome.com/photos[pic]

So another option for you ...

S1XXR

814 posts

260 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
oppolock said:
Thanks for letting me know about the Toyo's .

I think they are classed as a Medium compound, according to their website, so maybe 6 Trackdays was optomistic.

For £600, though, they have to be worth a try. I guess a second set of wheels would be the answer to the "whining".


If anyone has any feedback on the Corsa R's, I'd love to hear it. They want about a grand for a set, which was what I was expecting.

The car though, is probably the best purchase I have ever made! She can have whatever tyres suit her best!!
I read the CSL/GT3 MK1 gassing station debate with interest, but I smile every time the garage opens. For me, the Porsche is an event to drive, and looks great. It's also got a real gearbox!!


I was in the same position as you last month. I use the car as a daily driver and do the odd trackday. Had Pilot Sport 2 N2's on the car. They felt ok on the road but average on track. Decided on the Corsa System. The thinking being that it's a trackday R compound tyre but with a more practical tread pattern suited to road and use in all weathers.

Got a set fitted for £750 including VAT, fitting and metal valves.

Felt really good on the road straight away. And they were awesome at Donington on Sunday. I felt so much more confident pushing the car. It rained a little half way through the day and they were still amazingly grippy. Apart from a Radical and a supercharged Atom very little else quicker on track that day!

Be sure to drop the pressures down when you track the car. Also a word of warning - once you fit R compound tyres on your car there will be no going back to normal tyres

flemke

23,495 posts

267 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
oppolock said:
If anyone has any feedback on the Corsa R's, I'd love to hear it. They want about a grand for a set, which was what I was expecting.
They're brilliant. Quite grippy - perhaps not so much so as a Cup but almost.
They're very stiff, so it sort of depends on what you like. On trackdays you're not going to set qualifying times anyhow; they're about having fun.
I would say that they're less temperature sensitive than Cups, and work better in the wet.
They are probably less impossible in standing water, too, but they're certainly not designed to perform is heavy rain.
They seem to wear out more quickly than Cups.
I use them on a road-going GT3 Clubsport and am happy with their overall performance, and am about to put a set on a 'ring car.

Horses for courses, but they're def worth a try to see if you like them.

anonymous-user

84 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
toyo 888 are the nts

S1XXR

814 posts

260 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
Just to add that you might want to think about adding a bit more negative camber on the front to reduce understeer. Not an issue on the road but on track you'll get a lot more front end grip with the right geometry.

Parr and JZM are the acknowledged specialists to talk to.

peterpeter

6,438 posts

287 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
richardb.jones said:
Hi - I had exactly the same situation a while back and needed to replace my track day rubber. I did a little experiment with Kumho KU15 track day tyres and for approx £450 (yes £450 for the set!) I think they are fantastic tyres. Again a soft compound, so don't expect them to last more than 5-6 track days but for the money you can't go wrong. A fairly agressive tyre tread - see pics below. And from the wet journey to Beford a couple of months ago, pretty good in the wet too.

Fronts -

[pic]http://rbjtech.bulldoghome.com/photos[pic]

Rears -

[pic]http://rbjtech.bulldoghome.com/photos[pic]

So another option for you ...


I had a friend who had these on an NSX and they were awesome bit the sizes were weird...
Would you get them to fit on a gt3???

Plus where did you get them???

peterpeter

6,438 posts

287 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
S1XXR said:
oppolock said:
Thanks for letting me know about the Toyo's .

I think they are classed as a Medium compound, according to their website, so maybe 6 Trackdays was optomistic.

For £600, though, they have to be worth a try. I guess a second set of wheels would be the answer to the "whining".


If anyone has any feedback on the Corsa R's, I'd love to hear it. They want about a grand for a set, which was what I was expecting.

The car though, is probably the best purchase I have ever made! She can have whatever tyres suit her best!!
I read the CSL/GT3 MK1 gassing station debate with interest, but I smile every time the garage opens. For me, the Porsche is an event to drive, and looks great. It's also got a real gearbox!!


I was in the same position as you last month. I use the car as a daily driver and do the odd trackday. Had Pilot Sport 2 N2's on the car. They felt ok on the road but average on track. Decided on the Corsa System. The thinking being that it's a trackday R compound tyre but with a more practical tread pattern suited to road and use in all weathers.

Got a set fitted for £750 including VAT, fitting and metal valves.

Felt really good on the road straight away. And they were awesome at Donington on Sunday. I felt so much more confident pushing the car. It rained a little half way through the day and they were still amazingly grippy. Apart from a Radical and a supercharged Atom very little else quicker on track that day!

Be sure to drop the pressures down when you track the car. Also a word of warning - once you fit R compound tyres on your car there will be no going back to normal tyres


Im really pirelli ignorant...

can u just clarify for me..there are two corsas

a corsa r track tyre (about a grand a set) and

a corsa system r (750) that has the track compound with few more wer grooves.

oppolock

Original Poster:

38 posts

243 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
The car was pushing at Brands quite badly.

I had an instructor in the car when I was there for a while,and he said that new tyres would transform it. I'll probably do that first and see how the car behaves. If I still think it needs a bit of work, suspension geometry may be the place to start.

Parr, are in Crawley I believe, and I'm in Worthing, so not too far away. It may be that some camber/castor adjustment will improve the car on track, but it will be used on the road too, and I'm still learing the handling. I don't want it to be too pointy.

I had the GT3 aligned when I got it, for peace of mind, and it was all plumb. Within manufacturers tolerances.

It sounds as though Corsa's may be a good the place to start. The Khoumo's also sound interesting, and a fair bit cheaper. They look a bit more conventional too, which may arouse less interest from Traffic.

S1XXR

814 posts

260 months

Wednesday 26th July 2006
quotequote all
Yep exactly.

Here is a link where you can download the Pirelli Corsa guide.

The diagram on page 6 perfectly explains the relative characterists of the Corsa System vs regular Corsa.

richardb.jones

326 posts

255 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
peterpeter said:
richardb.jones said:
Hi - I had exactly the same situation a while back and needed to replace my track day rubber. I did a little experiment with Kumho KU15 track day tyres and for approx £450 (yes £450 for the set!) I think they are fantastic tyres. Again a soft compound, so don't expect them to last more than 5-6 track days but for the money you can't go wrong. A fairly agressive tyre tread - see pics below. And from the wet journey to Beford a couple of months ago, pretty good in the wet too.

Fronts -

[pic]http://rbjtech.bulldoghome.com/photos[pic]

Rears -

[pic]http://rbjtech.bulldoghome.com/photos[pic]

So another option for you ...


I had a friend who had these on an NSX and they were awesome bit the sizes were weird...
Would you get them to fit on a gt3???

Plus where did you get them???


Sizes are for my C4 but the same as Mk1 GT3 I believe - 225/40 ZR18 and 265/35 ZR18. They do 235 & 285 sizes too. I got them from mill-auto's who sell on ebay -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/225-40-18-Kumho

£115 for the PAIR of fronts (!). I called them up about the rears and they can get most sizes at decent prices. Think my rears were about £250 fot the PAIR ..

oppolock

Original Poster:

38 posts

243 months

Thursday 27th July 2006
quotequote all
Thanks for the info.

I went up to Parr's in Crawley today, who I intend to get to look after the car. They advised different geometry, and Michelins....!!

I'm now totally confused, but I've decided a second set of wheels is the answer, with a set of trackday tyres, and a set of Pirelli Corsa system for the road.

Probably in for the thick end for 2 grand now......

That's before they told me about the brake upgrade..

And the remap.......

and the short shift..........

and the Cup air intake.........