Wet track tyres
Discussion
I have NS2R's on my track car (BMW 330ti compact), which to be fair i use in all weather, i am just a bit softer on the go faster pedal, i don't really mind sliding about, i find it quite fun.
Howvever last year at the Nurburgring it was a wet weekend, in a few spots it got really sketchy so i've bought some BMW style 68 wheels to put some wet rubber tyres on for this years trip.
I was thinking Pilot Sports of some description, any other suggestions? Rain Sports i think used to also be recommended but read a few reviews that slated them.
Howvever last year at the Nurburgring it was a wet weekend, in a few spots it got really sketchy so i've bought some BMW style 68 wheels to put some wet rubber tyres on for this years trip.
I was thinking Pilot Sports of some description, any other suggestions? Rain Sports i think used to also be recommended but read a few reviews that slated them.
paddy1970 said:
Continental SportContact 7 – One of the best in wet conditions...
I have these one of my other cars, unfortunately they are 19", otherwise i guess i could have swapped them as they are both BMW's of the same era.Okay i will look at which are the cheapest out of these and the PS4/5s
Edited by Muzzman on Saturday 15th February 10:23
It's not the water that's the issue at a moist 'Ring, it's the oily/rubbery surface with the water on top that catches people out if they stay on the 'dry line'. It almost feels like ice, rather than water.
Even at 50% of normal speed you can see people sliding off gracefully (or not so gracefully).
I went in a 330D on Michelin CrossClimates the other year (in October, so cold as well as damp/wet/frosty)...and even they just slid across the track at certain places (they normally only do that at higher g-force corners when I throw the car into it).
For the Z4MC I stick to PS4 / PS5 (and S variants) if they're available in my size, but the Conti SC7 is supposedly better than those in the wet.
Even at 50% of normal speed you can see people sliding off gracefully (or not so gracefully).
I went in a 330D on Michelin CrossClimates the other year (in October, so cold as well as damp/wet/frosty)...and even they just slid across the track at certain places (they normally only do that at higher g-force corners when I throw the car into it).
For the Z4MC I stick to PS4 / PS5 (and S variants) if they're available in my size, but the Conti SC7 is supposedly better than those in the wet.
ChevronB19 said:
Slightly O/T, but I knew and got taught by John Surtees.
The absolute best thing he taught me was in the wet, put your unloaded tyre in the place the loaded tyre would be in the dry.
It works.
That's a really good way of thinking about it thanks for that. I've been working with that sort of thing over the years but that encapsulates it well. Till you know the tracks character it's a good starting pointThe absolute best thing he taught me was in the wet, put your unloaded tyre in the place the loaded tyre would be in the dry.
It works.
ChevronB19 said:
Slightly O/T, but I knew and got taught by John Surtees.
The absolute best thing he taught me was in the wet, put your unloaded tyre in the place the loaded tyre would be in the dry.
It works.
Help me out here… in the wet put your inner tyres where your outer tyre would be in the dry? But then my outer tyres are off the track at the start and end of a corner?The absolute best thing he taught me was in the wet, put your unloaded tyre in the place the loaded tyre would be in the dry.
It works.
Unless it's pouring down with deep puddles, I use hardly used A052's, they are great in the rain. Drove to Zandvoort on them in December, drove all day in pouring rain, then home again afterwards.
For heavier rain, PS4S are good, but more importantly if it dries they don't fall apart.
For heavier rain, PS4S are good, but more importantly if it dries they don't fall apart.
White-Noise said:
I think it more refers to the apex so that you are off the slippery rubber. When you are breaking obviously you are going to be more on the inside of the track compared to being right on the outside so it's like your normal wet line I guess
Thanks for that.The Nurburgring is an interesting one though. I think the wet line there is often almost random!
White-Noise said:
I think it more refers to the apex so that you are off the slippery rubber. When you are breaking obviously you are going to be more on the inside of the track compared to being right on the outside so it's like your normal wet line I guess
Correct, this is the advice for apex. Years after JS gave me that tip (before my first ever wet race) I went on to become an instructor for a couple of years, and I passed it on. It gets you off the rubber/oil etc put down when dry. It is a ‘wet line’, but is a good and simple way of describing it.Edited by ChevronB19 on Sunday 16th February 10:25
Kawasicki said:
Thanks for that.
The Nurburgring is an interesting one though. I think the wet line there is often almost random!
It's not really. It's just very different to the regular dry line. However the problem is you have to cross the dry line many times & it's that which often catches you out. The Nurburgring is an interesting one though. I think the wet line there is often almost random!
I've been doing trackdays for years, and, up until recently, didn't understand the importance of a wet line. But yesterday a day at bedford in the rain really opened my eyes. On the west circuit there was absolutely zero grip on the normal dry line - so much so you'd understeer out onto the wet line. Similarly try and apply power on a corner exit, and it was when you crossed the dry line that you got wheelspin.
But once the concept of the wet line was understood, actually surprising how much grip there still was. I now think that all those years where I've gone 'this corner is like an ice rink in the wet' is because I've been on the dry line.
By the end of the day I was lapping a lot better even in the pouring rain by staying off the dry line - and then I was quite surprised how much grip my normal road tyres were giving me in the conditions.
But once the concept of the wet line was understood, actually surprising how much grip there still was. I now think that all those years where I've gone 'this corner is like an ice rink in the wet' is because I've been on the dry line.
By the end of the day I was lapping a lot better even in the pouring rain by staying off the dry line - and then I was quite surprised how much grip my normal road tyres were giving me in the conditions.
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