Tyre condition after track day
Discussion
QBee said:
Of course, you rarely take road tyres to the grip limit on the public road.......but don't you find that when they are down to 2 - 2.5 mm they have a lot less grip than when nearly new?.
Funnily enough, I've heard this often (conventional wisdom?), and never observed it - I understand why it happens with track tyres, but doesn't make sense on the road.In my opinion/observation, as road tyres get worn, they grip *better* (in the dry). To me, that makes sense - less tread block movement, etc. Obviously they get a lot more interesting when it buckets down! The only reason I can see for them getting worse is if you take so long to wear them out that the rubber goes hard through age.
For track tyres, the issue is with heat cycles taking life (cooking the oils) out of the tyre. You don't really put any meaningful heat into a tyre on the road.
QBee said:
...A lot of good advice...
So that's the answer - road legal track tyres:
Toyo R888
Yoko AD08
Yoko AO48
Federal FZ201 (brilliant, but take four laps to warm up and are like ice before that)
Federal 595 RS-R (my present favourite)
Dunlop DZ03 (?)
and there are others.
Just don't try to be clever in a downpour on any of them.
+1 for the Yoko AD08So that's the answer - road legal track tyres:
Toyo R888
Yoko AD08
Yoko AO48
Federal FZ201 (brilliant, but take four laps to warm up and are like ice before that)
Federal 595 RS-R (my present favourite)
Dunlop DZ03 (?)
and there are others.
Just don't try to be clever in a downpour on any of them.
Driven on Nürbrugring (Not hard) and on Spa (Quite enthustiatic) And it was hard to acctually see any wear. Even thugh I lit up the inside fronts at bustop and La source.
They need to be run in, but are good as a daily drive tyre as well. very low noise level, and above normal bite in daily conditions.
But it is not a cold weather tyre though, so no winter use. And unless it is raining cats and dogs, the wet bite is quite impressive compared to what I thought it would be.
Just stumbled upun this little thing.
I don't know how true it might be, but I find it interesting:
Edited by DkVelo on Thursday 18th September 00:15
QBee said:
Not saying you are wrong, but I have noticed it when braking for an emergency stop. Agree about track tyres and heat cycles.
Fair enough - not saying you're wrong either.. Always assumed it was a myth propogated to get folks to buy new tyres 
Would be really interesting to get hard facts rather than subjective data (or maybe I'm just a complete nerd!)I have done lots of track days in my 997.1 GT3 using Pirelli P-zero Corsas. They are a track tyre and because they are designed to operate at track day temperatures they appear to wear better than non-track day tyres which may seem counter intuitive.
However, whatever tyre you are using I think the most important thing is to adjust the tyre pressures. Tyres on track get much hotter than on the road which increases the pressure which reduces the contact patch putting more strain and heat into the tyre.
Advice I was given which works well on the GT3 is to aim for the standard recommended road pressures when the tyre is hot. In my GT3 the standard for the rears is 33psi, so during the first couple of runs I come in to the pits and reduce the tyre pressures back to 33psi. This usually totals around 10psi of deflation - just as an example. This keeps the tyre temperatures down, the footprint up and greatly reduces the wear. My current P-Zero Corsas have done around 6 track days and are still legal.
The first ever track day I did was in an Audi Sport Quattro. Someone I was with recommended "pumping the tyres up to stop them pulling off the rim!". I knew no better and followed suit. By mid morning the passenger side tyres were both completely bald so I switched them round and by the end of the day the complete set were destroyed - all from running the wrong pressures.
However, whatever tyre you are using I think the most important thing is to adjust the tyre pressures. Tyres on track get much hotter than on the road which increases the pressure which reduces the contact patch putting more strain and heat into the tyre.
Advice I was given which works well on the GT3 is to aim for the standard recommended road pressures when the tyre is hot. In my GT3 the standard for the rears is 33psi, so during the first couple of runs I come in to the pits and reduce the tyre pressures back to 33psi. This usually totals around 10psi of deflation - just as an example. This keeps the tyre temperatures down, the footprint up and greatly reduces the wear. My current P-Zero Corsas have done around 6 track days and are still legal.
The first ever track day I did was in an Audi Sport Quattro. Someone I was with recommended "pumping the tyres up to stop them pulling off the rim!". I knew no better and followed suit. By mid morning the passenger side tyres were both completely bald so I switched them round and by the end of the day the complete set were destroyed - all from running the wrong pressures.
+1.....I always take a compressor with me to TDs, a small reasonably portable one, as there is always a power socket somewhere at race circuits. A cigar lighter one, or foot pump, would do as well.
I start the day with 22 front and 24 rear in my TVR, but they are 27 and 29 after a 15 minute session, so i let out the excess. Just have to remember to pump them back up before departing for home.
I start the day with 22 front and 24 rear in my TVR, but they are 27 and 29 after a 15 minute session, so i let out the excess. Just have to remember to pump them back up before departing for home.
I similarly start with standard pressures, do a run, drop them back, do a run drop trhem back etc until they go no higher than standard.
Each time I then go on track I do a full lap of warming up & then start to push until after about 3 laps I am back up to full speed again.
Works out at 7psi front & rear for mine.
Each time I then go on track I do a full lap of warming up & then start to push until after about 3 laps I am back up to full speed again.
Works out at 7psi front & rear for mine.
Like others I find that track tyres last much better than road tyres ever did, especially when running them at the correct hot pressures. However, the OP should think carefully about putting track tyres on his boxster because the increased lateral grip is known to lead to oil starvation. Boxster engines are not dry sumped like the Mezger and air cooled engines. Boxsters that are run in race series have modifications done to the engine to prevent them suffering oil starvation.
Another comment - I've just looked up the Federal 595 RS-R tyres that were recommended above for TDs. Demon Tweeks sell 235/40 R18 Ws for about £160 and Oponeo sell them for just over £100(although neither list 265/40 R18s), and Tweeks say " an ultra high performance E marked tyre suitable for use on the track or on the street".
Does anyone use them for everyday use?
Does anyone use them for everyday use?
Stuart444 said:
Another comment - I've just looked up the Federal 595 RS-R tyres that were recommended above for TDs. Demon Tweeks sell 235/40 R18 Ws for about £160 and Oponeo sell them for just over £100(although neither list 265/40 R18s), and Tweeks say " an ultra high performance E marked tyre suitable for use on the track or on the street".
Does anyone use them for everyday use?
I wouldn't have called it everyday use but I ran them on my last track car, which was regularly used weekends and evenings. Perfect manners on road, handled torrential rain OK. Just treat them with respect.Does anyone use them for everyday use?
Stuart444 said:
Another comment - I've just looked up the Federal 595 RS-R tyres that were recommended above for TDs. Demon Tweeks sell 235/40 R18 Ws for about £160 and Oponeo sell them for just over £100(although neither list 265/40 R18s), and Tweeks say " an ultra high performance E marked tyre suitable for use on the track or on the street".
Does anyone use them for everyday use?
I have had them on my TVR for the last four months, both for track days and road use. Great tyres. Tend to be a slightly lower load index, so actually give a more comfortable ride than some. Load index is the two or three digit code in the tyre description that is not anything obvious. So in 245/40 R17 91 Y, 91 is the load index..... And you can look up a chart on 't'internet to tell you what it means.Does anyone use them for everyday use?
On the oil point, filling it to just above the top mark can help protect. I did that until a group buy for baffled sumps persuaded me that spending around £300 to protect £8000 of engine was a good investment. I never had any problems that I noticed, but my engine is/was new in 2013.
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