Track Tyres

[MH82]

After some opinions:

I know this topic has been done to death and I have been on You Tube looking a videos for comparisons and searched through lots of posts on here about tyres - a lot of these posts are inconclusive and just wither away.

Here's my story; I have been using Toyo T1Rs for a while and got fed up of them going off after a few laps of Castle Combe. I then tried some R1R's last year and the grip level is on another level....... for the first 5 laps and then they too go off and feel greasy.

I think it is now time to move away from TOYO's and look at a better quality tyre. Below is what I have extracted from various posts and vids - how does it compare to experiences:

R1R: Not bad for short runs but tend to overheat easily and fall off the cliff

AD08R: As good as the R1R for grip from cold and keep on improving. Limited heat cycles after around 6 track days - is this right, as these are the ones I am favouring

RSR 959: Very mixed reviews, quality is varied with cracks appearing after heat cycle. Some rate them as good as R888s, others really don't.

NS-2r: Mixed reviews again, is this because of expectations. I liken this to the JD Power Surveys where SKODA always outperform VW. Same product but expectations are lower on the Skoda. So, is the tyre actually good or is it good for a Nankang?

Here are some of the videos - I was looking at the R1R's to see if I was alone in finding that they didn't last, I wasn't.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AcD66qpz-A

AD08R are what I am veering towards but concerned at how long the will last grip wise, not so much treat wise.

[88racing]

MH82 said:

I have been using Toyo T1Rs...

I think it is now time to move away from TOYO's...

But have you actually tried Toyo's track day tyres yet - coz the T1R isn't it. Try the R888R.

[HustleRussell]

Haven't used any of the above but in extensive testing have never found any particular weakness in the Yokohama A048r- don't know how that relates to the AD08r.

[MH82]

88racing said:

But have you actually tried Toyo's track day tyres yet - coz the T1R isn't it. Try the R888R.

Yes, as i said, i have tried the R1Rs and grip is great for the first few laps then thereis a cliff.

I am looking into the differences. I thought people were spelling it wrong or different codes for different markets. Will do some digging

[Neil - YVM]

Nankang NS-2R and Federal 595RS-R are both good value trackday tyres, not the ultimate grip, but pretty good, and can be used day to day (with care in the wet!)
Both will be a big step forward from the Tr1R's on track.

For better trackday grip

Nankang AR-1's are great value.

The R888R or DZ03G are great tyres.

[EvoIV NL]

Neil - YVM said:

For better trackday grip

Nankang AR-1's are great value.

The R888R or DZ03G are great tyres.

This.

[Richair]

EvoIV NL said:

Neil - YVM said:

For better trackday grip

Nankang AR-1's are great value.

The R888R or DZ03G are great tyres.

This.

2nded. We ran RSR's on my race partners EP3 and whilst they're good enough for most drivers on track days, they're no race tyre and go off fairly quickly and they're terrible in the wet. Don't let the cracking thing put you off though, it's only in the tread compound and doesn't affect them. But I wouldn't buy them personally and would go for the NS2R for a budget track tyre.

We recently switched to R888R's on the Civic and they're a level above the RSR's; much more predicable, hold up to heat much better and are great in the wet (not soaking wet though!!).

I've now tried AR1's on my recently built 951 race car and I'm very impressed. I've only done one proper track day on them at Oulton, but we ran the car hard all day and we struggled to overheat them and wear rates seem to be very low. Very impressive and seem to be up there with the best. We've not tried the Dunlop's yet, but are planning to run them on the Civic next year. I'll be sticking with the AR-1's on my car though for the time being.

[SonicShadow]

All of the tyres listed in the OP sit between summer high performance tyres and road legal track day tyres. If the car mainly does track work, then you need to look stuff like Toyo R888R or Yokohama Advan A048R.

[iguana]

What sizes are you after? I've got some 888s & AO48s in the pH classifieds in 195/50/15 & 205/60/15

Not allowed to link to the ad due to PH rules but are in Motorsport parts section.

[checkmate91]

SonicShadow said:

All of the tyres listed in the OP sit between summer high performance tyres and road legal track day tyres. If the car mainly does track work, then you need to look stuff like Toyo R888R or Yokohama Advan A048R.

And/or adjust tyre pressures after a few laps?

[JKING]

Have you looked into Dunlop Direzzas DZ03G or Federal FZ201?

I use the DZ03G as does another friend in a 182 and control tyre for MINI challenge Open Class. Absolutely brilliant tyre!

[Jay_87]

Nankang AR-1, I recently fitted a set on my car and they are very good.... and not just very good for a Nankang!

[SandyTrump]

Dunlop make good track tyres

[VX BlackRat]

On a damp all day (persistent drizzle) Silverstone GP 1/11/2016 in a Astra-G 2.2 SRi with chassis mods only I was able to directly compare 3 tyres...

Michelin PS3 3:06
Yoko AD08R 3:01
Dunlop DZ03G 2:59

Michelins - Good road tyre - awful on track. understeer understeer understeer.
Yoko's - no drama's, really stable, nice balance.
Dunlops - grippy & very direct steering but frisky, fronts got some temp - the rears didn't....so the most fun if you like that kind of thing!
In the dry they are stunning.

[V800MJH]

Toyo R1R is NOT a track day tyre. I keep coming across post about people suggesting these.

They are ok on the road, and great when its pissing down, but on a dry track they will get eaten up pretty quickly and grip levels will fall very sharply!

If you want a track tyre from Toyo get the R888 or even better the R888R. These are actual track day tyres!

I have used R1Rs for almost 5 years so I have lots of experience with them.

[tankplanker]

I really like my 888s in the dry but I do have to work a bit to get some heat into them as my car is fairly light. I can get two or three track days out of the fronts, another couple out of the rears. They are completely useless in the wet on my car because of this, I just can't go fast enough to get heat into them, or the brakes in the wet.

I have heard that the 888s are a bit heavy? Not sure if that is true, but anything about the same grip level that would be lighter? As I'm thinking about a drop from 15" to 13" wheels this winter and if I can save a couple of kilos per tyre then I'll have saved ~5% of the car's total weight downsizing.

Which tyres would be better for wet tracks?

[AdiT]

tankplanker said:

I really like my 888s in the dry but I do have to work a bit to get some heat into them as my car is fairly light. I can get two or three track days out of the fronts, another couple out of the rears. They are completely useless in the wet on my car because of this, I just can't go fast enough to get heat into them, or the brakes in the wet.

I have heard that the 888s are a bit heavy? Not sure if that is true, but anything about the same grip level that would be lighter? As I'm thinking about a drop from 15" to 13" wheels this winter and if I can save a couple of kilos per tyre then I'll have saved ~5% of the car's total weight downsizing.

Which tyres would be better for wet tracks?

I put a set of new R888r on this summer. In the dry it takes slightly longer to get them up to temp but they're more consistent and don't overheat/go-off as easily. Hammered them hard in very hot conditions and they just kept going, whereas the old ones would have needed a rest. They're a lot better than the old 888r in the wet; even in standing water. That said, for true wet performance go for a proper wet track tyre like Yoko' ao21 or compromise with something like Uni-royal Rainsport3. Don't expect either to work/last in the dry though.

[gruffalo]

Another option no one has mentioned yet is the Kumho V70.

A great tyre, not too noisy, very stiff side wall, immense grip in the dry and on my car very hard wearing.

I found them better than the R888's by quite some way.

Deffo worth a look.

[V800MJH]

tankplanker said:

I really like my 888s in the dry but I do have to work a bit to get some heat into them as my car is fairly light. I can get two or three track days out of the fronts, another couple out of the rears. They are completely useless in the wet on my car because of this, I just can't go fast enough to get heat into them, or the brakes in the wet.

I have heard that the 888s are a bit heavy? Not sure if that is true, but anything about the same grip level that would be lighter? As I'm thinking about a drop from 15" to 13" wheels this winter and if I can save a couple of kilos per tyre then I'll have saved ~5% of the car's total weight downsizing.

Which tyres would be better for wet tracks?

How much does your car weigh mate? And what is it?

I have used R888s in the pissing down wet and they were still completely fine. I don't think anything passed me on track that day either so I wasn't going slow.

My car is pretty much bang on a a tonne with me in it.

[thebraketester]

A048 are just insane the level of grip they give you. Decent tyres like those not only improve grip but also massively improve turn in feel and braking