Track & Blat

[MARTIN993]

6 months into ownership. Like many owners, i suspect, i enjoy track days and batting in equal measure.

I've finally conceded that if i am to drive to and from track days, i need 2 sets of wheels and tyres!

Currently my car (Supersport R) is on Avon 500s (175 x 55 x 13).

No major complaints - although i find it's a bit under geared esp. on track.

Reaching out for advice on a second set of wheels to be kept by track day organiser and swopped before / after track day / drive home.

Interested to hear thoughts / experiences on this in general as well as some specifics:

-Larger wheels and slightly fatter profile tyres...Will this noticeably / effectively change the gearing of the car? Do fatter tyres warm up more quickly? Are 15s better suited for the road or the track?

-Implications of having 13s on the road and 15s on the track…Will i need to alter suspension / ride height each time i change?

-Best mobile fitting firm to replace Avons

-Best place to buy track day wheels and rubber

Thanks in advance.

Martin

[DCL]

You're probably near power levels where an 8x13 rear would be more rewarding, so why not get some ZZR's. They wear well and would be happy on the CR500 setup - maybe they'll increase the rake, but that might be not be a bad thing on track. The bigger rear wheel will also help up the gearing a bit too.

[framerateuk]

I have a Supersport (non R) and have just done the opposite and gone from 15's to 13's. With the 13's, the gearing feels shorter and the engine more eager. For me, the 15's are more suited to road where I can keep the revs down a bit in 6th. I've not had the 13s on track yet but I'm really looking forward to trying them as I think they'll give me the balance I've been looking for. I'm looking to get another set of 13s for road use, but use a higher profile tyre like the AO21R.

Fatter tyres will take longer to warm up. 180bhp is right on the dividing line between needing the wider rears or not. I think this would be a much better option than going for 15" wheels.

From my very limited experience on 13's, I can' see me going back to 15s anytime soon.

Edited by framerateuk on Monday 28th April 20:35

[coppice]

You could do what I did for years and that's drive there , do the track stuff and drive home; the serious people with slicks and trailers might go a bit quicker but so what? There is something very satisfying about driving there and back - and humbling a few GT3s while you're there, which even I managed sometimes on CR500s/ various Yokos. My view is that if somebody is getting into trailers and spare sets of tyres(and strutting around in a race suit and looking so terribly self important ) they should be doing the real thing - racing or speed events.

[MARTIN993]

Thanks for the replies.

13s for road and track it is then.

@ coppice : that is my preference - plan is to keep a set with TDO in order that I can keep road tyres fresh and street legal.

[JeffC]

Personally I wouldnt go to 15" rims, a set of 8" rears with 205 tyres will help top speed but if gearing is your biggest issue I would change the final drive, Ive thought about doing it with my car as I think the duratec lump with the 6 speed box has enough torque for it not to compromise acceleration , a 3.3 cw&p would not be an expensive swap and would really help with road cruising, my csr260 run this set up and although it run 15" rims pretty sure it was around 20mph/1,000 rpm in 6th.

I tried to use one tyre for road and track and went for 888s which were streets ahead of cr500s in terms of grip in wet and dry however were awful on the road so i went back to cr500s for road and a set of michy slicks for track, doing it again I would go for a set of zzrs.