Track-day tyre conundrum

[Chuck21]

Hi all, hoping for a bit of advice.

I have track day coming up at Snetterton but noticed that the front tyres on my Clio 182 are pretty worn-out (close to the wear-markers and minor cracking on the shoulders); I figure I may as well use the track day to finish them off but wondered whether it would be a good idea to swap the rears for the fronts given the Clio tends to but a lot of strain on the fronts - what do people think?

Cheers!

[HustleRussell]

Rotating them isn't a bad idea, depending on what you have on the rear. Presumably you need to drive home on these tyres afterwards?

Personally if they're low on tread and cracking, I'd be swapping the rear tyres to the front and putting brand new tyres on the rear.

[anonymous-user]

If you've got to drive there and back on those tyres then I'd change them now TBH. Decent tyres for the Clio are so cheap it doesn't seem worth it. Even if you put them on the back they'll still probably end up completely shot if they're close to the limit now.

[McSam]

Time for some spare wheels!

Taking two sets of tyres to a track day opens up so many more options for you. You can run tyres down way below what's legal on the road but is still perfectly usable on track, then drive home safely. You've got peace of mind in case of a puncture, unexpected wear or a big off. You can also have semi-slicks that you might not feel comfortable using every day.

[anonymous-user]

That's exactly what I do, a set of wheels easily fits in the back of a 182 and you can get a cheap trolley jack for about £25-30. I've been exceptionally lazy and blown another £30 on an electric impact wrench too, runs from the cig lighter socket and makes swapping the wheels over so much easier.

All you really need other than the wheels and a jack though is some ratchet straps or similar to stop the wheels flying round the car if you have a prang on the way to/from the track.