Advice: Track Day tyre for occasional use car

[Venari]

I'm building a hot rod, with, shall we say, a bit of a challenged chassis.

The car is going to get a lot of power (~400hp) whereas it really shouldn't - it's a '62 Corvette, last of the line with a solid axle, instead of IRS. The suspension has been fully rebuilt and at the moment is pretty standard, except for uprated dampers and maybe being slightly lower than stock all around (tweak, tweak.)

Now these cars drag race all the time in the US with this power, I'm not worried about stuff breaking. I'm more of a corners person, but I know the 'Vette is going to scare me senseless at some point, and I'm not even thinking on the track.

What I'd like to do if give the car enough stickiness to show just how terrible the chassis is without actually losing the car by lack of ultimate grip. I'm not going to push it, and I'm not going to use it in the wet to begin with.

So... I thought a set of trackday tyres over the 17" American Racing rims I have bought for it would be "a good idea". This way I get good traction for the inevitable stop-light Saxo-battle, and if I do get a bit over-enthusiastic, the limit will be a little higher. This is (at the moment) purely for road use.

The rims are 17x7", A 225/45R17 is the preferred size (maybe a 235 at the rear, if it fits sensibly. I don't mind the bulgy sidewall look.)

Would the Dunlop DZ02 Soft or Toyo R888 be fair choices for a dry weather hot-rod?

Maybe I'm asking 'will these tyres kill me when they really should be my best friend?'

Edited by Venari on Wednesday 5th September 16:51

[GTWayne]

I have a set of 888's on my Volvo T5 estate and only put them on because the originals were shot and the Toyo's were languishing in the garage and needed to be used. To my surprise, they work really well and are nowhere near the death trap I feared they might be in the rain. They seam to be wearing very well and the grip is astonishing. Don't know that they will be available for the 'vette but well worth a look and I don't think that you will be disappointed if that is the route you take. Good luck.

[jon-]

Only problem with trackday tyres (even the R888) is how poorly they deal with standing water. They're fine in the rain once warm but if you go over a big puddle expect to have zero control as the car does as it pleases.

Disclaimer aside, Kumho V70a is well worth looking into. Great trackday tyre. Hankook RS2 might be a better compromise between track and road tyre.