Tyres

[rossins]

Morning All,

I know its been discussed before, but what are the current thoughts on the best tyres for a GTR (UK based). The car will be doing road & track mileage - details of best value suppliers would also be appreciated.

Thanks
Rossins

[Storer]

I think Michelins are the current favourite road tyre. The Factory are supplying them to builders too. Not always easy to get though.

I have a set of Pirellis at present and I am quite happy with them. I have a tyre supplier who I do quite a bit of business with and can usually get a decent deal with him. I know some have dealt with Black Circles on line. Specialist performance tyre suppliers may be another good route.

All road tyres will take a pasting on the track. Khumo and Toyo track tyres are the best bet but can be very 'challenging' on the road in the wet. Also, after a couple of 'enthusiastic' track days they will be illegal on tread depth for road use. Best to have two sets of wheels and swap according to where you are using the car.

Paul

[2001ultima]

I would recommend the BFGoodrich G-Force Rival / Rival S or for a bit more extreme the Toyo R888.

[confusionhunter]

Ive read on a few threads the Michelins PS2s give the best road manners.

[V8Dom]

ive had a few
goodyear orginaly, wheel spin all the time. not good. ok but
toyo 888 omg fantastic tyre lasted well drove nicely
kumo... fantastic grip. i had med front hard rear. nice balance but did wear and tramlined and bump steered like i was on a bad road
mitchelin rears, kumo front. ps2 very good, does lack the grip of kumo and 888 on acceleration, but corner speed tries to hang in their and controllable when it starts to slide
still tram lines and bump steered and was dangerous
ps2 front ps2 rear. nice balance, no tram lines or bump steer? tyre hides this. same geo as about except tow in.. but tried this toe in with above and made no difference, kumo just should be track only emergency on the road

i will be ordering long wish bones soon(thanks just reminded me) and running 888 all round if i can get them. the fronts will be 285 wide and hopefully ill have the confidense in the front end again as im driving it like a porsche at the moment and coming out the corners sideway trying to get the speed back up..

[ROWDYRENAULT]

i AM JUST NOW REPLACING MY FIRST SET OF TIRES. MICHELIN PILOTS 23 THOUSAND MILES NO TRAMLINING NO BUMB STEER NEW TIRES WILL BE PS2s. Lee

[Ult-Jim]

If your not after track times & not a track god but after a good fun time with good driving skill than the Mitchs will last you long enough.

[2001ultima]

Don't discount the BFG Rivals, I would buy them again without any hesitation. I think everyone would be very surprised as I was. The tread wear rating of 200 can't be correct, more like 100.

[F.C.]

I was using Pirelli Corsa's until I bought my new wheels that were mounted with PS2's
Can't say too much about the PS2's as I have done hardly any miles on them.
The Pirellis seemed absolutely fine to me no untoward tramlining and they stuck like sh*t to a blanket.
They were exceptional in wet conditions on the few times I was caught out.

[Graham-P]

New wheels????? Well.....

[F.C.]

Graham-P said:

New wheels????? Well.....

Braid F1

[Storer]

V8Dom said:

ive had a few
goodyear orginaly, wheel spin all the time. not good. ok but
toyo 888 omg fantastic tyre lasted well drove nicely
kumo... fantastic grip. i had med front hard rear. nice balance but did wear and tramlined and bump steered like i was on a bad road
mitchelin rears, kumo front. ps2 very good, does lack the grip of kumo and 888 on acceleration, but corner speed tries to hang in their and controllable when it starts to slide
still tram lines and bump steered and was dangerous
ps2 front ps2 rear. nice balance, no tram lines or bump steer? tyre hides this. same geo as about except tow in.. but tried this toe in with above and made no difference, kumo just should be track only emergency on the road

i will be ordering long wish bones soon(thanks just reminded me) and running 888 all round if i can get them. the fronts will be 285 wide and hopefully ill have the confidense in the front end again as im driving it like a porsche at the moment and coming out the corners sideway trying to get the speed back up..

Dom
Remember to cost in your gym membership to build up your arm/shoulder muscles when you cost out those 285 tyres. They make a considerable difference to the steering effort at lower speeds.

I have been considering getting a pair of 285 Pirelli tyres to try on the front of mine (I have the rims but they have the Khumo track tyres on them). Reluctant to spend the cash at the moment though in case they don't work.


Paul

[Racingroj]

Hi Paul
One of the benefits of fitting longer front wishbones is that they lighten the steering. Fitting 285 front tyres with the longer wishbones will still have a lighter steering feel but with less under steer.
Roj

[V8Dom]

depends on the geo set up, and if i fit power steering too

Martins drove fine and wasnt that much heavier although his steering wheel was slightly bigger for parking

as Roger says the longer arms make a slight difference

dom

[Storer]

I have had the longer wishbones for 4 years now so have direct experience. Admittedly the tyres have been the sticky Khumos with their square profile but they increase the effort considerably.

Power steering would be on my upgrade list if going this route.

The wider tyres should give better braking as well as turn-in.

The good thing about the longer wishbones is that you can easily revert to the 245 size if you want to.


Paul