Cheap Tyres: Nankang etc etc

[Don]

OK. So I'm doing some thinking. I do track days - and the ongoing condition of my tyres certainly reflects this. My current strategy has been to fit the car with Michelin Pilot Sport tyres.

They're good. Very good. They wear very well considering the punishment. They grip well. They're good in the wet and good in the dry. But, boy, does one pay for the privelige!

So this got me to thinking. I preferred the Michelin's to the Pirelli's I had on my last car...but *really* by how much????

So I'm thinking of two possible sets of replacements:

1) An all round set of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tyres. (Anyone know what to pay??) I know they're supposed to be rubbish in the wet - but on dry track days I'll have fun with the extra grip. This is the expensive strategy as they won't last and they'll be as much as the regular Michelins.

2) Fit a set of Nankang tyres. Oh . These are dirt cheap. About a third of the cost of Michelins/Pirellis etc.

Now I'm not expecting the same performance as the Michelins. I'm expecting the tyres to be *not too bad*. Lap times are relative on track days as one isn't racing and I can TRASH THREE SETS for the cost of the Cup tyres!

I know its an experiment.

Should I?

Has anyone else gone down a similar route? I'm not talking Colway remoulds here...these are new tyres - just made in Taiwan?

[Don]

Ta for the thoughts, chaps.

BTW: I can get these Nankangs (or Kumhos) off of www.mytyres.co.uk

Anyone used 'em? They are CHEAP!

BUT - their prices don't include fitting so one will need to visit someone who can do the job (in my case with wife in tow driving the Vectra with the new tyres in it! ) . Does anyone have any experience of doing this - particularly in the Hampshire area...

Of course I could always call Micheldever and beat 'em up on the price of whatever's cheapest!

[Don]

iguana said:

Don, price up Toyo Proxies T1 S or R,(R replaced S & is rated superior) standard fit on TVR I think & very well rated on other cars, way way cheaper than Mich too. These are perhaps you best bet.

Good thinking, sir. At mytyres these are £140 vs £240 for the Michelin's.

Damn - I really like the Pilot Sport tyres - but given that they recieve something of a battering at my hands I've got to think seriously about tyres I can trash...

[Don]

Henry-F said:

Fitting cheap crappy tyres to your car then going off to do trackdays is an utter waste of time and money. You might as well go the whole hog and ditch the Porker in favour of a Ford Focus or similar, after all they both have 4 wheels and a steering wheel.

Well that told me!

Henry-F said:

The Pilot Sport cup tyres are a very specialised tyre designed solely for race track use, (they happen to be road legal to make it easier to get to and from trackdays). They allow every bit of the suspension on your car to be used to it`s full extent and to do it`s job properly.

Interesting. I asked a Michelin guy at the Festival whether or not I could get away with using Cup tyres as an everyday tyre - his response was: "Well...OK...but don't go out on wet days..." Sounds about right to me. I could almost do exactly that as the car is purely for entertainment - other than the days it pisses down on the way to the track...

Henry-F said:

Fitting rubbish to your wheels is like spending £1,500 on a reasonable Hi Fi system then gone down to Woolworths for some speakers.

Very true. I don't want to fit rubbish. I just don't want to pay through the nose for tyres I will trash if I don't have to. Don't get me wrong - I like Michelin tyres and prefer them to most other "premium" brands in my experience so far...its just that £900 for all four corners (when it happens on a regular basis) makes the teeth itch somewhat...when I know I could get something nearly as good for half the money...

Henry-F said:

Do not confuse the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tyres with normal Piolt Sports. They are a totally different tyre.

I'm not. I have used the road tyre Pilot Sport for some years now. I have never tried the Cup tyres - it would be an experiment for me to see if they're "worth" it...

Henry-F said:

If you want to experiment (and there are plenty of options out there), make sure you are buying a track / race tyre. The Dunlops for instance seem to be excellent value al the moment. Henry

Hmmmn. Another option! If one were to use the Dunlop track day tyres - would be similarly unwise to try and use them every day? Probably.... choices choices

[Don]

Henry-F said:

Except that the Khumos people fit to their road cars are just standard road tyres, not khumo`s track version. The cheapest way to run track tyres is to get two sets of wheels. Fit your pilot s/c or Dunlop (D-01 may not be available anymore although they were excellent with big stable tread blocks), track tyres to one set. Fit good road tyres to another. That way you get better rubber for the road, (road tyres are more stable throughout temperature ranges and road conditions), not only that but they will probably be half the price and last 4 times as long on the road. By running your track tyres on the road you are putting them through more heat cycles (and once they`ve done 3 or 4 cycles they are going downhill fast). You also have a less safe car on the road. When we use track tyres we also adjust the car for prevailing conditions but for you to pull into the services and adjust roll bars, ride height, low speed bump, rebound and tyre pressures everytime it starts to rain is a tad impractical ! Henry

Fair enough. I'm thinking of giving up on the "road legal track day tyre" thing and sticking to decent road tyres...although possibly not Michelins!

Might get a second set of wheels and stick track tyres on as you suggest. They'd still need to be road legal, though, as I can't arrange for the wife to drive the "support vehicle" to each of my track days!