Which wheels and tyres for track?
Discussion
As far as tyres are concerned - options are
Pirelli P-Zero CORSA's
Michelin Pilot CUP's
IIRC Dunlop also do a 'R' type tyre.
Do a search of this forum - the pro's/con's of these tyres has been discussed several times.
As for wheels - personal choice, dependent of budget. BBS Magnesium race alloys look rather good on a 993RS IMO.
>> Edited by paulc on Friday 3rd September 11:15
Pirelli P-Zero CORSA's
Michelin Pilot CUP's
IIRC Dunlop also do a 'R' type tyre.
Do a search of this forum - the pro's/con's of these tyres has been discussed several times.
As for wheels - personal choice, dependent of budget. BBS Magnesium race alloys look rather good on a 993RS IMO.
>> Edited by paulc on Friday 3rd September 11:15
Evo did do a tyre test a year or so ago, but all road tyres & on a Focus I think it was, so not really the best for track tyre comparions on an RS 
They did however test a Dunlop R on a dry track & saw unsuprisingly quicker laps gains over all the road tyres Shame they didnt put it through the full test tho.
A proper track tyre test with all the road legal track tyrea from the manufacturers would indeed be a good idea.
They did however test a Dunlop R on a dry track & saw unsuprisingly quicker laps gains over all the road tyres Shame they didnt put it through the full test tho.
A proper track tyre test with all the road legal track tyrea from the manufacturers would indeed be a good idea.
Piers, curious that you destroyed some S02...do you adjust the tyre pressures down as they get hotter. I have S02 on mine and they stand up to trackdays suprisingly well.
having looked into this myself I will move over to Dunlop R next year,,,the few guys who run 993 RS in the porsche sprint use the R and i have seen them perform while on the same track.very impressive!
also the wear rate is favourable to competitors.
Cost wise for the RS they are approx £580 & vat a set...you have to go to a 235 on the front, which shouldn't cause a problem unless you are running aggresive -ve camber settings.
I understand these tyres are very difficult but not impossible to drive with under wet conditions. I recently saw a fantastic clubsport perform very well on dunlop sports on track in the wet and dry...these have more tread pattern than the R.
having looked into this myself I will move over to Dunlop R next year,,,the few guys who run 993 RS in the porsche sprint use the R and i have seen them perform while on the same track.very impressive!
also the wear rate is favourable to competitors.
Cost wise for the RS they are approx £580 & vat a set...you have to go to a 235 on the front, which shouldn't cause a problem unless you are running aggresive -ve camber settings.
I understand these tyres are very difficult but not impossible to drive with under wet conditions. I recently saw a fantastic clubsport perform very well on dunlop sports on track in the wet and dry...these have more tread pattern than the R.
The Corsa's probably offer the best compromise if you drive your car to and from the circuit. I drove to Spa, drove round Spa in torrential rain in the morning, dry in the afternoon and they are superb. Not ultimately as grippy as a pilot sport cup, but lower wear rate and totally ok even in standing water.
fergus said:
Question...
Is the Dunlop DO1J the same as the Dunlop Formula R?
I'd ask Rico, but in his absence Iggy knows almost as much about Porkers
Dunlop formula R is generic for dunlops R rated tyres (coincidence that!), however, the D01J is one particular tread pattern.
He's right. I've still got my Formula Rs from my old M3. I have just had a look and it says on them,
"Dunlop Formula R SP Sport D98J".
My tyres have the 3 wiggly lines around them as the tread. Bt the way, when you buy them, they only have 5 mm tread depth, not 8 mm like normal road tyres. They are at their most grippy when warmed up. So you have to go reasonably carefully on the road on a cold day. They're OK in damp conditions on the track as long as there is no standing water, certainly not worse than an SO2, the other tyre I used on the track in the M3.
In summary, I wouldn't mind driving to the track on a Dunlop Formula R shod 993 RS, I think it would be a fine choice.
Oh yes, and Dunlop Formula Rs last MUCH longer than say, SO2s on the track because they are designed for the job of track driving. Normal road tyres like SO2s can wear out quickly on the track, especially your front left one. I have heard that the 996 GT3 RS tyre wears out really quickly on track days on its standard suspension set up. Stick Forula Rs on it and they would last longer I'd say.
Piers,
The answer depends on how deep your pockets are.
I'd save the SO2's for the rain. In my experience they overheat rapidly in the dry and then wear frighteningly fast whilst loseing adhesion.
IMHO MPSC's are the tyre of choice - do a search on Rennlists, esp racers forum as they offer excellant temp and pressure stability when warmed up and give the best grip of the "R" tyres.
The Corsa's are apparently better than the MPSC in cold/damp.
As far as wheels go Fikse, Kinesis or BBS do great lightweight wheels which are rebuildable but are expensive. Wheels get damaged, ask me how I know, and there is merit in buying some cheap 996 18ins ones.
The answer depends on how deep your pockets are.
I'd save the SO2's for the rain. In my experience they overheat rapidly in the dry and then wear frighteningly fast whilst loseing adhesion.
IMHO MPSC's are the tyre of choice - do a search on Rennlists, esp racers forum as they offer excellant temp and pressure stability when warmed up and give the best grip of the "R" tyres.
The Corsa's are apparently better than the MPSC in cold/damp.
As far as wheels go Fikse, Kinesis or BBS do great lightweight wheels which are rebuildable but are expensive. Wheels get damaged, ask me how I know, and there is merit in buying some cheap 996 18ins ones.
ssume you`re wanting to put tyres on a 993 RS.
The Michelin Pilot Sport cup tyre would be an obvious choice, the only problem I used to find with them on a 993 was that they didn`t "bite" under braking and they would skid and flatspot very easily indeed.
The Dunlop D98J was good, the Dunlop D01 which replaced them are even better. Ultimatley more of a dry than a wet tyre but good solid tread blocks hold up very well and you can really lean on them.
You wouldn`t want to use them on the road all the time, just to get you to and from the track.
Henry
The Michelin Pilot Sport cup tyre would be an obvious choice, the only problem I used to find with them on a 993 was that they didn`t "bite" under braking and they would skid and flatspot very easily indeed.
The Dunlop D98J was good, the Dunlop D01 which replaced them are even better. Ultimatley more of a dry than a wet tyre but good solid tread blocks hold up very well and you can really lean on them.
You wouldn`t want to use them on the road all the time, just to get you to and from the track.
Henry
Henry-F said:
The Dunlop D98J was good, the Dunlop D01 which replaced them are even better. Ultimatley more of a dry than a wet tyre but good solid tread blocks hold up very well and you can really lean on them.
You wouldn`t want to use them on the road all the time, just to get you to and from the track.
Henry
That's basically what I wanted to say, but in a nut shell.
Hi Roygarth , not sure if you are on 17 or 18 inch wheels/tyres but here's my opinion ;
starting with wheels , best to get strong ones that are not too heavy , original Porsche 996 'twist'wheels in 17 inch size are readily available with much cheapness from Jasmine ( people swap them out for 18 inchers cos that 'looks' better ).
going on to tyres , Dunlop Formula R D01J tread pattern has meaty grooves ( about 9mm deep new) that last a long time before wearing down to 'road illegal'. They are inexpensive and work well....John Probert was using them to good effect in his 993RS at the recent PCGB Brands weekend sprint competition. The Corsas and MPSCs start with significantly less tread depth , about 5mm deep new.
starting with wheels , best to get strong ones that are not too heavy , original Porsche 996 'twist'wheels in 17 inch size are readily available with much cheapness from Jasmine ( people swap them out for 18 inchers cos that 'looks' better ).
going on to tyres , Dunlop Formula R D01J tread pattern has meaty grooves ( about 9mm deep new) that last a long time before wearing down to 'road illegal'. They are inexpensive and work well....John Probert was using them to good effect in his 993RS at the recent PCGB Brands weekend sprint competition. The Corsas and MPSCs start with significantly less tread depth , about 5mm deep new.
paulc said:
As for wheels - personal choice, dependent of budget. BBS Magnesium race alloys look rather good on a 993RS IMO.
>> Edited by paulc on Friday 3rd September 11:15
Paul, Are they the BBS LM's, which seem to be the 'racers choice'!
Thanks for all the input guys, I think I'll go for the BBS LM's and the MPSC's. I'll report back after my visit to Brands Hatch on 29th September - Vroom vroom...
>> Edited by roygarth on Tuesday 7th September 16:23
Sport Auto, German mag, did a test in Oct 2002 of R tyres on a 996 GT3. Tyre sizes were 225/40/18 on front, 285/30/18 on rear. Tyres tested were the four leading R tyres (in their opinion)
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup
Pirelli P Zero Corsa
Yokohama Advan A048
Dunlop Super Sport Race
They tested the tyres round Hockenheim. The results were as in order above so Michelin was quickest tyre (laptime 1.17.7), Pirelli second (1.18.1), Yokohama third (1.18.5), Dunlop fourth (1.18.8).
At the time Michelin was the most expensive tyre by some margin, followed by Yokohama, Pirelli, Dunlop.
My German's not good enough to understand all their other conclusions, but I've got the article if anyone wants it e-mailed.
Myself, I've now been through two sets of Pirelli P Zero Corsas on trackdays and like them a lot. The Michelins also have an excellent reputation amongst people I know, and you see a lot of them on 911's at trackdays. Dunlop and Yokohama I know less about.
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup
Pirelli P Zero Corsa
Yokohama Advan A048
Dunlop Super Sport Race
They tested the tyres round Hockenheim. The results were as in order above so Michelin was quickest tyre (laptime 1.17.7), Pirelli second (1.18.1), Yokohama third (1.18.5), Dunlop fourth (1.18.8).
At the time Michelin was the most expensive tyre by some margin, followed by Yokohama, Pirelli, Dunlop.
My German's not good enough to understand all their other conclusions, but I've got the article if anyone wants it e-mailed.
Myself, I've now been through two sets of Pirelli P Zero Corsas on trackdays and like them a lot. The Michelins also have an excellent reputation amongst people I know, and you see a lot of them on 911's at trackdays. Dunlop and Yokohama I know less about.
Stumbled accross this Autocar tyre test on the web, a few yrs old & not really Porsche relevant but might be worth a read for some anyway-
www.users.totalise.co.uk/~scoobydoo/motoring/tyres1999/tyres1999.htm
www.users.totalise.co.uk/~scoobydoo/motoring/tyres1999/tyres1999.htm
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