Trackday tyres: which have you used? How were they?

[Gibbo205]

Hi there

Be good to hear others findings on track tyres, both on road and track please, for me:-

SuperSports: incredible all rounder, great in dry both on road and track and superb in wet conditions and last forever.
Pirelli corsa: superb dry tyre, stiff sidewalls, but very hard to get heat into on road or wet conditions.
Cups: best dry grip for lap times though software sidewalls. Only 5mm tread so not good in standing water but are easy to heat up so great on wet/damp track days.
595RSR's: Good dry track tyre, stiff sidewalls and very cheap. But so hard to get heat into on road and like soap in wet.

My dilemma:-
I need following tyres:
255/35/18 front
265/35/18 rear

Number one choice was SuperSports, but not available in such sizes, only 265/40/18
Shame I found them an awesome tyre for everything and last forever!

So those here who track their cars what tyres have you got experience off and your feedback please? Anyone here used tyres like AD08R's, R888's, 595RSR's, V70A's or something else, how would you rate them on track/road both dry and wet please or if tried several how they compare?

Currently running 595RSR's, find them ok on a dry warm day or dry track, but they struggle to get heat in them on road or wet track days. So far AD08R's are looking like favoured replacement tyre just be good to hear about others experiences please with tyres.

Car by the way is an 1350kg E46 M3

[gruffalo]

V70A's here great dry track or road tyre, not easy to get heat into in damp conditions is the draw back.

They will take a huge amount of abuse and still not go off, I average about 6-8 dry trackdays a year and 7000 miles out of a set.

[Gibbo205]

gruffalo said:

V70A's here great dry track or road tyre, not easy to get heat into in damp conditions is the draw back.

They will take a huge amount of abuse and still not go off, I average about 6-8 dry trackdays a year and 7000 miles out of a set.

You using medium or hard compound please?

[MR2_SC]

595rsr's here. Currently on my vx220 but I've run them on an e36 m3 as well. Have you tried playing with the pressures in the cold and wet? If not dropping pressures should help a lot.

888's seem to need more 'warming' than the 595's.

In my experience, the ad08's wear better than the 595's but didn't give quite as much grip.

[Lefty]

I use AD08 as a summer tyre on a 1250kg Impreza and am very happy with them in wet and dry. They really, really don't like the cold though...

[gruffalo]

Gibbo205 said:

gruffalo said:

V70A's here great dry track or road tyre, not easy to get heat into in damp conditions is the draw back.

They will take a huge amount of abuse and still not go off, I average about 6-8 dry trackdays a year and 7000 miles out of a set.

You using medium or hard compound please?

Hard Front and medium rears.

[shim]

Cups is the only option if you want the best tyre for a 1370kg M3.None of the rest are as good or as fast. Cups are fine in the wet, just not best in standing water.....but no prizes then anyway unless you are racing

[iguana]

Direzzas work really well on 36s better than cups imho, dunno about the fatter 46s tho

[andycaca]

v70's are good for a trackday tyre. not as much outright grip as a 888 (especially from cold) but will knock spots off 595 or similar tyres.

if you buy a set you will not be disappointed. i use v70 for trackdays and 888 for sprinting purely down to the "from cold" performance. this doesnt really apply to you and non-competitive trackdays.

edit: i use medium. you would also want to use medium judging by the weight of your car. theyre also available in hard, will be a couple of seconds a lap slower but last for much longer stints (ie a handful of 40 minute races)

Edited by andycaca on Thursday 9th January 11:09

[fushion julz]

I've used R888s on my 1250Kg E30 M3...They offer fantastic grip in the dry and are easy to get up to temperature. The sidewalls are *very* stiff so tey provide excellent stability, turn-in and feedback.

However, they wear extremely quickly. It is entirely possible to destroy the front (usually left side) in a single trackday! And that makes them a bit expensive.
They are better suited to lighter cars (upto 1000Kg) according to Toyo.

I now use Michelin S9c slicks that I can get part-worn with loads of life for about 1/3rd the cost of the R888s. I use the hard endurance compound which lasts well, doesn't overheat and has even more (dry) grip than R888s. Obviously I then need a set of (road tyre) wets...

[shim]

E46 = Cups

[shaunsmith]

Cups are outstanding. Pirelli Corsa directional now obsolete used to be the best, now Cups are king. Will do 3 consecutive laps of the Ring all out with no run off & limpit grip.

[QBee]

Two sets of wheels and tyres. Stop trying to compromise. Get a second set of wheels off Fleabay. What you need on the A3456 in a downpour will never get you around Brands Hatch in your best time ever.

[Hark]

MR2_SC said:

595rsr's here. Currently on my vx220 but I've run them on an e36 m3 as well. Have you tried playing with the pressures in the cold and wet? If not dropping pressures should help a lot.

888's seem to need more 'warming' than the 595's.

In my experience, the ad08's wear better than the 595's but didn't give quite as much grip.

Be interested to know what sizes and pressures you run on the VX. Tried to send you a private msg but says you don't permit emails. Just bought a set for my VX 215/40 front and 235-40 rear.

[MR2_SC]

Hark said:

Be interested to know what sizes and pressures you run on the VX. Tried to send you a private msg but says you don't permit emails. Just bought a set for my VX 215/40 front and 235-40 rear.

Hi Hark.

I'm running a 16/17 combo on TD1.2's so sizes may be different if you're on 17's.

Current set up is 205/50x16 & 225/45x17 and the fronts just about rub on full lock and bump (coming off the drive) not sure how 215's would work.

P. S. I'm on .org as Captain Vimes (when it's working again)



P. S.

[CedricN]

This is my experience, modified porsche 924 turbo, 1240 kg total weight including me, 205/50 15"

R888: Tried these a while ago while they were still cheap. But they worked ok, not more. The soft sidewalls were the biggest problem, when they got hot you really started loosing confidence in the tyres since the car started to move around and be really fussy. But outright grip was good. They didnt need a lot of warmup, which is nice if you are sprintracing.

Michelin MPSC:
Bought a stack of used Michelins from a racing team, when I first Went out I almost Went off the track. They really need more warming up than the R888, but once they are up they are a much nicer tyre. They never overheat and they sidewalls stays in control regardless of speed or temperature. Although they are significantly narrower compared to the R888 grip was about the same. But I did faster lap times anyway since the stability was so much better.

Have also tried Bridgestone RE540 and Hankook z211 on my n/a 924, but that was a long time ago. The Re540 was a absolutely superp tyre. Don't think they make it any more.

[billyboysm3]

Run Cups and square set up so 265 35 18 all round and then rotate the rims.

They do grip in rain and have good damp grip.

They just do not go off.

You should get about 8 TD out of a set of cups with a good geo. 2 out of the 8 of mine were very very wet days.

[StuB]

Lefty said:

I use AD08 as a summer tyre on a 1250kg Impreza and am very happy with them in wet and dry. They really, really don't like the cold though...

Another happy AD08 user here, 500bhp 911 Turbo.