1st track day - Oulton Park - Tyres
Discussion
Hi
Going to my first track day in June (Oulton Park) and confusing the hell out of myself with tyres.
My car is a 2014 M135i with standard 18 inch alloys (225-40-18 and 245-35-18).
Looking to either:-
-change the tyres to Syron Street Race http://en.syron.eu/tires/motorsport-tire-semi-slic... but as you may know they only do 225-40-18, which is fine for the front. Is this tyre good for the rear, will it fit on the alloy wheels at the rear? Is the fact it is a semi slick albeit thinner (225) better than a 245 road tyre (Michelin Super Sports as bought with the car).
-stick with the standard road tyres, as this is my first track day.
- buy some 2nd hand alloys 17 or 18 inch and buy some slicks from ebay (ex clio cup or BTCC)? Is this a good idea? Will this ruin the car setup? Will it place too much pressure on the other car parts (suspension?)
Any tips greatly appreciated.....
Thanks
Simon
Going to my first track day in June (Oulton Park) and confusing the hell out of myself with tyres.
My car is a 2014 M135i with standard 18 inch alloys (225-40-18 and 245-35-18).
Looking to either:-
-change the tyres to Syron Street Race http://en.syron.eu/tires/motorsport-tire-semi-slic... but as you may know they only do 225-40-18, which is fine for the front. Is this tyre good for the rear, will it fit on the alloy wheels at the rear? Is the fact it is a semi slick albeit thinner (225) better than a 245 road tyre (Michelin Super Sports as bought with the car).
-stick with the standard road tyres, as this is my first track day.
- buy some 2nd hand alloys 17 or 18 inch and buy some slicks from ebay (ex clio cup or BTCC)? Is this a good idea? Will this ruin the car setup? Will it place too much pressure on the other car parts (suspension?)
Any tips greatly appreciated.....
Thanks
Simon
Stick with what you have.
You're massively overcomplicating it, the brakes will be the weak point given it's a bmw, fancy tyres will only increase the stress on the car / driver, and the chances are you'll spend most of the day trying to recalibrate your sense of possible, and you don't need more grip / stick / pace to make it more complicated.
After your first day, you may have some clear idea of what you actually need.
You're massively overcomplicating it, the brakes will be the weak point given it's a bmw, fancy tyres will only increase the stress on the car / driver, and the chances are you'll spend most of the day trying to recalibrate your sense of possible, and you don't need more grip / stick / pace to make it more complicated.
After your first day, you may have some clear idea of what you actually need.
Stick to standards, you'll be absolutely fine. Take a tyre pressure monitor and pump so you can keep an eye on the pressures and let air out as required (and then re-inflate for driving home).
I did Oulton Park for the first time about 18 months ago and had a great day. Good mix of cars on there, from track prepped 182s all the way up to a brand new 991 GT3.
Also have a look at track day insurance. Could be worth the £ to eliminate the risk of someone wiping you out.
I had an instructor for about an hour in the morning which I'd also recommend. Good for learning the track and getting some general pointers on your driving.
As an extra anectode - the two biggest tools of the day when I went to Oulton Park were two guys in a brand new M3 and S3 (the saloon thing - looked really nice). Their driving was fairly appalling (passing on the wrong side, overtaking in braking zones etc.) and they got spoken to a couple of times and eventually were asked to leave when the M3 had to be recovered from the track on a lowloader. Not because the guy had crashed, but because he'd run out of petrol. Anyway I digress.
Enjoy the track day!
I did Oulton Park for the first time about 18 months ago and had a great day. Good mix of cars on there, from track prepped 182s all the way up to a brand new 991 GT3.
Also have a look at track day insurance. Could be worth the £ to eliminate the risk of someone wiping you out.
I had an instructor for about an hour in the morning which I'd also recommend. Good for learning the track and getting some general pointers on your driving.
As an extra anectode - the two biggest tools of the day when I went to Oulton Park were two guys in a brand new M3 and S3 (the saloon thing - looked really nice). Their driving was fairly appalling (passing on the wrong side, overtaking in braking zones etc.) and they got spoken to a couple of times and eventually were asked to leave when the M3 had to be recovered from the track on a lowloader. Not because the guy had crashed, but because he'd run out of petrol. Anyway I digress.
Enjoy the track day!
.Yep, pretty much. There's also possibility that just bolting slicks onto an otherwise standard car might not be the best idea and a car that is caged is also more likely to have proper suspension and brakes etc (cage is an easier thing to confirm at a glance).
Ultimately, no TDO or circuit wants to get involved with anything that even slightly resembles scrutineering on trackdays so these things are (quite rightly IMO) left to the driver.
Ultimately, no TDO or circuit wants to get involved with anything that even slightly resembles scrutineering on trackdays so these things are (quite rightly IMO) left to the driver.
Your first track day is planned on a very technical and difficult circuit.
You have a very quick rear wheel drive car
You ask about changing to slick/track spec tyres.
I am sure you are a very safe road driver, but track work is very different and no matter how good you think you are you will be slow first time out. What is imperative is to get yourself in the right frame of mind and thus your comment about tyres would worry me.
My advice would be as follows;- Book tuition from your first session, plan to drive slowly and build up pace. Starting with a self imposed 4k rev limit and work up in 500rpm jumps each session.. Leave your ego in the car park. Keep track time to short burst of no more than 5 laps so you don't get tired and loose concentration and the car does not get worn out. If it feels fast you are over driving. If you follow the above advice you will have a great day out. If you don't there is danger you could be doing the walk of shame watching your car going home on a low loader smashed up.
At my last track day my father in our fully track prepared car went out too quick too soon and momentarily lost concentration and the car ended up sustaining damage in an Armco barrier.
Worry about track tyres for the future when you have caught the bug and are running a dedicated track car.
You have a very quick rear wheel drive car
You ask about changing to slick/track spec tyres.
I am sure you are a very safe road driver, but track work is very different and no matter how good you think you are you will be slow first time out. What is imperative is to get yourself in the right frame of mind and thus your comment about tyres would worry me.
My advice would be as follows;- Book tuition from your first session, plan to drive slowly and build up pace. Starting with a self imposed 4k rev limit and work up in 500rpm jumps each session.. Leave your ego in the car park. Keep track time to short burst of no more than 5 laps so you don't get tired and loose concentration and the car does not get worn out. If it feels fast you are over driving. If you follow the above advice you will have a great day out. If you don't there is danger you could be doing the walk of shame watching your car going home on a low loader smashed up.
At my last track day my father in our fully track prepared car went out too quick too soon and momentarily lost concentration and the car ended up sustaining damage in an Armco barrier.
Worry about track tyres for the future when you have caught the bug and are running a dedicated track car.
Your first track day is planned on a very technical and difficult circuit.
You have a very quick rear wheel drive car
You ask about changing to slick/track spec tyres.
I am sure you are a very safe road driver, but track work is very different and no matter how good you think you are you will be slow first time out. What is imperative is to get yourself in the right frame of mind and thus your comment about tyres would worry me.
My advice would be as follows;- Book tuition from your first session, plan to drive slowly and build up pace. Starting with a self imposed 4k rev limit and work up in 500rpm jumps each session.. Leave your ego in the car park. Keep track time to short burst of no more than 5 laps so you don't get tired and loose concentration and the car does not get worn out. If it feels fast you are over driving. If you follow the above advice you will have a great day out. If you don't there is danger you could be doing the walk of shame watching your car going home on a low loader smashed up.
At my last track day my father in our fully track prepared car went out too quick too soon and momentarily lost concentration and the car ended up sustaining damage in an Armco barrier.
Worry about track tyres for the future when you have caught the bug and are running a dedicated track car.
You have a very quick rear wheel drive car
You ask about changing to slick/track spec tyres.
I am sure you are a very safe road driver, but track work is very different and no matter how good you think you are you will be slow first time out. What is imperative is to get yourself in the right frame of mind and thus your comment about tyres would worry me.
My advice would be as follows;- Book tuition from your first session, plan to drive slowly and build up pace. Starting with a self imposed 4k rev limit and work up in 500rpm jumps each session.. Leave your ego in the car park. Keep track time to short burst of no more than 5 laps so you don't get tired and loose concentration and the car does not get worn out. If it feels fast you are over driving. If you follow the above advice you will have a great day out. If you don't there is danger you could be doing the walk of shame watching your car going home on a low loader smashed up.
At my last track day my father in our fully track prepared car went out too quick too soon and momentarily lost concentration and the car ended up sustaining damage in an Armco barrier.
Worry about track tyres for the future when you have caught the bug and are running a dedicated track car.
Definitely concentrate on your brakes before worrying about tyres, I boiled my brake fluid first time at Oulton and barrelling into the first bend with your brake pedal going flat to the floor is not a pleasant experience.
At the very least bleed your brakes through with racing fluid and maybe look at performance pads.
Shorter stints is also good asvice, and don't go out for the first 30 mins as that is the busiest time with most carnage.
At the very least bleed your brakes through with racing fluid and maybe look at performance pads.
Shorter stints is also good asvice, and don't go out for the first 30 mins as that is the busiest time with most carnage.
I'm going to buck the trend and suggest you do change the tyres. Never used super sports so maybe they're better but in my experience, normal road tyres (including "sporty" ones) can't handle the heat they'll get on track at all. It's quite possible you'll ruin them completely and need new tyres anyway whereas if you buy something track-suitable they'll last a few trackdays and you'll keep your road ones in good shape. I'm not suggesting slicks, rather something like AD-08Rs or 595-RSRs. Not super grippy but will last ages on track compared to road tyres. May well work out cheaper in the long run and you'll have more fun on the day if you can do more than 3 laps without the tyres melting.
Echo the sentiments about the brakes though, definitely the weakest point for any road car.
Echo the sentiments about the brakes though, definitely the weakest point for any road car.
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