Tyre Life
Author
Discussion

(steven)

Original Poster:

478 posts

238 months

Saturday 12th September 2009
quotequote all
Had a look through the old posts but not found a definitive answer on this.

Currently calculating the costs of getting a track day toy, most likely an Mx5 or a stripped Bmw 325 (e30/e36) weighting about 1000kg. One of the biggest costs appears to be tyres however some people claim that a set of tyres lasts them 8 or so outings and others just the one.

Realise there are a bunch of variables here ranging for car weight, driving style, number of laps and surface but was wondering what people were seeing on cars similar to the above.

I am currently assuming a set of tyres will last about 2 sessions (300 track miles). Does this feel fair?


teabagger

723 posts

221 months

Saturday 12th September 2009
quotequote all
do you intend on driving the car to and from the trackday or using a trailer. 1.6mm of tread would see you having to change tyres if used on the road but thats plenty of life left for a track only tyre ( in the dry).

t11ner

6,926 posts

219 months

Saturday 12th September 2009
quotequote all
As you suggest, there is a big difference between drivers but at least 3-4 trackdays would be reasonable for most drivers with that type of car.

Steve H

matt 2LT

4,487 posts

207 months

Sunday 13th September 2009
quotequote all
well i managed to do this to my f1's after 20 mins at silverstone.

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb89/matt_webb/...

and they were only 6 months old.

although im hoping they will have enough life left in them for an evening session at castle combe, before i get some new rubber for the winter.

chris7676

2,685 posts

244 months

Sunday 13th September 2009
quotequote all
I still haven't been able to figure it out excatly but it was definitely close or less than 1mm per dry track day (200 miles) in the MR2 mk1. Can't complain.

BertBert

20,973 posts

235 months

Sunday 13th September 2009
quotequote all
It's really, really car dependent. MX5 should be reasonably frugal on tyres. You can understand why the poster's 2.0l turbo astra's front tyres went off. Caterham tyres last ages (although supersoft ACB10s go quite quikly).

Bert

Gizmo!

18,150 posts

233 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
I did this to the tyres on my MX5 in one track day


Didn't seem to do them any harm smile

andye30m3

3,497 posts

278 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
I think a lot depends on the specific car and your driving style.

I've just changed the car I use for sprints from a clio 172 to an integra, both cars are similar weight, similar power, fwd, both running 195/50/15 Yokohama parada's

The clio seam to destroy the front tyres, I got round 3500-4000 miles and 3 or 4 sprints on of a set which bearing in mind the sprint were only 10 laps worth of running on a short track like Lydden wasn't a lot.

Only done 1 sprint in the Integra but they tyres didn't look like anywhere near as bad as they used to on the clio.

s.m.h.

5,733 posts

239 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
There are too many variables to give a definitive estimate as to tyre life.
FWD will wear differently to RWD, wrong set-up, pressures and driving style will all make a difference.

If you're running 15's, like Andy^^ (mine also) I have Parada Spec 2's. Was pretty impressed as they gave good grip and let go progressively. Saying that its also FWD, and may not work so well on RWD.

Can I ask why RWD?

I had my first FWD trackday and kept up (and went past) with MX5's, Bimmers, Tivs and the likes and was laughing like a drain. Sure those purists say RWD is the true drivers car, but set up properly a FWD can be equally as rewarding and pool of suitable cars is much bigger.


(steven)

Original Poster:

478 posts

238 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
s.m.h. said:
Can I ask why RWD?
Good question. The car is being purchased between three of us and we all drive powerful RWD cars on the road (M3, Tuscan, Z4C....) and part of the idea is by having a RWD track day car it makes us better drivers of these (without the expense of running one of these on the track).

I don't really want to hone my reactions for a FWD car on the edge and then take a RWD car out for a spin.


Forgot to add - As per previous question, we are intending to drive it to the track as trailers require extra space, you need to take an extra test to tow above 750kg (?) and I would probably need a bigger car to take the tow weight.

Question. How bald can you let your tyres get in the dry on track before they become pointless? In all likelyhood will end up taking a spare set of wheels so running them down to the canvas is an option.

Edited by (steven) on Monday 14th September 20:26

swtmerce

213 posts

231 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
My mate and I have run a set of 888's on a 1200kg E36 328i down to the point they are bald. We only got 4-5 trackdays out of them due to under-inflating them on one day. If we managed them better I guess we could get 6-8 days out of them.

In respect of your question though, our last trackday had bald 888s on the front and 3mm Hankook RS2s on the rear. The 888s still provided more grip (especially in the wet!) than the Hankooks. BTW these Hankooks are classed as a trackday tyre although they grip more like a very good road tyre.

PS you'll never get an E36 to 1000kgs

Edited by swtmerce on Monday 14th September 20:38

sniff diesel

13,124 posts

236 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
swtmerce said:
you'll never get an E36 to 1000kgs
Maybe a 4 cylinder one, my 325i is 1120 kgs with a 40 kgs cage, so maybe without a cage and the lighter engine/box/diff etc it might just be possible.

matt frost

783 posts

275 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
matt 2LT said:
well i managed to do this to my f1's after 20 mins at silverstone.

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb89/matt_webb/...

and they were only 6 months old.

although im hoping they will have enough life left in them for an evening session at castle combe, before i get some new rubber for the winter.
You need to check your tyre pressures then, they were probably massively overinflated and has a big effect on how the tyre perfrms and how long it lasts.

cytefx

199 posts

255 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
sniff diesel said:
swtmerce said:
you'll never get an E36 to 1000kgs
Maybe a 4 cylinder one, my 325i is 1120 kgs with a 40 kgs cage, so maybe without a cage and the lighter engine/box/diff etc it might just be possible.
one of the Kumho class d cars is down to 1067kg with driver and this has a full custom cage in it, with metal bonnet and boot. Driver weighs about 65kg, how much heavier is the 6cyl engine than the 4cyl.

edh

3,498 posts

293 months

Tuesday 15th September 2009
quotequote all
I used to kill tyres because of understeer on corner entry - I'm a (slightly) better driver now, & don't wear tyres anywhere near as much. Correct tyre pressures also make a huge difference. I'd suggest that you don't really want to use new road tyres on a dry trackday - they are more likely to overheat & wear. Try some track spec rubber instead. I have some old p zero C's that seem to be lasting forever!

Also bear in mind that some of your days will be wet, and you won't get much wear at all on those days. I'd have thought 6-8 days was easily achievable from a set of tyres.