Fast Road vs Track Tyres... Value for Money?
Discussion
Hello All,
I'm sure this question has probably been answered in a round about way somewhere, so I apologise in advance as I couldn't find a clear answer while searching.
We're about to reshod our 325 E30 touring, part prep'd with bilsteins, LSD, etc. Its quite a heavy car, good brakes and we do mainly airfield days - looking for value for money (i.e. the longest time before replacing them) is the big factor. I understand the performance difference between a fast road like a T1R and a track tyre like a 888 or V70. We don't take our fun too seriously as we can't afford to, not really that bothered about minutia of handling characteristics, we drive it to the limit wherever that may be and aim for the most smiles per gallon, end of story.
So the straight question is, on the same car, same driving style, what is going to last longer, something like a T1R or Faulken 452 or a 888 or V70?
A set of hard compound 888's or V70's is going to come in at over twice the price of T1R's, so will they last twice as long?
Anyone with first hand experience?
Thanks,
Scamp.
I'm sure this question has probably been answered in a round about way somewhere, so I apologise in advance as I couldn't find a clear answer while searching.
We're about to reshod our 325 E30 touring, part prep'd with bilsteins, LSD, etc. Its quite a heavy car, good brakes and we do mainly airfield days - looking for value for money (i.e. the longest time before replacing them) is the big factor. I understand the performance difference between a fast road like a T1R and a track tyre like a 888 or V70. We don't take our fun too seriously as we can't afford to, not really that bothered about minutia of handling characteristics, we drive it to the limit wherever that may be and aim for the most smiles per gallon, end of story.
So the straight question is, on the same car, same driving style, what is going to last longer, something like a T1R or Faulken 452 or a 888 or V70?
A set of hard compound 888's or V70's is going to come in at over twice the price of T1R's, so will they last twice as long?
Anyone with first hand experience?
Thanks,
Scamp.
No first hand experience but I doubt you'll find a hard compound track tyre any wherre near as hard as a road compound tyre. Thus I think it's safe to assume a set of tripple 8's will last no where near as long as road tyres, T1R et al.
Best you can hope for in my opinion is that the 888's last as long as road tyres, but since they cost more and your on a budget but not bothered about the nth dgree of handling I wouldnt bother.
Best you can hope for in my opinion is that the 888's last as long as road tyres, but since they cost more and your on a budget but not bothered about the nth dgree of handling I wouldnt bother.
Hi.
Tripple 8's on my car , Chimaera last a max of 5 T/D's, if I am lucky!
The price is really high, (about £750.00 a set, cheapest + fitting)
They are very good but I would be inclined to find another cheaper make if you have standard tyres.
tripple 8's are only available in soft or medium as far as I know.
Maybe we should all get Caterfields, (there is a recession still ongoing IMHO!).
HCM.
Tripple 8's on my car , Chimaera last a max of 5 T/D's, if I am lucky!
The price is really high, (about £750.00 a set, cheapest + fitting)
They are very good but I would be inclined to find another cheaper make if you have standard tyres.
tripple 8's are only available in soft or medium as far as I know.
Maybe we should all get Caterfields, (there is a recession still ongoing IMHO!).
HCM.
ive got the Falcon FK452's on my E46, and they did very well at Bedford.
good grip, especially in the dry, very good price.
the only downside is they did start melting especially around the edges, after driving very hard at the end.
but after a nice long drive they are back to usuall, and only used about 1/4 of the tread.
i would reccomend them if you are on a budget.
good grip, especially in the dry, very good price.
the only downside is they did start melting especially around the edges, after driving very hard at the end.
but after a nice long drive they are back to usuall, and only used about 1/4 of the tread.
i would reccomend them if you are on a budget.
Edited by matt 2LT on Friday 23 April 11:06
matt 2LT said:
ive got the Falcon FK452's on my E46, and they did very well at Bedford.
good grip, especially in the dry, very good price.
the only downside is they did start melting especially around the edges, after driving very hard at the end.
but after a nice long drive they are back to usuall, and only used about 1/4 of the tread.
i would reccomend them if you are on a budget.
Strange, i got 452s on my Legacy and noticed how the edges seem to be a little tatty but the middle and side are fine. 4 hard laps of the ring, nearly 3k mixed road miles and still plenty of tread. Not as good as the Eaglesi had before but a lot cheaper and like the OP i'm not too worried about the Nth degree either.good grip, especially in the dry, very good price.
the only downside is they did start melting especially around the edges, after driving very hard at the end.
but after a nice long drive they are back to usuall, and only used about 1/4 of the tread.
i would reccomend them if you are on a budget.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 23 April 11:06
Your general thinking works as long as the road tyres don't get hot enough on track to really start melting and/or disintegrating... how likely that is probably depends on a number of factors (track, car, weather, specific tyres etc) but if they do reach that stage they won't live up to their normal tendency to last longer.
mark-l said:
Another tyre to consider would be the new Toyo R1-R. Grip wise, it's not too far off the 888 but is a fraction of the cost.
As they are new, not sure what the wear rates are like but I'd guess it'll be in the middle of the 888 and T1-R.
Prices for my sizes are a couple of pounds cheaper but they haven't my size, (rears), in the country yet!As they are new, not sure what the wear rates are like but I'd guess it'll be in the middle of the 888 and T1-R.
There doesn't seem to be such a thing as a decent cheap tyre.
HCM.
You might want to consider the Hankook RS2. I picked up a set of 195/55/15 from Camskill for £220 delivered. These are described as a budget track tyre by the manufacturer. After a trackday on Saturday I can confirm they perform really well once warm.
While Toyo T1R's are really cheap, on the smae track they overheated very quickly and turned to mush especially on the shoulder. After a similar pounding this weekend the RS2's are looking remarkably good
While Toyo T1R's are really cheap, on the smae track they overheated very quickly and turned to mush especially on the shoulder. After a similar pounding this weekend the RS2's are looking remarkably good
The tyres that lasted longest for me on track were the Federal 595's.
They were by no means the grippiest tyre ("entertaining" is the best way to describe their wet weather performance!)and also rather noisy on the road but they are incredibly hard compound, very cheap to buy and will last ages on the track.
They came on a second hand set of wheels I bought so I have never bought a set but after 4 track days at Bedford in the Celica (1380 kg, 300 bhp at the time) I had used about 2mm of tread!
It goes without saying that they won't get within 2 seconds a lap of R888's but if you value fun over grip and want value, worth a go IMO.
They were by no means the grippiest tyre ("entertaining" is the best way to describe their wet weather performance!)and also rather noisy on the road but they are incredibly hard compound, very cheap to buy and will last ages on the track.
They came on a second hand set of wheels I bought so I have never bought a set but after 4 track days at Bedford in the Celica (1380 kg, 300 bhp at the time) I had used about 2mm of tread!
It goes without saying that they won't get within 2 seconds a lap of R888's but if you value fun over grip and want value, worth a go IMO.
Spew said:
You might want to consider the Hankook RS2. I picked up a set of 195/55/15 from Camskill for £220 delivered. These are described as a budget track tyre by the manufacturer. After a trackday on Saturday I can confirm they perform really well once warm.
While Toyo T1R's are really cheap, on the smae track they overheated very quickly and turned to mush especially on the shoulder. After a similar pounding this weekend the RS2's are looking remarkably good
While Toyo T1R's are really cheap, on the smae track they overheated very quickly and turned to mush especially on the shoulder. After a similar pounding this weekend the RS2's are looking remarkably good
If you're not after ultimate grip, but want a tyre that can take some punishment on track and still work well on the road then this is by far the best choice. They are in between the 888 and T1-R in both grip levels and price, but should last longer than either of them if you're tracking them regularly.
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