New Tyres

[lucky13]

Hi all,

Just wondering what is the deal with these "track tyres" - are they road legal?

Im specifically talking about tyres such as the federal RSR's which i have seen a lot of talk about recently. They dont even seem that expensive, cheaper than Michelin PE2's by the looks anyway. Surely they provide more grip but do they lose out on lifetime? Are they not actually road legal?

Im just a little confused so if someone could lay out a few of the facts it would be a great help and to add some info im just asking as my tyres currently on the car were cheapish type ones that came with it when i bought it and they are starting to get near the limit so im just accessing my options!

Im happy to pay for quality if i do get extra quality for my money but these track day type tyres have confused me a little, like i said if they are road legal i would assume they have a much shortened lifetime then due to being a softer compound?

Thanks

 

[KevF182]

Federal RSR's are road legal. As are Yokohama AD08's, Toyo R888's, hankook RS2's and other tyres with less void and more rubber on the tread.

Yes, as you suggest they tend to be a softer compound and may wear quite quickly, although not as much as you may think - driving style dependent of course! But perhaps more importantly they are designed to work (grip well without tearing up) at higher temperatures than cheap road tyres can handle. This means they may not be ideal in cold conditions but are much better at trackdays where tyre-temps go much higher than you will ever get on the road within just a few laps.

So are they suitable for road? I think so, yes. I've only tried Hankook RS2's (which were sold by Camskill as a trackday tyre) on an impreza. I found them excellent in any conditions and cold/damp was never a problem for me. But each tyre will be different so worth asking the manufacturer if you are concerned about all year round use with any "track tyre".

 

[lucky13]

thanks, well explained answer

Do you notice the extra grip for the possible downsides/ drawbacks do you think?

 

[Steve]

I have RSRs on my mx5, just put them on this week.
Got Donington this Friday so really looking forward to see what difference they will give over the Michelin PE2s.
So far on road they are getting better & better as the bobbles wear off, really notice in the bends where it don't move off line at all.
http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?492857-MX5-mk3-Sport-**Updates**/page4

Some photos above of my motors updates

 

[lucky13]

I have RSRs on my mx5, just put them on this week.
Got Donington this Friday so really looking forward to see what difference they will give over the Michelin PE2s.
So far on road they are getting better & better as the bobbles wear off, really notice in the bends where it don't move off line at all.
http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?492857-MX5-mk3-Sport-**Updates**/page4

Some photos above of my motors updates

Just had a look, they look good on the car, MX5's seem to be getting nicer looking than i remember as well- much nicer with the hard top i think!

 

[Lal B3N]

Track tyres will offer much more grip in the dry than something like a pe2 or a Continental. In the wet you may find them a little scary especially on standing water.

You will find you will get less mileage out of track tyres on the road too.

Unless your actually doing any track days I wouldn't bother running them as road tyres.

 

[KevF182]

thanks, well explained answer

Do you notice the extra grip for the possible downsides/ drawbacks do you think?

You will notice the grip on track. I guess it depends how you drive on the road but its more a case of the tyre feeling better and being able to be pushed harder and still feeling like you have more to spare. Bear in mind I've only tried the Hankook RS2 trackday tyres which are no longer available in clio sizes.

Agood sports tyre like PS3 or Contisport is almost as grippy and will be better in wet weather. Depends how you drive I guess. My wife drives my clio to work and I'm yet to go on track this year so thats why I run Contis.

 

[MarkCup]

I'm currently on a set of AD08s, on the road there's not much between them and a good set of premium tyres (I was running Michelin PE2 beforehand) as ultimate grip levels are soooooo high for both, and if you regularly drive at/beyond the grip available from a set of PE2s, you want locking up tbh.

As said above though, the reason I'm on these is for the odd trackday. My PE2s pretty much evaporated during a half wet/half dry day at Llandow...they can't handle the heat and loads you put through them on track. I just about stretched 10k out of them with only one trackday...not good.

The AD08s on the otherhand...I'm hoping for good things from. Will definitely wear quicker on the road, but hoping this will be offset by the fact that they don't just disappear on track.

Out for the first time on them in a couple of weeks

 

[KevF182]

my thoughts exactly ^

Good sports tyres are perfect all rounders for the road - it's their business to make them so. if you go on track then you might benefit when you want the tyre to perform at above normal temps

 

[lucky13]

Thanks people! I am by no means testing the levels of grip of high end tyres on a public road so dont worry! Just good to know that the 4 points of contact you have to the road are of high quality and will give you that extra grip if such a situation arose which required it.

Based on the answers i think i will stay away from the track type tyres- the only thing that drew me towards them was that the RSR's atleast seemed to be cheaper than PE2's and i guessed being a track tyre they would provide similar or more grip levels. However as i thought it sounds like the track tyres dont last as long and sometimes can be a bit dodgy in wet weather so i think the cheaper price is down to the fact they dont last as long. Would any of you agree with that?

Anyone tried a few different types of tyres and know the mileage they get out of them, im clueless as to how long a set of pe2's should last (on average of course)

 

[Steve]

The clios eat tyres fact so anyone saying 20K drives like my mum
I did 15K & 15 trackdays from PE'2 but thats on my 5 with no side wall wear at & 3.5mm left all over.
I did one evening at Donington in my 197 with R888's & one front was nearly dead, I used to take the head of the michelin man in my Trophy

 

[KevF182]

The clios eat tyres fact so anyone saying 20K drives like my mum
I did 15K & 15 trackdays from PE'2 but thats on my 5 with no side wall wear at & 3.5mm left all over.
I did one evening at Donington in my 197 with R888's & one front was nearly dead, I used to take the head of the michelin man in my Trophy

Yeah, anyone who tests the limit of grip will wear out the tyre of course. I have never got more that 8k miles out of a set of front tyres in the last ten years of driving! To say if a tyre is worse than one or another for wear will aways be an individual finding and I would say track day tyres are not much worse than UHP road tyres given the symilar use they get put to, as discussed in this thread

 

[lucky13]

15k and 5 trackdays sounds very good especially with 3.5mm left!! Hmmm cant make a decision on what to look into getting really! i want a performance tyre with good wear qualities while also working well in all conditions while being good value for what it provides. Like i said i dont mind putting the money towards it but im not going to if i can get similar qualities from something cheaper.

 

[KielT]

I was having exactly the same problem as you, and I'm getting the RSR's, from all the reviews I've read and heard from people they are highly rated and all of them use them as road tyres and then blast them round a track. And for £80 a corner BARGAIN!

 

[KevF182]

15k and 5 trackdays sounds very good especially with 3.5mm left!! Hmmm cant make a decision on what to look into getting really! i want a performance tyre with good wear qualities while also working well in all conditions while being good value for what it provides. Like i said i dont mind putting the money towards it but im not going to if i can get similar qualities from something cheaper.

Bear in mind his point was that it was on an MX5, not a FWd hot hatch! That sort of mileage is just not going to hapen whatever tyre you choose for the clio if you drive it fast. To me, if you plan to track it and don't have dedicated wheels then it makes sense to run the roadlegal trackday tyres. Otherwise you'd be better off with the likes of contisports, Uniroyal, michelin, etc top quality sport roads tyres. IMO