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Road Tyres - For track?



  182cup & 172 racecar
A good cheap tyre, that is brilliant in the wet and grips like sh1t to a blanket in the dry. There isn't one. That's what.
 
  53 Clio's & counting
My experience over the years on 195/50/15's.


Wish you could still get G/year f1's - brilliant wet or dry.

The last Llandow day I was there in my stripped Exclusive and that had Yoko prada on the front and PE2's on the back. The back never even twiched, even with me Really trying to provoke it, and the front was generally understeery - the Yokos really are not great in the wet but TBH you just drive around them being not great - being smoother does help.

In the dry, the Yoko's were not bad - they need some heat in them to get sticky, and of course they don't stick as well as Stickier tyres but they broke away progressively and were fine to use.

The current one has Hancook V12 thingys on them - they are great for feel but not the quickest things- they again need some heat in them and don't carry a huge amount of speed but VERY progressive, and you can pretty much turn the car on the throttle - very rewarding tyres if you're not chasing lap times.

Here is a wildcard for you - BF goodridge G force Profilers.

I've not used them in a few years but christ they were good! I would say they were at least as good as the G/years - fantastic grip wet or dry, wear was good (Hard use was circa 10k and alot more on the back) the only issue is they tend to cost more, but I am VERY tempted to go back to them



The big thing alot of people forget is they are road tyres - of course they will go off on track, you need to forget the red mist and use your head - remember they may have soft tyre walls, that they will over heat quickly if you're scraping the door handles every bend - drive smooth and smart and road tyres are fantastic fun on track.

On that subject some of the most fun laps I've had on track was Sharkeys Trophy (Which iirc wears Conti's?) on a slightly damp LLandow chasing Sir Dave round - I spent pretty much every bend with a quarter turn of lock trailing the throttle - not the quickest way round but so much fun!
 

Sir_Dave

ClioSport Trader
On that subject some of the most fun laps I've had on track was Sharkeys Trophy (Which iirc wears Conti's?) on a slightly damp LLandow chasing Sir Dave round - I spent pretty much every bend with a quarter turn of lock trailing the throttle - not the quickest way round but so much fun!

I had Hankook V12 Evos on that day! Mike and I spent most of the day drifting round the last corner, playing with LOOS.

As you say, a very progressive tyre, one of my favs i think, purely as the grip level is not obscene, so allows a good level of fun.

My favourite tyres ever are ContiSportContacts though, they always go on when im feeling flush.
 
  53 Clio's & counting
I had Hankook V12 Evos on that day! Mike and I spent most of the day drifting round the last corner, playing with LOOS.

As you say, a very progressive tyre, one of my favs i think, purely as the grip level is not obscene, so allows a good level of fun.

My favourite tyres ever are ContiSportContacts though, they always go on when im feeling flush.

It was proper fun that lol

I really dont rate V12's my car just wants to slide everywhere on them in the dry

not quick but fun ;)
 

NorthloopCup

ClioSport Moderator
A good cheap tyre, that is brilliant in the wet and grips like sh1t to a blanket in the dry. There isn't one. That's what.

Yes I'd agree with that Tony 100%. But there's nothing better than belting around on track doing some drifting looking like a legend/weapon (delete as applicable!) and generally enjoying yourself. That's what I enjoy the most out of trackdays. :)
 

MarkCup

ClioSport Club Member
Oh And maybe Yokohama AD08 would be good to research, I know MarkCup raved about his for his 200.

A bit more than the budget, but I think these fit the bill perfectly.

A solid performer on track, I was at Bedford last summer on the hottest day of the year, expecting some sign of track abuse at the end of the day yet they looked A1.

At Llandow in the monsoon the grip they gave was comical...how the tread pattern dispersed the water it did I'll never know. Very surprising.

Factor in the fact that the set I ran did 3 trackdays and 15,000 miles all in, and the higher price makes a bit more sense.
 
  172
i've also been tempted by the AD08's, a mate of mine was running them on his stripped,cammed etc Yaris T-Sport and he absolutely hated them especially in the wet,
 
  Cup In bits
Hankook Evo s1's are good maybe even great road tyre for their price, very average on track IMO but they are loads of fun. I ran them my last trackday after Marks recomendation and they were great in monsoon conditions, you could get them to break away when wanted but was never uncontrollable like t1r's and spec 2's have been IME. When the track dried up during the day they got progressively worse (hot pressure always 31psi) It might have been down to them being brand new and the blocks moving but I could have killed them on that day if not careful, I would do 3 quick laps and then slow to give them half a chance.

I have a set for sale with about 200 miles and 1 changeable conditions track day on them, 195/45/16
 
Cheers for the input guys.

Geometry settings ill looking to have -
Camber will be having 3 degrees front / 2.5 rear.
Toe out is 10mins total front / as parallel as I can on the rear.
Caster will be AST topmounts set to max and 172 cup wishbones for the time being. Want to look into more though in the future.

Really don't want to spend over £200 on a set and I know most of the tyres listed above are. I'm not wanting something that'll give me infinite amounts of grip, more a tyre that will hold up in terms of life on track, work in wet weather and if I'm not smooth enough will try and 'bite' me.

Maybe I'm wanting too much! Lol

Nick

That's the exact same geometry I run and I will tell you know you get a fair bit of grip out of road tyres but they die QUICKLY. I get 8 minutes of hard driving before the tyres are completely unuseable and I have to come in to let them cool down

Push your budget - £200 you will get frustrating s**t road tyres, £280 you can actually find a full set of 595 RSR's - I've been out in a high power civic and a 240bhp turbo'd 106 on RSR's and they are seriously impressive for the budget

I guarantee if you save yourself £80 and buy cheaper tyres you will kick yourself every time you are out.
 
  Ph2 Clio 172
They are good. I've used them on a couple of wet track days and they are predictable and still quite grippy.

The issue comes on the road where you get puddles at the edge so only 2 of the 4 wheels hit it. The aquaplaning can cause quite sudden jolts in direction. Its the same with anything with a large tread blocks though so not exclusive to RSRs.
 
  Cup In bits
RS-R's get a lot of wheel spin in standing water but are better than T1-R's and Spec 2's do are for the road and are brilliant on track. They are very sensitive to pressure on track like I found out yesterday.
 
  182/RS2/ Turbo/Mk1
They are good. I've used them on a couple of wet track days and they are predictable and still quite grippy.

The issue comes on the road where you get puddles at the edge so only 2 of the 4 wheels hit it. The aquaplaning can cause quite sudden jolts in direction. Its the same with anything with a large tread blocks though so not exclusive to RSRs.


Yes I meant good for cornering on a wet track, not for going through 2" deep puddles fast, if you are on any track orientated tyre you need to go steady for that sort of thing like you say, and TBH I do even on winter tyres. Wet trackdays are great fun but wet roads are best respected as that puddle might be 6" deep not 2"
 
That's the exact same geometry I run and I will tell you know you get a fair bit of grip out of road tyres but they die QUICKLY. I get 8 minutes of hard driving before the tyres are completely unuseable and I have to come in to let them cool down

Push your budget - £200 you will get frustrating s**t road tyres, £280 you can actually find a full set of 595 RSR's - I've been out in a high power civic and a 240bhp turbo'd 106 on RSR's and they are seriously impressive for the budget

I guarantee if you save yourself £80 and buy cheaper tyres you will kick yourself every time you are out.

So what do you mean unusable? Care to elaborate?

I'm not looking at being quicker than everyone else on track, which some people in here don't seem to get that concept. Just after a tyre that doesn't fall to pieces, something that's needs more concentration than just throwing the car into corners like sticky track tyres.

Fun over as quick as possible.
 
  GSXR + KDX220
R1R's, cheap (relatively), very good grip in the dry, also good grip in the wet, good wear considering the grip they give, stiff sidewalls so don't roll over and give good direct steering :)
 
  182/RS2/ Turbo/Mk1
So what do you mean unusable? Care to elaborate?

I'm not looking at being quicker than everyone else on track, which some people in here don't seem to get that concept. Just after a tyre that doesn't fall to pieces, something that's needs more concentration than just throwing the car into corners like sticky track tyres.

Fun over as quick as possible.

To not fall apart, IME it needs wide tread blocks, and that means no normal road tyres.
 
  Cup In bits
So what do you mean unusable? Care to elaborate?

I'm not looking at being quicker than everyone else on track, which some people in here don't seem to get that concept. Just after a tyre that doesn't fall to pieces, something that's needs more concentration than just throwing the car into corners like sticky track tyres.

Fun over as quick as possible.

There's no such thingg, I don't think you get the concept haha.
 
  Cup In bits
Move to 15" wheels for track days for a start.

You don't have to preach to me mate, my race car is 15". I need 16's for the brakes in my road car. £300 is a very good price anyway for a 16" r-series tyre especially in a wider width like 205 so doesn't bother me paying that for a good aground tyre compared to £600 for a048r's or 888's etc which have a slightly better dry grip but are far from an all rounder.
 
So what do you mean unusable? Care to elaborate?

I'm not looking at being quicker than everyone else on track, which some people in here don't seem to get that concept. Just after a tyre that doesn't fall to pieces, something that's needs more concentration than just throwing the car into corners like sticky track tyres.

Fun over as quick as possible.

Right ok - well I just did 2hr open pit at cadwell on road tyres with the same geometry setup as you, I admit a bit more power and huge stoppers... but still relevant I think.
For the first 8minutes of a session they gripped well at the front, a lot better than I thought they would. You could lift off and get the back end out so I was grinning like a cheshire cat lol.. but at 9 minutes dead they absolutely die. You have very little grip, I locked the wheels up under braking, started understeering. When I got back into the pits it was clear the heat just destroys them, the rubber had started pealing off in massive chunks and you could press your finger into them and make a hole. Totally over-heated.

That's why I say RSR's - not as grippy as 888's so you can still have fun, but won't die with the heat.
Road tyres are ok if you're happy doing 7-8 minute stints, but I prefer to get a good 15minutes out at a time.

You could try Toyo R1R's as they're about £60 a corner so £240 for a set and again they're just a slightly uprated road tyre rather than being an out and out cut slick style.

Phil where are selling the federals for £280?

Keep checking mytyres and tyre traders and stuff. You can get them for £300 every day of the week but occasionally cheaper.
Also 205/50/15's are bizarrely cheaper than 195 and you get a bit more rubbe
 

Sir_Dave

ClioSport Trader
the heat just destroys them, the rubber had started pealing off in massive chunks and you could press your finger into them and make a hole. Totally over-heated.

AAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH.

They're bloody RAINsport's lol.

What happens when the F1 cars use intermediates on a dry track? They overheat and are useless.

Holy cow, im off for a walk around the garden.
 
  182/RS2/ Turbo/Mk1
Yep rainsports are TOTALLY useless on a dry trackday, doesnt even take me an hour to take a brand new set and turn them into completely wrecked unusable tyres with a tread face that looks like saw teeth.

Not even a consideration IMHO for an all round track tyre.

Great as a road tyre though where they dont see that sort of abuse.


T1R are a similar pattern, but with much less in the way of water dispersal grooves on the shoulder, so not as good as the rainsport in the wet, but FAR tougher in the dry.
They are a far better compromise.
 
  182/RS2/ Turbo/Mk1
My old conti's did the same, and so did T1r's...

Any tyre without wide tread blocks will, thats why I only do dry trackdays on trackday tyres, its too expensive to destory a road set, but the rainsport will do it far quicker than either of those.

Ive done dry trackdays on T1r's and they looked a bit worse for wear, but the rainsports are completely destroyed in no time at all.
 
That's kinda what I was getting at - Spend £200 on cheap road tyres and they'll be destroyed every 2 track days. Or get a years use out of RSR's
There's no point scrimping £80/100 and then having to replace them 3 times a year
 
  182/RS2/ Turbo/Mk1
That's kinda what I was getting at - Spend £200 on cheap road tyres and they'll be destroyed every 2 track days. Or get a years use out of RSR's
There's no point scrimping £80/100 and then having to replace them 3 times a year

I agree totally, cheapest option is secondhand track tyres really.
 
£248.80 delivery for the Federals in 195 50 15, just ordered a set ha.

Nick ill be selling 4 hankook v12s once these turn up if your interested drop me a PM.
 
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