I have a track day on Wednesday and need help choosing tires. The forecast is for rain showers so I will have a wet track for at least part of the day. Should I use my street tires, Goodyear GSD3's 215-45-17 or my new (to me) track tires, Toyo RA1's in 205-40-17? I do not have a lot of experience with either tire as the Goodyears were just installed to replace the worn out Yokohama ES100's and the Toyo's are to arrive at the doorstep on Tuesday. The Toyo's are shaved and have seen 2 track days with the previous owner whereas the Goodyears were just mounted on Saturday and have minimal miles on them. Also, any sugguestions on tire pressure? The Yokohamas seemed to work good when at 40 psi hot. Any advise would be great.

 

Bring them both along. They Toyo's are better in the wet if unshaved. If it dries up, put them on.

 

I'd go with the Goodyears if it's wet.

If the RA1s were unshaved and new, they'd be fine in the wet. But shaved and used... If there's any standing water, I wouldn't use them.

 

Go with the Goodyears if its wet, but pull them off if things dry off. If you are running at Portland, it will kill full tread Goodyears on a Mini.

 

mtbmini,

That's what I am afraid of if i use the Goodyears. I am too far from the track to go home and swap them out.

Today it rained all morning but was dry and mild all afternoon. If wednesdays weather is similar would the toyo's be ok on a wet track? Or do I risk runing the goodyears.

 

Bring the second set of wheels / tires with you to the track.

 

All Four wheels will fit upright in the back seat. I use my seatbelts to help secure them for the drive.

 

Well, it looks like I need to make a trip to Harbor Freight tonight to get a cheap floor jack. $69.99 for an aluminum jack that will be easy to pack in the MINI. That and a torque wrench should do it. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

 

While a nice jack is, well, nice - it's not necessary. I've been running around changing wheels with the crappy little jack that came with the car. And often the person next to me in the paddock will have a nice jack I can borrow.

Your own torque wrench is a great thing to have, though.

 

snid,

They come with a jack??

I never even looked since they come with runflats. Silly me.

 

Well, I know the Cooper does. I'm not sure about the Cooper S.

 

Run the Goodyears ...I did, it won't wear them out bad in the rain

 

Well it rained like the hounds of hell today. The new/used Toyo's arrived and I agree, I shouldn't use them if it's very wet at all. I am bummed but if the forcast looks promising I will take them along just in case.

The worst that can happen is I will trash the 2 front tires. Better that than going off track and hurting my MINI.

Decisions...Decisions

I can't wait to try the Toyo's out, they look mighty sticky!!

 

The Goodyear DSG3's seem much more "Mushy" than the Yokohama ES100's they replaced. I raised the air pressure to 36 psi front and 35 psi rear which helped but they still don't feel as precise. They do seem to have better grip but i will know a lot more after tomorrow.

 

I have no experience with the ES100, but brand new tires have two things against them. First, the tread release compound. For something like 100 miles, brand new tires really suck. But that goes away pretty quickly, and is more of a "slide-y" feeling than "mushy".

Second, tires with full tread depth will almost always feel more "mushy" than the old tires you just took off which had very little tread depth. It's not fair to compare a full depth tire and a almost bald tire in the "mushiness" category.

 

Boy if that is ever true! That lining compound for the molds really can make tires ineffective for a track day if they are brand new, and no track prepping takes place.

BTW, the Portland weather forecast for wednesday, appears pretty spotty on the radar.