Starting to get ready for spring (even though the snow keeps coming!) and I'd like to get my choices laid out for my next two sets of tires. I've got two sets of wheels - 17" S-Lites for the street in the summer, and 15" basketweave style BMW wheels that are currently wearing Blizzaks. I'd like to buy a new set of tires for the S-lites that would be STRICTLY summer use - rain is still a factor, but they'd never see snow. Don't really care about lifespan so much as grip and wet weather handling, as they're only going to be used April-Oct.

I also need a TRACK ONLY set of wheels that I'll put on the 15" rims and bring with me to the track - again, the ONLY thing I'll be using them for is track events. Traction is really the only thing that matters here, though I'd like to get a couple HPDE's out of them, not just one.

I work for a dealership and can get them dirt cheap at a few of our vendors, and mount and balance them myself, so I just need to pick two tires for each of the two purposes.

There's so much information to sift through, and there aren't as many people looking to have a dedicated track only tire that I could find, so I posted my own

Let me know what you think!!

 

Hoosier R6 in 225/45-15. Taa daa!

 

Track - Hoosier

Summer - Yoko A048

 

Would that size fit well over a 15x7, or would 7.5 be better? Thanks!

mb

 

Another great summer choice is the Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3. The best wet handling you can get. I ran them on the track in a downpour and had very confident traction.

For the track you should also look at the Toyo RA1. Excellent traction and a little tread so you can still run if the track gets damp.

If you have never done a track day before, I would suggest using a summer tire a few times first. R-comps do not give much warning before breaking loose. A street tire is better to learn with because it gives much more feedback near the limit.

225/45/15 fits over a 15x7 just fine.

 

I agree with the Toyo Ra1 as a great track tire, but that will soon be replaced by the Toyo R888. You may find the R888 available in some stores. We should be getting them in by next month. You may want to also look at the Toyo T1-r as a summer tire as well. You can't go worng with it in the wet and as well as in the dry.

Leo Barrios
leo@edgeracing.com
800-489-5353 x211
http://www.edgeracing.com
NT03+M Sale: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=125822

 

I've done two HPDE's and my biggest limitation was the lack of traction in the quickly chewed up stock GY runflats - I had to keep the DSC on or the tires would just spintrying to catch traction.I really need a sticky tire - not an r-comp for reasons already listed, but something with minimal tread. The larger, much softer (in comparison to the 17" run flats) sidewall should help decrease the speed at which they break loose.So the Hoosier R6 for the track, what about the street?

 

Agree on all accounts - the Goodyears served me well during a rainy track session, too; and they continue to serve me extremely well on the street.

Thanks - I think my azenis will last me this season, then I'll be ready for r-comps next year for my 15x7 slipstreams.

mb

 

Street tires, I have no clue.
Track tires for HPDE I would say a set of Shaved Toyo RA1s if you can still get them. a very quick and sticky tire.
With your amount of time on the track and the fact that this is not a race, I would say to avoid the Hoosiers. Not many heat cycles with the Hoosiers compared to the RA1 which are good to the core.
Any treaded tire, be it street or R compound used on a dry track will go bad pretty quick. Using any street tire on the track will kill it within 5 heat cycles. They get very hot and chuck. This over heating makes the tread go hard and they are just garbage after that. So, think about shaved RA1s. Even though they are an R compound, they are still very predicable. They do squeal where the Hoosiers not so much.

 

Another vote for the Toyo RA1. They rock for track use.

Hoosiers are overkill unless your last name starts with Schum (i.e. you have lots of experience and are already running top levels of HPDE).

 

here's the ones i've tried

Kumho V710-beyond belief at ambient, but it gets greasy as it gets hot, a very good autocross tire but i wouldn't take them on a track for more than 5-7 laps as you will literally see your money fly out the back

Hankook Z214 C50 - it surprised me very much this tire, i brought these off another NAMer, its not as grippy as V710 at ambient, but they make up for it by being very consistent, it just grips and grips, no matter how long i stay out, it stays very well solid all through abuse... also got quite a few more track days than the V710 (i brought them lightly used)

im on an older Hoosier R4s, 4 years old, but brand new... hopefully run em down this season as i think the compound would've gone south by now

other recommendations are A048, a friend of mine's running them on his car and he loves them, ditto on the RA1, was gonna go with those instead of the hoosiers, my tech runs them on his car and he gets over 10k km out of them a year

 

So who has tried the Toyo R888?

Ordered a set today to play with.

 

i ran the RA-1's when i first switched to r-comps. i had no problem w/ the compound, but i didn't like the size. 205/40/17 is the only size that has the appropriate load rating in a 17. not enough width and too short for my car....

 

My experience with this exact tire is that it's SWEET! I think it's perfect for the Mini on the track, but it must be shaved.

 

gnatster

Give Ric "motorn" a PM, he ran the 888 last year on his GP and will run them again this year.

 

i'm glad that it worked for you, but i am definitely faster on Hoosier R6's. i think that the 225/40/17 is the perfect width and diameter for the power that i make (not the most) and the tracks that i run (Sebring, Homestead and Moroso).

 

OK, so my Dad and I just signed up for the first track day at NHIS for April 18th, and we're trying to decide on tires. RA-1's seem to be a bit too rich for our blood, and my dad has also only done one HPDE, so r-comps are probably coming next season.

So, for this season, I can either beat the hell out of the remains of the GY runflats that we used last year, or get some cheap 15" tires to go on my winter/track wheels. I'd rather buy some 15" tires and beat them over the season, then worry about r-comps next season, so what cheap sticky tire would be good for track only use? Don't care about wet traction, just 3-4 HPDE's.

Thanks!

 

Hankook RS2 z212 - cheap, pretty good on the track, and available in lots of sizes. I used them the season before I switched to Toyo RA-1.

 

Perfect! What size did you run? I have a stock suspension and 15x7 et 40 wheels...thanks!

 

205/50/15 works well according to many.

mb

 

I'm not the tire sizing expert in terms of what will rub and what won't.

205/50R15 is nice and safe though.

They also come in 225/50R15, which may or may not fit. And, that size is out of stock at edgeracing. Probably safest to just go with 205/50R15.

 

I've run the Falken Azenis RT-215s and RT-615s on my car, as well as the Hankook RS-2s.

I just did my first DE weekend on the Sumitomo HTR-Z. I have to say so far I am impressed. Now it was a cold weekend on a new track, but I was running with the same cars I usually do in my run group. Felt good and no wear issues. I did need to run them about 4 lbs less than the Falkens or Hankooks. And its the widest 205 I've put on the car. I had to try them for $50 each.

Check them out at Tirerack. For some reason I can't insert the link. It gets cut off at the ?.

Alan

 

205/50R15 will be the safest size to run. We ran the Hankooks in that size and got pretty good times with the Rs2's.

Leo Barrios
leo@edgeracing.com
800-489-5353 x211
http://www.edgeracing.com

 

How do these compare with the RT-615's?

Scratch the cheaper remark, RT-615's have come down!

Answered my own question by doing a bit of google digging!

http://scca.certaindeath.net/august_...5_tiretest.pdf

 

The general consensus is that the Azenis is a better autocross tire and the Hankook is a better track tire. The Azenis heat up fast, which is good for autocross (short bursts). The Hankook takes longer to heat up, which is bad for autocross, but stays below the "too hot" point longer than the Azenis - which makes the Hankook better for 20 minute long track sessions.