Looking for some recommendations for new track tires. I've become more serious in doing lots of HPDE and open track days. Last year I did 4 days, this year I've done 10 and I'd like to do a couple more.
Car is a 2008 VW GTI running a modified suspension setup - Bilstein PSS10 coilovers and a big RSB. With this setup I've got a little bit of negative camber which has caused "chunking" of the inside shoulders on all 4 tires after 5 track days.
I've currently got a set of lightweight Enkei RPF1 18" x 7.5" wide wheels that I use for track days. Yeah I probably should have gone with an 8 or 8.5 inch width but I've already got these now. Currently have 225 40 R18 Kumho Ecsta SPT's on them that are pretty well worn to the point where I can't use them on track anymore. I also feel like they aren't nearly sticky enough for me. They were great for starting out and cheap too at $105/tire.
There seems to be a plethora of choices out there and I haven't decided if I should go with an extreme summer tire or a medium compound track tire. Currently I drive to events on my "track" setup, but I don't have to as I have a stock setup with good all seasons and can swap at the track.
Currently I'm considering the following (kind of a hodgepodge):
Nitto NT05
Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs
Bridgestone Potenza RE-11
Hankook Ventus R-S3
Kumho Ecsta XS
Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD08
Yokohama ADVAN A048
Any others I should consider? Thoughts on the ones I'm looking at? My budget is pretty open as this is now my main hobby, but if I'm going to go through 2 sets a season I'd rather it be 2 x $6-800 sets than 2 x $1200 sets.
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Update: I've had the RS-3s since October. About half of that time they sat in my shed since I live in the Chicagoland area. I've done 3 track events on them: a 2 day at Grattan, a 3 day at Autobahn CC (rainy), and a 2 day at Blackhawk. Even with rotating them during track events all 4 are down to the wear bars. I expected they wouldn't last long with a 140 wear rating.
~5500 miles of regular driving
~500 miles on track
In the dry they are incredible. They heat up well and stick great. Turn in is precise and they are very predictable. I was able to cut about 4 sec off my lap times at Blackhawk (although some of that was instruction not just tires).
In the rain on track they suck donkey balls. I had no grip and had to constantly correct the car to keep from swapping ends. I even played with pressure and suspension to see if I could correct the instability. I had to dial it back more than I would have to when I ran Kumhos last year.
Car is a 2008 VW GTI running a modified suspension setup - Bilstein PSS10 coilovers and a big RSB. With this setup I've got a little bit of negative camber which has caused "chunking" of the inside shoulders on all 4 tires after 5 track days.
I've currently got a set of lightweight Enkei RPF1 18" x 7.5" wide wheels that I use for track days. Yeah I probably should have gone with an 8 or 8.5 inch width but I've already got these now. Currently have 225 40 R18 Kumho Ecsta SPT's on them that are pretty well worn to the point where I can't use them on track anymore. I also feel like they aren't nearly sticky enough for me. They were great for starting out and cheap too at $105/tire.
There seems to be a plethora of choices out there and I haven't decided if I should go with an extreme summer tire or a medium compound track tire. Currently I drive to events on my "track" setup, but I don't have to as I have a stock setup with good all seasons and can swap at the track.
Currently I'm considering the following (kind of a hodgepodge):
Nitto NT05
Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs
Bridgestone Potenza RE-11
Hankook Ventus R-S3
Kumho Ecsta XS
Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD08
Yokohama ADVAN A048
Any others I should consider? Thoughts on the ones I'm looking at? My budget is pretty open as this is now my main hobby, but if I'm going to go through 2 sets a season I'd rather it be 2 x $6-800 sets than 2 x $1200 sets.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: I've had the RS-3s since October. About half of that time they sat in my shed since I live in the Chicagoland area. I've done 3 track events on them: a 2 day at Grattan, a 3 day at Autobahn CC (rainy), and a 2 day at Blackhawk. Even with rotating them during track events all 4 are down to the wear bars. I expected they wouldn't last long with a 140 wear rating.
~5500 miles of regular driving
~500 miles on track
In the dry they are incredible. They heat up well and stick great. Turn in is precise and they are very predictable. I was able to cut about 4 sec off my lap times at Blackhawk (although some of that was instruction not just tires).
In the rain on track they suck donkey balls. I had no grip and had to constantly correct the car to keep from swapping ends. I even played with pressure and suspension to see if I could correct the instability. I had to dial it back more than I would have to when I ran Kumhos last year.
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