gingeRS

i have bought some second hand track tyres...2 are good as below:



however 2 are not so good (guy chucked em in for free) they are like this:

tyre on left



now as i am planning on having them on a second set of wheels i am unsure to fit them, and then fit the tyres when i get to the track, or bin them and get 2 better legal ones so i can fit my track tyres the night before a track day?

some people have said they fit tyres at the track as if its rainign they can us their road wheels, and other state, that all tyres on a wet track are pretty rubbish so dont bother.

can anyone offer some helpful guidance. with it costing around £10-15 to swap and dispose of a tyre in london, i want to get my plans straight as i have been offered more A048's with legal treads

cheers

gingeRS

bttt....anyone?

Ridgey

iTrader: (5)

I have a second set of wheels i use for track (road legal track tyres), but nearly always take or go on my road wheels (road tyres). And swap wheels when i get there if needs be, weather dependant.
The Yokohamas you have won't be much use if the track is properly Wet. Road tyres will be much better IMO.

lordjc

I would have two sets if you can, I have destroyed new tyres on full day's track session.

Also depends what track you go on. I went to Llandow in the wet, yet the track being abrasive I was still getting plenty of grip with R1r's

gingeRS

cheers for the advice guys....now would you bother fitting the tyre in the second photo, or just get a new pair??

Alan77

I use ao48's on my race car, once the tyre is 70-80% worn they are no good thats why people sell these tyres with 2mm left. New they only have 5mm

Once a new tyre has gone through a few heat cycles like testing, races or trackdays and are not used for a while they become hard and no good.

If it was me and if your going to do a few trackdays i would put new tyres on at the start of the year and chuck them by winter. You will have more grip and more fun than using old ones

If you have a spare set of rims use them and change the wheels at the track, your road tyres would be better in the wet than the ao48's with 5mm tread, because you cant get heat into them when its cold and wet.

I have done a lot of testing with these tyres and won 4 championships with them.

Hope this helps.

gingeRS

excellent thanks...so you think its worth binning the sub 3mm pair and trying to get 2 more.

i wish new ones were an option but at £250 a tyre

maybe i'll save for some R888's?

would you use road tyres over old A048's on a dry track though??

Spiky

iTrader: (1)

i wouldnt use those worn tyres, as it will start to be come unsafe to drive on, esp on track where they are getting pushed hard.

i usually run 2 sets of tyres a048's/r888's (drive to track on these, and use on track)

and also a sets of proper competitionm wets

then i'm covered for all tyres of weather

also, if you bought them second hand. what date is stamped on them, as old tyres go hard, and reduce the grip they have

i'm never buying second hand again

gingeRS

i'll check the date stamps when i'm next at the garage. might sell em on then and put the money towards some newer track tyres.....

will fit the pair of AD08's though as my current road tyres are worn on the inside edge.

Ridgey

iTrader: (5)

Kumho V70a are quite good on price.

Try not to flat spot what ever you buy, or it does get expensive

gingeRS

ouch

i have also heard the federals are good value @ £150.

if they are to be dedicated track tyres, i dont mind an extra £100-150 or so for the best stuff. as long as they last a few track days

cant buy them till next year now as funds are a little too tight with the new house etc

stevieturbo

Not sure I'd agree with that. A few years back a couple of friends had some D01-J dunlops.

They used them on road and track for a while, then as is typical with modified cars...they ended up off the road.

Roll on about 4-5 years and they put them to use again. The tyres still performed superbly doing some local sprints and hillclimbs.

If you have old tyres with decent tread I wouldnt hesitate to use them given the price of new ones.

Obviously if they're done, they're done though. Perhaps if you are right at the top end of your competition then new tyres may be more sensible if you're trying to win something
Other than that it would seem pointless to bin perfectly usable tyres.

But it begs the next question. Given the wide variety of track type tyres out there now, and few of them are cheap. Which is best value ?

Federal FZ201 ? RS595 or whatever they're called ?

Toyo 888 ? R1R ?

Hankook, Yoko, Dunlop ( bloody expensive ), Khumo ? etc etc

gingeRS

i'm planning on keeping the A048's with tread and have been offered a pair with 3+mm on them also

just a shame funds are limited this month as i just renewed my car insurance

COCHYN

Federal 595 RS-R's are top and only £107 each with free delivery from Oponeo

gingeRS

wicked cheers

COCHYN

They'll be on mine next after the Mich's die

gingeRS

My only worry is they will be on the budget side. I bought falkens for my car a couple of years back as they were recommended on rsoc and almost 50 quid cheaper than the michelins, they have worn well but offer limited grip and are rubbish when pushed hard!

This is what's is leading me toward the Yokos and toyos, despite the 300 price difference.

stevieturbo

Ive the Federal FZ201's on the back of my car. Tread wise they are more akin to 888's, but they are definitely a harder compound. So for road use and drag use they do not grip as well as 888's
Around a few laps of a race track, I dont know. Will I buy them again ? No. But they were cheaper than 888's which is what drew me towards them.

The 888 does still seem to be the benchmark as far as track tyres go. Although a friend is using the R1R's on his Subaru and they are working very well for him when racing. They're cheaper and more road use friendly with more open tread, a bit like the 595's

Is anyone ranting about how good 595's etc are ? Or any other brand of track type tyre ? I'm still yet to see it which would make me cautious.

I tried Michelin Pilot sport cups too once, for normal or short usage they were total rubbish. Maybe a long distance race around a track they might start to work though.

ESCYSCOTT

iTrader: (1)

I ran a set of R888's on my track car and had an off at Knockhill the last outing! Don't be fooled like I was into thinking that you can run them down to the wire before they're fooked as they are like driving around on ice!

I bought a used set of Yoko Advan A048 from the Mini Cooper race guys at Knockhill and gonna try them this weekend as I'm doing Croft so I'll report back on how good/bad a used race tyre is.

Spiky

iTrader: (1)

you should notice the sidewall flexing less and dont go off quite as quick

but at a 1/3 more expenive, they not really worth it over r888

r200ti

Ive not used the Fed RSR or tyres of that type yet, but they wont match e.g an R888 for laptime.
But they would be a lot better than a road tyre (what wouldnt be) plus im wondering if they would make a versatile wet tyre to?
They use them as a control tyre (the RSR) in some one make race series which says to me they must be ok.

I use Khumo V70's they are much cheaper than R888's and offer up similer grip. Ive yet to do a full test comparing them, but mixing them didnt seem to hit my balance to much. The khumos do seem to wear quicker tho


For old tyres id be very careful. Yes if you find e.g a set of old D01j's they would probably still out grip a new R888 but they dont like the cold - the bands break
So after a few nasty winters if they havnt been stored right.....

Ridgey

iTrader: (5)

I think all the track tyres should be stored so they do no see sub zero temps.

COCHYN

Not at all, a lot of big track boys use them Try them, been in a car with a set, honestly grip like 888's. Yoko's are shite, they're death traps in the wet and don't last at all. Even minimum wear left turn them into ditch finders. You should venture a bit further away from the RSOC, like towards people who actually go on track

Ridgey

iTrader: (5)

I like Falkens 452's have them on my road wheels (below), find them OK on track, but R888 and and V70's are much much better in the dry.
Not tried any Yokohamas.

Sonic Boom

iTrader: (11)

I've had the 888's on my 3 Door for a couple of weeks now and they are awesome.
I knocked 1.55 seconds of my PB at Prescott on a dampish track, I can't wait for a bone dry warm track next year.
So much grip I could have gone even faster on the day is just a case of confidence.
Rich

gingeRS

i find they dont work very well on high power FWD car (Focus RS) as they lose traction under boost and understeer ALOT

will be getting some better road tyres soon (i hope)