Dedicated Track Tires
 

Any suggestions on what a good track tire would be for a technical high speed course (Pacific Raceways)? I'll be running with the OEM wheels (getting a second set).

The plan will be to do the exchange wheels/tires/brake pads the night before and then drive ~20 minutes to the track. So far the Nitto NT05 looks reasonable but additional input is definitely welcome.

Thanks

In 19" sizes I think you're choices are limited to:

Nitto NT05
NT01 (stickier tire with some rain grooving).
Bridgestone RE-11

Do you want to stick with street tires or are you looking for R-comps?

Why are you looking at the NT05 for a "dedicated track tire?" They are great, but merely R-compound street/track tires. They (along with Toyo's RA-1...nearly identical tire except for tread-pattern) would be good if you only had one set of wheels to drive on for both the street and track. I would recommend those along with Michelin Pilot Sport Cups.

For a track-tire, the Hoosier R6 is your best bet (and you can still legally drive on the road, although you run the risk of tire-damage). If you want to step it up to actual racing-slicks, then your options are wide open beyond that. I used Goodyear G19 for two seasons until switching to Michelin Pilot Racing Slicks.

NT-05's are not R-comps at all actually. NT-01's are Nitto's R-comp.

I've been using the Toyo R888 for awhile now, and absolutely love them. They actually will take some street use too if you treat them reasonably. The Hoosiers are fantastic for strictly track use, we use them on one of our BMW ITS cars

Forgot about the R888's, those are great tires.

He listed his requirements as being able to drive 20 miles to the track so presumably he wants to be able to drive in wet sessions with the tires as well, so no full r-comps.

Oops, yeah...that's what I meant. I thought he was refering the NT-01. In that case, running an NT05 as your "track-tire" makes even less sense.

Thanks for the inputs!

The idea is to have good "sticky track" tires that are legal on the street. I have about a 20 minute drive to Pacific Raceways and would like to get the car ready to go the night before and then just drive to the track ready to go the next morning.

A friend of mine drives/tracks a 911, a modified C6 Vette and a GT40. He has also recommended the R888s. With the recommendations here and his I think the R888 is a win......hopefully they will work with the OEM wheels ( I'm getting a second set just to mount the other tires on).

Thanks again

The sizes are a little bit off size wise, but not bad considering this is a track tire. You'll need to run:

Front: 265/30ZR19
Rear: 295/30ZR19

Myself I'll be running Nitto NT01's on 18" wheels next year purely because I got a deal on a lightly used set.

Any rubbing with those sizes?

Not at all.

I currently run 275/35 front and 305/30 rear on the stock wheels. There is an unbelievable amount of room remaining around the wheel. The tightest point is the inside of the front wheel against the vertical control arm piece when you push a lot of negative camber. This can be corrected by running a different offset wheel or by using a small spacer. I run -2.5 front camber using the SPC upper control arms and there is a monster gap between the outside edge of the front wheel and the fender.

^ +1 good info. Thanks!

No problem, good luck at the track!

How does the traction control system like the 265/295 ratio? I am at the point where I'm going to turn the "baby sitter" off during track days, but have heard some cars have difficulty with different ratios than the OEM setup.

Tire-width has nothing to do with the operation of traction-control. So long as the tires are properly sized in terms of diameter (as close to stock as possible), there is no reason for anything to malfunction.

Pretty much holding up the track newby sign here. Thanks!

Because you are using these as track tires with the VDC turned off I wouldn't worry about it too much. The size differential is really only a problem for the traction control, with it disabled it doesn't intervene until the speed difference between front and rear is huge.

For daily driver tires you want the size differential as close as possible, within 2% front to rear.

With the R888 sizes listed your differential front to rear will be 2.3%.

If you're a track newbie, why switch tires? The stock tires hold up pretty decently and have great grip for street tires. I think, and I've heard it said by others, that you learn a lot more about proper car control without the crutch of ultra-sticky tires. They prevent you from exploring the limits from seeing your mistakes as easily. Just a thought...

One other benefit: track tires are just going to cause more brake issues, fuel starvation issues, etc., which isn't much fun...

The isn't exactly true. The tire diameter difference effects your ABS which cannot be turned off. The computer might turn it off if it detects an issue; then again, it could just damage your abs system. You are correct tat 2% difference in diameter front to rear should be acceptable for the ABS system.

I agree, kind of. Track tires don't make a lot of noise when they are about to give way, and when they do break loose, they do it in a very quick fashion, where as street tires make some noise and let you know you are approaching the limits and are a little more forgiving. I would do at least 5 events on streets before upgrading.

As for tire selection, I was using used R888s, but they just didn't last too well. I have since switched to BFG R1s and love them. A little less grip than a hoosier, but not enough less to justify the extra cost of the hoosiers. I run 275/35-18 all around myself.

Okay, there are tons of options for 18" wheels, but what are the options for R-Comps on stock wheels? I'm having a hard time finding tires....

Hoosier R6's are one of the few that I found when researching. That's why I decided to buy 18" track wheels.

The ABS should be handle even more than 2% theoretically, perhaps 4 or 5%. Unfortunately discovering it's true thresholds would require insider knowledge of it's workings or lots of empirical testing.

If you want R-comps and still want to drive to the track with them, then the Nitto NT-01 can't be beat. They don't stick quite as well as the (100 wear rating vs ~40 for stickier R-comps) best, but they come close, are cheaper, wear nearly as well as a 'normal UHP' tire...and can be driven to track. I've had two sets and overall would give their performance a B+ compared to an A for my current BFG R1s capabilities. An experienced track junkie can certainly tell the difference on track plumbing the limits of adhesion, but someone new to R-comps will be suitably impressed.

The bigger jump by far is from ANY UHP tire to the R-comp, in this case the NT-01 being the case in point. These simply have different and generally better grip, breakaway, and recovery characteristics. You won't be disappointed coming from a street tire!

I've done as much as 400 miles highway on them at a go with no problems...they actually have a decent comfy ride and (of course) handle amazingly! At first I was worried about using them on the highway and such, but have no such worry, they're fine... and talk about serious street grip!

The only thing to watch out for is in the second half of their useful life there is no tread, and you need to be careful in the rain. First half they have decent tread and are fine, not a rain tire, but the 6/32 of tread will keep you out of trouble. Once you're down to 3/32 (the 'racing slick' half of their life), all rain bets are off. I did have to drive them in slick mode once a few hundred miles in the rain and it wasn't too bad as long you keep speed <60mph and you're really really careful, and it's just not really a downpour. But that's nothing I would want to do if I had a choice.

PS the NT-05 are awesome too. I've got them as my street tire and they 'feel' very much like the NT-01, minus the r-comp tire noise. That's a street opinion only... so although they feel track worthy, I've not used them on track, prefering the R1s obviously. Those four R1s fit nicely in the back seat of my Rx-8, so I've got the best of street tire on the way to track, and some of the best track tires while I'm there! :driving:

R888's are my choice.