autophiliac

Track aficionados,

I would like your recommendation for replacement tires for track use on AP1 wheels.
Currently I plan on replacing the S0-2's but would appreciate your thoughts.

Look forward to seeing you all out there this weekend at Buttonwillow...Woohoo!!!

CoralDoc

How much track experience do you have?

If you're a newbie, run the OEM tires - at least for the first few events. Once you're ready for R-compounds, the best choice for a stock car (no aftermarket front anti-sway bar) are Toyo RA-1s. The last a long time and are resistant to degradation from many heat-cycles. Another popular choice is the Kumho V700, but they don't make a good set of sizes that work well with a stock-suspended car.

No matter what, have fun!

mikegarrison

I ran about 20 track days on S02s. This was maybe 5 too many, but I think that it really helped me understand how to feel out the limits of the tires. If this is the first track experience you have (like it was for me), then you just won't be fast enough to really reach the limits of the R-compounds until you suddenly exceed them. And when you do, you'll be going faster and thus run into more trouble.

Different people have different philosophies on this. Some people jump right to R-compounds and do just fine as well. But I found it much easier to figure out how to tell when the car was sliding and how to control how much the car was sliding when I was on street tires. Then once I had that skill down pat, I was able to transfer it to R-compounds fairly easily. I then had to adjust to driving at higher speeds and bigger slip angles, but that was (and is) still a fun process.

Another controversial subject, but personally I think S02s suck in the rain. There are many street and R-compound tires that are better in the rain than S02s, so if you do much tracking in the rain then you have to take that into consideration. I've done one track day on S03s (and a lot of street driving on them). They are much better in the rain, and only a little more squirmy under hard use on the track.

autophiliac

Thanks for the advice! This weekend will be my second time on the track so I will run the stock tires as suggested. I will try the recommended r-compound tires later this year. Again, looking forward to seeing you all at Buttonwillow!

foolio

mikegarrison,

I'm still on S02 tires for track days, and I would like some advice from you about tire pressures since you have so much experience on them.

What is a "good" tire psi. you would like to see when you immediately pull off the track and into the pits? I like to see 37 psi, but I'm not sure if higher or lower is better.

Do you have a good methodology for setting tire pressure 'cold' before the first session of the track day? I had a major problem with grip one cold morning at Thunderhill when I seemed to have set the 'cold' pressure too low.

mikegarrison

Honestly, I don't really remember. I do recall trying to keep a pound and a half or so more in the front than the rear. I didn't do a ton of experimenting on tire pressures. And it will depend a lot on the track. High 30s is probably a good place to start experimenting from. I think I would start the day at about 36F34R and just tweak it as it seemed to need it over the day.

Look at how the tire is wearing -- if it seems to be scrubbing too far up the sidewall then inflate the tire, not far enough then deflate the tire. I never checked tire temperatures, which would be the more scientific way to do it. I don't even know what temps are best for the S02. You could try asking Bridgestone.

Cold days can be tricky -- sometimes you really have to work hard to get any heat into the tires. The S02 really does not grip well when cold, which is part of the reason why it is a sucky rain tire.

f1_fanz

Take a white wax pencil with you to the track and mark across the edge of your tires. After a run or two, look at the marks and see how much you're "rolling" by how much pencil is gone and adjust your tire pressures accordingly.

Now at the risk of raising some people's ire, I've been searching the forums for good intermediate tires to drive to, run on and drive home from the track. I've seen listings for auto-x tires but not necessarily streetable intermediates.

So, any recommendations?

Ludedude

Define streetable? Diane, if you want to be able to swap to a track tire, drive to the track, run and then drive home, you can't beat a shaved Toyo RA-1. Of course this is predicated on there being no rain when you have them mounted. That's easily the case 360 days a year here but might not be where you are.

J.P.

f1_fanz

Yeah I need intermediates that can handle *some* rain. That would define streetable to me. My ex-husband runs his 3rd-gen RX-7 on intermediate Yokohama's and keeps his speed down in the rain without any problems.

So, any other recommendations?

Ludedude

You could run the same Yokohama's as he's running then