Tire Talk Megathread

[omgzirra_exe]

suspension talk is part of tire grip and wear. this is acceptable.

[rhyary]

Originally Posted by DrFerry

What if I run 19 inch wheels on the front axle, a 17 inch wheel on the left rear and an 18 inch wheel on the right rear? Would the reduction in unsprung mass and the reduction in rotational inertia (angular momentum) reduce my lap times? Assuming the tire diameters are almost equal.

Funny…. but you are not far off.
Someone last year showed up with a car that was setup for banked oval. Sitting at the paddock it was banked in a weird way with different sizes left and right and diff sizes of tires front and rear. Looking at it going on a leveled track was just strange.

The whole thing looked grotesque but supposedly it can go fast. I don't remember if that thing was fast or not. I should have taken a picture.

I can only imagine that he was there to test something

[Cmassey3]

The Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar 3 seems to be a good there and back track day tire for HPDE, especially since the BMW CCA entry level group I'm in recommends street tires to build handling skills.

I'll probably replace my Conti ESC with these when they wear out, but I really owe it to myself to get some 18x10 track rims for the rotation ability.

[Kelse92]

Tire Rack's latest test is now posted: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=286

[//steve\\]

I like these tire tests and I hate them all at the same time. What I ultimately want to know is what tires have pace when brand new, street driven a couple thousand miles, tracked a few times at random in between and then retested at say 50% tread life and a dozen heat cycles.

[rhyary]

Recieved the 6 x 265/30/19 RE-050A from Tire Rack.
Few here voiced their familiarity with this tire from medieval times. I wanted to point out few things that I find interesting.

First there is RE-050 and RE-050A.
The 050 is OEM tire and the 050A is for after market.

Second the different sizes may not be exactly the same tire.

For example the 285/30/19 is an MO1 tire and it is for Mercedes specs. The 265/35/19 is an N1 Porsche tire.

I looked carefully to see if I can detect a difference. I can't see different compound but the tread depth is different. The Porsche tire thread is a lot shallower. At certain places is is close to 100tw tire.

I am not sure if the pictures shows that difference but the RED circle is the 285/30/19 Merc tire and the BLUE circle is 265/35/19 Porsche tire.

I had a very good experience last year with the 285. Due to the sales price I got 4, used two, and going to NYST on the 20th with the second set. After that I will be switching to the 265.

I understand that this tire showed up circa 2002. However, I don't know if anyone knows if a 2018 tire is exactly the same or significantly different, compound wise or manufacturing techniques. In other words, if some had a 2005 experience on a 17" tire that is the 050 OEM, I am not sure if we can conclude that 050A 19" tire designed for Porsche would be the same.

[Richbot]

Sometimes the person who's out there banging his head against the wall with a shitty setup, doing dumb things that don't work to try and fix it ends up being faster than you in a good car AND faster than you on his shitty setup

Failure is the best teacher. Victory teaches little

Careful what you wish for

And yes, same sizes of the same tire are different, happens all the time especially with OEM high performance tires. The variation between different sizes can be massive

[Richbot]

Originally Posted by Cmassey3

The Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar 3 seems to be a good there and back track day tire for HPDE, especially since the BMW CCA entry level group I'm in recommends street tires to build handling skills.

I'll probably replace my Conti ESC with these when they wear out, but I really owe it to myself to get some 18x10 track rims for the rotation ability.

I have these in 275/35-18 square on my car and they *just* clear the front coilovers. It's a pretty wide tire, much closer to the strut than the ECS and PS4S in the same size, so keep that in mind ( have ET25 18x10's square). I bought a small 3mm spacer to use up front but didn't end up needing it. But I'm clearing by a couple millimeters (Sachs front coilover struts set not particularly low)

They're awesome tires. Reasonably quiet on the road, and you can be a total ape to them on track and they just take it. Not great in cold and damp.

[DrFerry]

200-treadwear tire test | Continental ExtremeContact Force vs. Falken Azenis RT660 vs. Hankook Ventus R-S4
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/ar...0tw-tire-test/

Falken Azenis RT-660 Tire Test: Autocross and Track
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/ar...oss-and-track/

200tw Tire Test: Valino and Yokohama Take on Favorites From Hankook, Maxxis, Bridgestone and BFGoodrich
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/ar...ake-favorites/

How to manage tire temperatures for improved on-track performance
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/ar...rack-performa/

[b4hand]

I kinda want Proxies RR next but also strongly considering the ECFs

[tsk94]

I'm pretty confident RR's would be faster and the Conti's would last longer. Price point they are probably similar as the ECF's seem quite expensive.

[DrFerry]

IF you haven't seen the Tire Rack's latest Extreme Performance tire test results (UTQG Treadware = 200) which includes the Bridgestone Potenza RE-71RS, then here's a peak.
.
Link:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=286
.

[Bartledoo]

Originally Posted by DrFerry

IF you haven't seen the Tire Rack's latest Extreme Performance tire test results (UTQG Treadware = 200) which includes the Bridgestone Potenza RE-71RS, then here's a peak.
.
Link:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=286
.

Wow better than A052 in the wet!? That’s a beast of a wet track tire then.

[derbo]

Originally Posted by Bartledoo

Wow better than A052 in the wet!? That’s a beast of a wet track tire then.

CANT BEAT NT01s!

[Bartledoo]

Originally Posted by derbo

CANT BEAT NT01s!

All hail the mighty NT01. Son of the great bias ply. Praise be to Nitto.

[Hein Jockins]

I've outgrown my PS4S for HPDE--granted I need slightly more neg camber for how hard I'm pushing the car now--but I shred through these, and they can't withstand the heat. I'm looking for a ~200tw step up from PS4S, and looking at: RT660, Goodyear F1 Supercar 3, V730, and A052 which seem to be the main contenders for where I wanna go based off what I read. Since I live in the south in a heatwave, Heat tolerance and Pace are my main concerns. I'll use Ps4s or PSS if it's wet, so thats not a concern.

As I mentioned, my PS4S did not do well in the heat, however according to (https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/ar...-buyers-guide/) All the tires I mentioned including the PS4S have a Heat tolerance of B with the exception of A052 which is a D. Seems odd to me considering these are more track-oriented tires.

Any thoughts/comments appreciated.

[slcook54]

Going through a similar thought process. Just toasted the PS4S after 8 days. My coach wants me to move to the NT01, which I'm going to do. Otherwise, I would have opted for the Continental ECF or Falken 660.

[tsk94]

Conti ECF, or RS4 would be my first thoughts. Supercar 3 would be great too, they hold up really well to heat.

RT660 and especially the AO52 grease up fasttt.

NT01 would be good, but is less progressive then a 200tw for breakaway - still very manageable though.

[Davisca455]

Originally Posted by tsk94

Conti ECF, or RS4 would be my first thoughts. Supercar 3 would be great too, they hold up really well to heat.

RT660 and especially the AO52 grease up fasttt.

NT01 would be good, but is less progressive then a 200tw for breakaway - still very manageable though.

I just transitioned to NT01s from PS4s.
10 track days on the street tires, then the switch to the NT01s for the last 3 events.

The transition was/is uneventful.
The only time the NT01s got slippery was at the very end of session 1, but when I checked air pressure in the paddock afterwards, they were 42psi.
Once I figured out the air pressure settings, the tires behaved nicely from then on.

I agree they are manageable at breakaway.
The NT01s don't give a warning howl like the PS4s, but they have enough feedback to feel breakaway.
They make a different sound when sliding, not sure how to describe the sound though.
More of a buffing shushing sound?

[Gossypiboma]

Originally Posted by Davisca455

I just transitioned to NT01s from PS4s.
10 track days on the street tires, then the switch to the NT01s for the last 3 events.

The transition was/is uneventful.
The only time the NT01s got slippery was at the very end of session 1, but when I checked air pressure in the paddock afterwards, they were 42psi.
Once I figured out the air pressure settings, the tires behaved nicely from then on.

I agree they are manageable at breakaway.
The NT01s don't give a warning howl like the PS4s, but they have enough feedback to feel breakaway.
They make a different sound when sliding, not sure how to describe the sound though.
More of a buffing shushing sound?

Agreed. The NT01's have little audible feedback but have very manageable break away characteristics. The sound I would describe as scrubbing or brushing when sliding.

35 psi is the sweet spot IMO. At 34 psi the tire starts to roll over too much and above 36 psi they get progressively lose grip.

[Davisca455]

Originally Posted by Gossypiboma

Agreed. The NT01's have little audible feedback but have very manageable break away characteristics. The sound I would describe as scrubbing or brushing when sliding.

35 psi is the sweet spot IMO. At 34 psi the tire starts to roll over too much and above 36 psi they get progressively lose grip.

For the NT01s, what cold pressure do you start at?

For the PS4s, I ended up lowering them 5psi from the door sill recommendation, so 28/F and 30/R.
That usually worked out fine.

For the NT01s, if I start out at 26/F and 28/R that usually ends up with all 4 measuring 36-38psi immediately after the session.

I have to be patient for the first two laps though as they build heat, they definitely feel/sound like they are rolling over on the out lap.

For me 36-38psi seems to keep the NT01s happy all the way to the end of the session.
I actually did my quickest lap when the hot pressure ended up at 38, however that lap was early in the session.
But overall the times were very consistent throughout the session, with the last lap being one of the quickest as well.

[Cmassey3]

Had a great time at the VIR North Course HPDE with the Tarheel BMW CCA group, my instructor took me out in his F80 M3 CS with Bridgestone Potenza Sports and proceeded to be the quickest out there save for a GT2 RS. Sure technique matters a lot here, but it definitely impressed me with the pace on hard sports tires.

I was also looking for some insights on them since it's the main available Costco tire for OEM fitment on the E92 19s and that was about all I needed.