[deve]

hi, guys, I am newbie to tracking/racing and i would like to ask couple of questions:

1) I noticed that my stock rft-tire are getting worn after each track day (i've been 2 times on a track). On one hane i would love to keep using them on a street and use appropriate race tire a track. But on another hand I heard that it's better for newbies to learn driving techniques without good race tires and light rims so that newbies feel car limits better and can push car on its limit with not-perfect equipment. And then once they switch to race tires/rims they will feel real difference. Without that they may even do not notice difference. Is this valid point?

2) Once I buy new set of tires/rims is it better to keep old rft for street driving and use race tires/rims for a track ? If so where to change tires/rims on a track or day before track and drive to track on race tires ?

[2e9x's]

Street tires are designed to be more forgiving. They grip less and signal their impending break-away. Race tires grip more but give away less forgivingly. IMHO it is much better to learn on street tires. As a beginner, and unless you are truly a prodigy, the reality is that the car is not what is limiting your speed. For most of us, the loose nut behind the wheel is the problem...

Until you become an advanced-intermediate driver I would not even begin to consider switching. While you will go faster if you do, it will not be because you are improving as a driver.

But hey...those are just my opinions. YMMV.

[Dascamel]

+1

After 3 track days, the car is not the limiting factor. Although a cheaper/lighter tire setup would make sense, rft are fairly expensive.

[leftcoastman]

+1

Stick to street tires. They bitch/scream when they're about to lose grip. R-comps will gripgripgrip then release without warning.

Rcomps also hide your mistakes as I learned recently when I went back to street tires.


If you want, get a set of Kosei K1, put cheap summer tires on them and then when you get better, you can stick race rubber on the same wheels. Those RFTs, while pretty decent on track, are expensive to replace.

[deve]

yes, my concern was that I am wasting my stock rft tires. maybe i should go for cheap summer tire and use them for track days only.
Given that What summer would you recommend ?

Originally Posted by leftcoastman

+1

Stick to street tires. They bitch/scream when they're about to lose grip. R-comps will gripgripgrip then release without warning.

Rcomps also hide your mistakes as I learned recently when I went back to street tires.


If you want, get a set of Kosei K1, put cheap summer tires on them and then when you get better, you can stick race rubber on the same wheels. Those RFTs, while pretty decent on track, are expensive to replace.

[Feffman]

Originally Posted by leftcoastman

Stick to street tires. They bitch/scream when they're about to lose grip. R-comps will gripgripgrip then release without warning.

Rcomps also hide your mistakes as I learned recently when I went back to street tires.

Agree with LeftCoastMan. Stick with street tires, perhaps a more aggressive street tire like the Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R which is pretty close to an "R" compound to begin with. After you've gotten more track time under your belt, then switch to true R compound tires.

Have Fun!

Mark "Feff" Pfeffer
www.MVPTrackTime.com

[S4to335]

BTW guys...race tires are something all together different. There are REAL race tires...then R compounds..then street tires. I personally would consider getting a slightly more R compound-like street tire...like the RE-01R...if I was the OP.

[davig]

The advice on the street tires is dead on as a learning tool.
These cars eat the outside tread on the front as there is little if any negative camber. They will likely destroy R compunds quickly. Although the car is good on the track, I gave up using it due to the tire issue and the cost of rotors, and bought a Z06. Faster cheaper.

[leftcoastman]

Originally Posted by davig

The advice on the street tires is dead on as a learning tool.
These cars eat the outside tread on the front as there is little if any negative camber. They will likely destroy R compunds quickly. Although the car is good on the track, I gave up using it due to the tire issue and the cost of rotors, and bought a Z06. Faster cheaper.

Damn!

The camber issue can be solved with <$500 camber plates and the rotors are free from BMW! You just gotta buy race pads because the OEM overheat badly on track. But the stock rotors paired with race pads are sublime.

Granted, the driver clearly sucked, but I looooved flying by a guy in a C6 Z06. It was, of course, in the corners.

[Park2670]

Originally Posted by leftcoastman

Damn!

The camber issue can be solved with <$500 camber plates and the rotors are free from BMW! You just gotta buy race pads because the OEM overheat badly on track. But the stock rotors paired with race pads are sublime.

Granted, the driver clearly sucked, but I looooved flying by a guy in a C6 Z06. It was, of course, in the corners.

I passed a 996 GT3 with a bad driver. Made me feel so special inside

[Hegemony]

Yup. I've passed both of those, 997t's, and a Ford GT. All driver difference of course.

To the OP,

I lean a little more towards S4to335's school of thought.

Assuming that you've had some instruction during your first couple of events and you're getting less and less feedback about needing to be smoother and more consistent, I'd get a tire closer to an R-compound with tread (don't get something you have to shave or heat cycle.)

[uberschnell]

I've passed a 996, then we both got passed by a Mazda 3

I'm using the K1/street tire route. Altogether it's cheaper then a new set of runflats. There's a pretty decent selection of track oriented street tires out there for that size rim.

[bartman32]

I'd definately suggest sticking with street tires for the time being. That being said you don't need to eat up your regular expensive tires on the track. I have 2 sets of street tires. One for track days and one for regular use. My track tires are NOT runflats (too expensive and too slippery) but are regular street tires. I usually change wheels and tires a week or so before an event and leave them until I have time to change back. I have just a regular floor jack and a torque wrench. It take me about 1/2 hour to switch out all 4 tires. It definately saves me money in the long run!

And a GREAT place to fine the new wheels is on this forum! Lots of people are trying to get rid of their stock wheels and tires when they upgrade! You can get them pretty cheap!

Then when you are ready going to an "R" compound tire is just a new set of tires whenever the track tires need to be replaced.

Good luck!

[davig]

Originally Posted by leftcoastman

Damn!

The camber issue can be solved with <$500 camber plates and the rotors are free from BMW! You just gotta buy race pads because the OEM overheat badly on track. But the stock rotors paired with race pads are sublime.

Granted, the driver clearly sucked, but I looooved flying by a guy in a C6 Z06. It was, of course, in the corners.

What race pads are you using? The only aftermarket pads I could source are Hawk HPS.
The rotors are free within certain mileage parameters.
I have a C5 Z06-entry to exit times are comparable to my 335. That surprised me because the Vette feels more balanced. So much for the buttdyno. If you passed a C6 it was because he wasn't trying.

[Park2670]

Originally Posted by davig

I have a C5 Z06-entry to exit times are comparable to my 335. That surprised me because the Vette feels more balanced. So much for the buttdyno. If you passed a C6 it was because he wasn't trying.

Its because of driver skill. I said earlier that I passed a GT3, which no stock 335 should do. But I sure did feel special for a minute

[RedGT3]

What tire pressure are you guys using on stock RFT. (for track use)

[davig]

Originally Posted by fll335

What tire pressure are you guys using on stock RFT. (for track use)

When I used the RFTs, I used the recommended pressure for high speed on the doorpanel. I found that the tires were not overly sensitive to changes in pressure. These were 19"s-it might be a different story with 18"s

[LOLrance]

Originally Posted by fll335

What tire pressure are you guys using on stock RFT. (for track use)

on the stock runflats. I set them at 35psi cold all the way around and adjusted accordingly after i got on the track.

[leftcoastman]

For the stock RFT, I had to pump the fronts up to 47psi hot, for two reasons:

1) Dial out some understeer.
2) Keep it from rolling all the way over and scrubbing off the "bridgestone" lettering!