EFI_LC Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Ok simple question but I would be interested in everyone's feedback on this subject Size I am after are 15" 185,195 or 205 but prefer the middle, 50 series or less I have seen all these brands but want some feedback on what you have experienced, as I am new to the Semi range apart from a set I had on an underpowered skyline. Dunlop, Bridgestone, Hoosier, Achilles, Federal, Toyo, Hankook, Kumho, Nitto, Westlake, Falken Maybe rate them and add any comment if they were new, secondhand or if they went away after 4 or 5 laps etc. Grip 1-10 Wear Car Weight kW/HP Cost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoKer Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 welcome to the track world things are different here such as tire sizing, they measure theirs differently like in metrics or something usage? Street strip or grip? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFI_LC Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 Circuit only. I see plenty of sizings for Semis similar to radials. Full slicks are a bit different. I am thinking I might try a couple of Bridgestone RE003 and then once I have the car semi sorted I can use em elsewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepers Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 had amazing success with a set of fucked R888s. 205 50 15s. things that i didn't know when i first strapped a set of semis to my car, they are wider at the tread that an exactly the same size road tyre so if your guard clearances are right on the limit they will touch/rub. the side walls are stiff as fuck so your car will dive all over any undulations in the road if you drive on the street with them. my ones were fucked but they had so little grip in the wet that it was frightening. anything over 50Ks and you were going to die. i drove from AK to taupo on them and apart from diving into any slight surface deviation in the road they were fine. it didn't rain, thats why I'm still alive to tell the story. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 I dailied dunlop 225 45 17 02g's (medium)on my evo for a bit, they were sweet in the dry and much better than i expected in the wet given they look pretty slick with only 1 radial groove. Went on to put a set of 215 45 dunlop 03g's on after them but they never inspired the same level of confidence. Hard compound pre-loved (probably a bit old) Ran a set of second hand 02g's on my starlet which took a beating on the rears and were great. They put up with heat much longer on the track than an r888 would. Pity they don't make them any more. Anyway here is my .02c Acilles 123, warm up quick and hang on well for the price good for a sprint or cheap hillclimb tyre. Available in a 'drift' version in some sizes which gives you a bit more tread depth. Not really any good for extended circuit work. Federal fz201 probably next on price range, less initial grip than the A123 longer to get up to temp but should manage a few laps on a circuit. R888 / Nitto Nt01 similar on price and compound, with very different patterns. These were a pretty sweet point on grip to price ratio (but dont seem to be a bargain anywhere at the moment) probably 90% the tyre of my favoured dunlops and used to be around 50% the price. Would trade again. Dunlop 03g as discussed above nice if you can afford them. Occasionally come up cheap in popular second hand with good life left (ex suzuki swift sizes were a popular 215 45 17). Harder to get cheap in a 205 50 15 Advan A048 / A050 available in super soft as well as othet compounds for hardcore time attack weapons, but probably not a cost effective option if you car is not covered in sponsorship. Full slick (Michelin / dunlop etc..) easy to pick up in 17 and 18 inch 240 and 260 wide and will take a heap more beating than a semi slick before turning to goo. Can be hit and miss in second hand price and quality. More difficult to pick up second hand in smaller sizes. No dealings with hancook z221's or any of the others, but semi tempted for a set of those westlakes at the current price for road tyres. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorollaGT Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 I dailied dunlop 225 45 17 02g's (medium)on my evo for a bit, they were sweet in the dry and much better than i expected in the wet given they look pretty slick with only 1 radial groove.Driven near near NT01's in the rain on the road and they were just as good as RE002's. Car had ample grip acceleration/braking and corners. Worn I can't imagine they would be anywhere as good in the rain hahaHave a set of 205/50R15 NT01's which have done 8 or so trackdays and over 1000km on track and still have tread left (mustn't be driving hard enough!). Kept them in a dark shed out of sunlight and try rotating them front to rear (FWD so the rears are there only for the ride) every couple of trackdays. They aren't as grippy as they were when new but am still really happy with how long they've lasted. In the middle of summer I could get a good 4-5 fast laps of Taupo track 1 before they go off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiderwebfx Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Kumho V700 (225/45R17) - 7/10 Had these from new. I thought they were amazing at first as these were the first semi slicks I'd been on. Went to the R888's afterwards and would never go back. Toyo R888 (225/50R16) - 10/10Absolutely loved them, and I bought them second hand. Good response, and performed well under braking and heavy cornering. They also lasted longer than the V700's and I bought them second hand, and resold them as second hand again. After my own experiences between the two, and other peoples reviews of the R888's vs Dunlops, Bridgestones and Falkens, I'll be sticking to them when my cars track ready. One thing to also take into account if you are doing a lot of circuit time on a single track.Taupo wears the drivers side outside shoulders of the tyres wear out like a bitch, whereas Pukekohe and Hampton are the opposite, I can't comment on Manfield or Ruapuna as I haven't been on them. Assymetric designed tyres can only be fitted one way so you may get to a point where your tyres are no good even though they still have life. (V700's did this.) Directional ones like the R888's can be put on whichever way as long as they're pointing forward, meaning you can maximize your usage out of them.Anyway, hope my post helps somewhat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFI_LC Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 This is great feedback and food for thought, What weight car and tire pressures cold and hot do you all run? Last time on street tires I started on 25psi which was 30 when I came in the first time on my twin cam 1800 Integra about 1150-1200kg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiderwebfx Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 My two tyres were both on my old S14. Running around 24-28 PSI hot. Car weighed about 1250-1300kg's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celica RA45 Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 im using ao50 advans ,these are what the improved production car racing uses as a locked in tyre that fits so many cars from 10 inch re minis up to 19 inch in tyre dia we are only allowed to go to a 50%ratio on cars from 1965 up to 1984 then later cars can have what ever there cars came out with the tyres are so much better than the old 48 were ever ,and these 50 dont go off until your tyres are down to the canvas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
japawagons Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Taupo wears the drivers side outside shoulders of the tyres wear out like a bitch, whereas Pukekohe and Hampton are the opposite, I can't comment on Manfield or Ruapuna as I haven't been on them. This is only relevant to your own vehicle. Yes each track loads Tyres differently, chassis tuning should be used to compensate for this and avoid excessive tyre wear. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiderwebfx Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 This is only relevant to your own vehicle. Yes each track loads Tyres differently, chassis tuning should be used to compensate for this and avoid excessive tyre wear. How does one do this? (Genuine question) I would've thought that to be quite complicated and out of the capability of most vehicles on OS. (Or is it pretty straight forward) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 I think what he (spiderwebfx) is meaning is that Taupo has a shitload of harsh left hand corners, and Hampton has a shitload of harsh right hand corners.So one of your outer tires is always going to wear worse than the inner, no matter what you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rookie Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Yes, but what Keegan was saying that if you are serious about it you will have a bunch of settings for the car for taupo, and a bunch of settings for hampton. If you don't you are leaving lap time on the table. If you are wearing the one side of the car more than the other then you aren't getting the maximum amount of grip available and you should change settings until you get it a good as possible. I know that is a whole bunch easier said than done, but the fact it is correct holds true. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rookie Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Sorry, I never really answered the question about how it is done. The answer is data logging. Lap times at this point are kind of irrelevant, you need to be monitoring g loads, tyre temps, and cornering speed, driver inputs (that one is crucial), etc, once you have got all that under control, then you need to start working towards getting the car setup for driving style. Then you can start creeping up on lap times once you have used all the data to maximise g loads and cornering speed and your driving is consistent enough to make it meaningful. So yes it kind of is above most OSers, but only because we struggle to make our cars run consistently hahaha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
japawagons Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Rookie has it covered. If your racing you should be optimising set up using wheel alignment, pressure differentials between loaded Tyres and tyre temps are your guide here. Most premier racers aren't doing this properly, but even club racers should be checking tyre temps to set optimum pressures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
japawagons Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 For example I usually run 1-2 psi lower and run extra neg camber on the L/H front to compensate for the additional loading at Hampton Downs. Geometry, Weight, Set Up and Driving Style all need to be compensated for. And what the guy in the garage next to yours did to his car in the 70s is completely irrelevant to your unique situation... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
japawagons Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 But on topic. Toyo R888s. Fantastic in the Dry and Wet. Even when they are almost worn out. 1200 KG FWD No LSD. I'll run Max 30 psi on a hot winters day, after 6 laps. But I'm still gathering data, rained every time I've been out in the last 12 months. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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