Track day tyres

Hi,

I'll be doing a track day soon so I want to buy some road legal tyres for the stock 17" alloys. Is it worth going for semi slicks? I guess something for all weather use as the track day is in February and it may be raining! I will also use the rear wheels on the drag strip.

I think the Toyo 888s are good but wear out very quick?

Please post your recommendations for the best tyres for a track and perhaps some mid budget ones too.

What are the widest tyres that you can fit on the front and back of the stock 17" wheels? Bobbeh mentioned he had a lot of under steer using 235's on the front.

Thanks,

Ro

The ones Bobbeh had seemed to work very, very well at the Bedford track day, though they seemed to wear rather quickly. Can't remember what they were though

I think Bobbeh's oversteer was more due to his stock UK suspension than the tyres. I had the same size on but had oversteer (mostly due to poor suspension setup)

I had understeer, in that it wouldnt turn in on some of the tight corners due to the weight at the front and more likely some of the speeds I was going

I liked the Toyos and am still using them atm. I will get a few tracks days use out of them I think.

Im sure there are better ones out there, but tbh if you're a track newbie they're a good package to learn with.

Thanks guys.

How much did you pay for them and where did you get them from?

Cheers,

Ro

I paid £750 fitted and balanced etc from a place local to me.

I'm sure I heard Wez could pick up a set for £650.

Just went through http://www.blackcircles.com/ for stock 17" sizes with R888s for £635 incl delivery

Even better

Just went through http://www.blackcircles.com/ for stock 17" sizes with R888s for £635 incl delivery

Thanks Wez

So the sizes to go for 888's on UK 17s: 235/45 and 255/40?

Thanks,

Ro

As Toyota intended

As Toyota intended

Good man, See you on the 27th of Feb!

I have my spare rims ready, will be ordering the tires at the end of the month.

Michelin Pilot Sport Cups or Pirelli P-Zero Corsas also worth considering.

you can fit 245 and 275 on stock uk 17s if you are wanting to spread the loading on the tyres a bit more.

May last a bit longer doing it that way?

Good info Thorin and AJI.

How do the Michelin Pilot Sport Cups and Pirelli P-Zero Corsas compare to 888's price wise and are they semi slicks?

Thanks,

Ro

On my two other cars (not Supras) I run Yoko A032R on one and A048 on the other. No problems with either...

Only comments are the road noise from the A032's is a little interesting - not so much noisy but just a "funny" whining kind of noise.

Thanks Dan,

Damn - so many choices now!

Which ones are the best?!!

I looked at a few different types at the autosport show last weekend, I am going to go with R888s first time round.

Your choice of tyre should be aimed at your application. If you are wanting ultimate grip for fast track times then go for the high grip R888's and similar tyres.

If you want to go drifting and sliding around (as you would do on a trackday) then a harder compound cheaper tyre choice would be better.... because if it is drifting then laptimes are not important.

Trackdays are for fun really, you don't neccesarrily need highest grip tyres to go and perfect your racing line and go sliding

But you also mention drag strip runs. For this you obvioulsy require the highest grip tyre possible for your launch stage.

If it were me I'd buy some cheapo tyres for the track as opposed to a full set of R888s,... then use the money saved to buy a set of high grip rears for you drag runs.

(It would mean you having to swap the rears over each time you change event ie from track to drag strip etc).

Like he said, depends on what you want to do, I intend to find the limits of my car in stock form so wanted tyres that I could use to really push it

If you're into drifting I dont think you'd last too long at some tracks but yeah, get some cheap rubber and have fun.

Good advice guys,

Thanks.