mx5cartalk.com

Hey Guys,

Getting close to sorting out my SE for track duties, and looking for some tyres to go onto my 15 x 8 Advanti Storm S1 wheels. Looking to compete in the Forced Induction Street Class here in the QLD Time Attack series, which stipulates that I need to run a tyre with a treadwear rating of 140 or higher. The car is road registered but rarely sees a lot of time of regular roads, maybe a weekend run every now and again, and will be dríven to the track and back (hopefully) It also has some MCA Blue coilovers, standard sway bars, and a few performance mods which result in about 220 rwhp.

Was originally thinking of running some 225/45/15 Hankook RS4s with a treadwear rating of 200, but after reading some info from Emilio at 949, he's suggesting that the fastest setup is to run tyres the same width as the rim, ie: 205 with 8", 225 with 9" etc, etc. This got me thinking I should also consider the more popular 205/50/15 tyres as I'd have a wider range of tyres to choose from, and might be able to get something a little 'stickier' with a treadwear rating closer to 140.

I know the treadwear ratings doesn't always translate into grip or performance, but thought I should get some feedback with guys who maybe had some experience with tyres that fit into this category.

The first 205 tyre I considered was the Advan AD08R as used in the Clubsprint class at WTAC, but I've read some mixed reviews. Anyone had experience with these tyres

Winner of Clubsprint in 2017 did a 1:36, these are a great tyre. I have manged a sub 60 at QR Sprint on AD08R's and AR-1's. However AR-1's are not over 140 tread wear.

Try the NS-2R (street) these are suitable, wear wise and used by a few track people. I have no experience with them sorry, AD08R and AR-1's yes.

Magpie wrote:I have manged a sub 60 at QR Sprint on AD08R's and AR-1's. However AR-1's are not over 140 tread wear.

Were the AR-1s faster than the AD08Rs and if so by how much?

CrazyRacer wrote:Were the AR-1s faster than the AD08Rs and if so by how much?

In December last year I was able to compare times with a car running a fresh set of A050's, plus they had been running A050's all year.

I will say that I consider the driver (Peter Murray) of the MX5 NC running the A050's to be of much greater skill than myself. Peter always ran in the AM sessions whereas for myself I ran in the PM sessions.

Yesterday Clubman
A050's 1:03.8313 AR-1's 1:03.8303

Sprint
A050's 1:00.5579 AR-1's 1:00.2244

Very soon I will be able to compare times between the AD08R's and the AR-1's as the track conditions in December were a lot different to when I set a PB in the winter months!

TCR wrote:Was originally thinking of running some 225/45/15 Hankook RS4s with a treadwear rating of 200, but after reading some info from Emilio at 949, he's suggesting that the fastest setup is to run tyres the same width as the rim, ie: 205 with 8", 225 with 9" etc, etc. This got me thinking I should also consider the more popular 205/50/15 tyres as I'd have a wider range of tyres to choose from

For outright track speed, more tyre is usually quicker, ignoring the extremes of tyre size/power levels.
IMO 205 on 8 < 225 on 8 < 225 on 9 , so whilst I agree with Emilio that running a square setup is ideal for that size tyre, you can still gain time by using a wider tyre without stepping up the the ideal wider rim as well.

FWIW I now run 215/50 on 8s (A050s which are 224 wide) and have more grip than the 205s did on same 8s and lap times have dropped accordingly.

I'm thinking the same thing in regards to tyre width. Ideally I would love to run a 225/45/15 with a 140 treadwear rating, but that tyre doesn't seem to exist, so it's a trade off between a 'stickier' 205/50/15 AD08R with a treadwear rating of 180 or the 225/45/15 RS4 with a treadwear of 200.

A test day with both would be the best way to choose.

Does your budget/competitive urge run to this length? And why not go to 9s as well? It's only money ... ... and you can sell off what you don't want to use.

Competitive urge yes, but at this stage, budget no

I considered the 9s, but given there's a very limited choice of suitable 225 wide tyres available, I gave myself the option of running either a 205 or 225 on the 8" rim. I wish we had more choice of decent 225 or 245 wide tyres here in Australia.

Read some reviews of AD08R vs RS4 and there doesn't seem to be a lot in it, although they have always been in the same sizes.

I think the Achilles Atr K sport is a 140 treadwear and performance on a par with NT01. Also available in 215 size

Had a quick look at the Achilles, but too much of an unknown for me at the moment.

Decided I'll try the RS4, so rang Z Car Racing here in QLD where I'd previously purchased some RS3s, and no stock available. Rang Jax Tyres who advertise them and no stock in Australia, hmmm.... Last chance is Tyre City here in Brisbane who advertise them on their website and have an ebay advert for that size. Waiting for a call back.

Otherwise it'll be the AD08R I guess

Got an email this morning about the Jap Nats at QR on the 14th and had this thought that I could actually get the car ready if I pulled my finger out. Probably won't happen but lets see what happens in the next 8 days or so

Try Nankang NS-2R come in 140 and 180 treadwear. An 86 driver I know gets very fast times on these and they meet the tyre requirements for Jap Nats. Hacketts (Coopers Plains) sell them, mention my name and they may give you a better price.

TCR wrote:Had a quick look at the Achilles, but too much of an unknown for me at the moment.

Decided I'll try the RS4, so rang Z Car Racing here in QLD where I'd previously purchased some RS3s, and no stock available. Rang Jax Tyres who advertise them and no stock in Australia, hmmm.... Last chance is Tyre City here in Brisbane who advertise them on their website and have an ebay advert for that size. Waiting for a call back.

Otherwise it'll be the AD08R I guess

Got an email this morning about the Jap Nats at QR on the 14th and had this thought that I could actually get the car ready if I pulled my finger out. Probably won't happen but lets see what happens in the next 8 days or so

Try that tyroola mob I got mine through. I got a similar run around in Melbs and they got them for me drop shipped from Nankang

The NS-2R in track compound is 120 treadwear I believe.

Magpie wrote:Try Nankang NS-2R come in 140 and 180 treadwear. An 86 driver I know gets very fast times on these and they meet the tyre requirements for Jap Nats. Hacketts (Coopers Plains) sell them, mention my name and they may give you a better price.

Custardtart wrote:The NS-2R in track compound is 120 treadwear I believe

i spoke to Nankang direct and they are 140 and 180.