First Track Day, should i get new tyres??

Dweezle · Postby **Dweezle** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 8:32 pm

Going to Wakefield this saturday, First time on the track

I have some semi worn 2 year old tyres. Should i just destroy these and then buy new ones.. Or buy a set before i head out there?

I dont think i will be going hell for leather as i do not have a roll bar and, would rather stay shiny side up.. :shock:

Just after some suggestions on what to do.. Anyone else going there this saturday the 29th??

Postby **mx5racing** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 9:04 pm

Team MX5 Racing will be there with 2 NC's and 2 BMW's one of which is debuting. We'll be in our usual garages so come down and say G'day. Let us know if you need any help during the day.

Guran · Postby **Guran** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 9:18 pm

It's a "speed off the streets" day right? You'll have a ball, and it's highly unlikely that you'll bend anything. I'd suggest you stick with the old tyres for this one. See how they go. Aim for no more than 40psi hot - preferably about 38psi I'd say.

Aim to limit yourself to about 6 laps per session and your brakes/tyres will hold up well. And when you get back to the pits, do not pull on the handbrake - just park it in gear. If you pull the handbrake on hot brakes, the pads could fuse to the rotors, or the rotors could warp.

Sorry if I'm telling you to suck eggs. Just repeating the common advice given to track newbies.

Dweezle · Postby **Dweezle** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 9:39 pm

Great.. thanks mate.. Ohh TRACK NEWBIE is me..

cant wait..

Guran · Postby **Guran** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 9:52 pm

No worries. All I charge for the advice is a report on your trackday experience, posted here in this thread of course!

Hellmun · Postby **Hellmun** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:02 pm

If you havn't been to the track before I suggest you do a brake fluid flush... If it's a hot day the standard fluid really won't hold up all that well. Between that and cooking my tyres I still loved from first trackday. Just remember that if you do oversteer or find the car losing control just jam on the brake and slow down as fast as you can. Control comes with time and experience . If you don't go off the track your first day your not trying hard enough :mrgreen:

Steampunk · Postby **Steampunk** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:23 pm

X2 with what Hellmun stated.

My opinion re tyres is dependent about what tyres you currently have.
If it's a good brand and model, eg. Bridgestone RE001, then kill them on the track.

But if it's a decent, but road oriented tyre, eg. Falken ZE912, then you won't kill them, they will simply die as they will not withstand the temperatures.

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:41 pm

Almost any old rubbish will work fine for the first few track days - just so long as they hold together. Until you build more experience it's all about learning racing lines and control, not laptimes. It's actually easier to learn if you don't have much grip. A lot of noobs have some horrific brake lock-ups along the way, which devalues a new set of tyres from around about $500-1,000 to about zero in 2 secs and the bump/clunk all the way home tells you how empty your wallet will be next week.

Dweezle · Postby **Dweezle** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 8:35 pm

Well i was not going to buy new tyres but then checking over the car i noticed that the rear left was looking a lil flat.. turned out it had a leak. Pumped it back up to 30 psi and within 24 hours was at 19 psi.

So woke my brother up this morning and told his lazy ass to get the car to Bob Janes, because i was at work and i knew they where close to my place.

was just going to get some ADRENALINES but 3 stores had none in stock. Ended up getting BRIDGESTONE FIREHAWK WIDE OVAL all round for 100 bucks a pop.

I know there not the best but hopefully they will hold up for me.

one lil question, can anyone give me a good pressure start to run them at? they are 185/60/R14 and it iwill be at Wakefield Park.

thanks for you help all so far. Will let you know how tomorrow goes for me.

Techno · Postby **Techno** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 9:35 pm

Have fun on the track .... just be aware that most tyres when brand new have a slick residue from the molding procedure and are might slippery for the first 100k's or so.

Hellmun · Postby **Hellmun** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 11:35 pm

I'm sure he'll drive up to the track with them which should clean them up. I'd only pull a couple of psi out of them. Maybe 2-3 down from what you normally run but I don't run street tyres anymore really. Only if me and Andrew are running so late we don't have time to put on the semi-slicks before the first session :mrgreen:

Guran · Postby **Guran** » Sat Aug 29, 2009 2:27 am

Nice new boots. They ought to do the job. I've done 7 track days on my current set of Adrenalins and they have about half the tread still in them. Didn't expect them to last this well!

38psi hot works for me at Wakefield. Aim for around 35-36psi cold all around. Tweak it depending on how your car responds. Offsetting the front/rear pressure will let you adjust the balance: higher pressure at front = more understeer; higher pressure at rear = more oversteer.

Dweezle · Postby **Dweezle** » Sat Aug 29, 2009 7:10 am

Thanks guys..

I can't get used to how helpful everyone is here

Whats WRONG with every other forum.?? :evil:

yeah i am driving there.. so 200 k's should do the trick. haha
Well leaving now, on the long trip to Goulburn.

Will let you all know how it goes..
THANKS AGAIN

Steampunk · Postby **Steampunk** » Sat Aug 29, 2009 12:17 pm

Dweezle wrote:was just going to get some ADRENALINES but 3 stores had none in stock. Ended up getting BRIDGESTONE FIREHAWK WIDE OVAL all round for 100 bucks a pop.

They are not Bridgestone, they are Firestone, a subsidiary.
Please be careful with these. I have used the previous Firehawk and I hated them on the road. Hopefully these are a better tyre,.... just take it slow and steady.