Tyre Dillema!

[Moto]

Hi guys,

I have a track day coming up and I can't decide what wheels to run. I've got a set of pretty tired old semi slicks 205 50 15(Dunlop something) on NB8A rims, they are probably about 15-20% left and have been lying in my shed for about 10 months. I've done some street driving on them and they a pretty grippy with a very progressive and predictable slide when they start to let go at road temps. At track temps I'm not sure if they will be better or worse?

My other set of wheels are low offset 15x8 with 195 50 15 RE001's stretched on. They look cool for the street, but I'm not sure how badly performance will suffer on the track. I've used RE001's on the track before on 15x7 wheels and they were pretty good once I worked out the right pressures.

I'm not sure what to do! It's not really an option to take both sets of wheels with me, and I'm not too keen to spend the money on a strip, fit and balance to swap the tyres for one day then have to pay again to swap them back. I really want to make the right choice because I would hate to ruin my whole day because of sh*t tyre performance!

Thoughts?

(I know I should just bite the bullet and buy a new set of semi's, but thats a pretty significant outlay for one day!)

[Tony]

I don't mean to be blunt, but I wouldn't drive with 195s on 8" rims on the street, let alone on the track. I'd have thought the choice was fairly obvious.

Have fun either way.

[Guran]

Just finish off the Dunlops on your NB8A wheels. I'm with Tony - you wouldn't catch me anywhere near those stretched 195s either, especially on the track.

[rascal]

Fresh Dunlop semi slicks would be a massive improvement over RE001s on the track, so even allowing for the fact the dunlops were lying in the shed for 10mths (in shade?) with 15% tread, I would imagine they'd still be quicker than the RE001s.

And unless your 15x8s are 949s 6ULs or something pricy, they'd be heavier than the NB8A wheels and make you even slower..

[Moto]

Yeah the 195's are starting to give me the shits, so I'm planning to give them the flick at the some point. I've been driving on them for over a year and they have never been a problem, handling in the hills has always been great. The ride is a different story however....

Dunlops it is then, thanks for your input!

I have another question - I have adjustable coilovers, am I right in assuming the optimal height for handling is to have the control arms level? Or can it be lower for the track?

I've done track days before, but never with coilovers

[NitroDann]

Level or slightly under. Then get a PROPER alignment done.

Dann

[deviant]

.....It's not really an option to take both sets of wheels with me.....

Do they have enough tread left to be road legal? How will you get home if they are bald or showing canvas by the end of the day?

[Moto]

.....It's not really an option to take both sets of wheels with me.....

Do they have enough tread left to be road legal? How will you get home if they are bald or showing canvas by the end of the day?

Yeah they are road legal. They will be pretty shagged by the end of the day but I highly doubt they will be showing canvas.

I live literally 5 minutes from Sandown, so it's not much of an issue.

[Guran]

Yeah the 195's are starting to give me the shits, so I'm planning to give them the flick at the some point. I've been driving on them for over a year and they have never been a problem, handling in the hills has always been great. The ride is a different story however....

I wasn't thinking of the ride. I was thinking of the stretched tyres pulling off the rim during hard cornering, potentially tripping and rolling the car. On a public road in the hills, you're probably lucky to use 50% of the available lateral grip. On the track, you'll be using all of the available grip for sustained cornering at much higher speeds. Could be "interesting" ...