simac

Good evening gentlemen

Can anyone advise on a suitable wheel and tyre size for (dryish) track day laps.

Subaru is a 07 WRX PPP Wagon (room for the track tyres.. ) currently on OEM 17" x 7.0 ET55 rims with Potenza 50a 215/45/R17 tyres.

Is it better to go with an 18" rim with lower profile or stick with 17's on wider rims ?

Cheers

Mark1983

iTrader: (2)

I run RE070's (225/45/17) after a brief excursion to 888's. 888's are good for UK circuits but the majority of the my track time is on the Nordschleife where the 070's are considerably better than the the 888's IMO. Also my 888's lasted 1000 miles, the 070's lasted 6000 miles.

gussy

iTrader: (2)

I ran REO70's (235/45/17) good tyre if you can get them in this size I still have a set sitting in the garage then I ran the same size R888's cracking tyre but I found them to soft and the sidewalls a little weak basically I destroyed them on a trackday I was doing.Im now running Dunlop H1(235/45/17) D2G trackday tyres and there spot on.

scoobynewbie72

iTrader: (1)

EARS Motorsport LLP
cheap track tyres and road legal

fpan

iTrader: (11)

Hi Simon,
I am using prodrive GT1 wheels with Toyo proxes T1R 225/40/18 (the tyres came with the wheels). I have only done 2 track days with them (the one in Nurburgring together and one in Sturup - latter was wet at times) and have been happy so far. Although these tyres are not rated as the best from others, I have been happy with them so far. They are soft though and after the Sturup trackday I have started 'melting' them. It's a tight track with good tarmac and pieces of rubber have come out in a couple of spots (they still have life left on them). They are progressive on the limit which I like. They are more noisy on the motorway than the stock RE050 the car came with. When the time comes to change them I am going to put a set of Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta 2 (or Goodyear Eagle asymemtrico) as they have been rated very high in EVO's tyre test.

Mark, in what way do you rate the RE070 better than the Toyos?
How are the Bridgestones on the wet? Can the 888 be used on the road safely and how are they on the wet?

Regarding wheel size I have heard people saying that smaller is better for the track - unless you have a very smooth track.
I can't tell as the only track day I did on the 17" wheels was on a very wet day in Sturup with winter tyres (Michelin Alpin PA3) but I was very impressed with the car (still on original suspension back then).
Sorry if I confused you more!

TimH

iTrader: (11)

I was running 235/45x17 RE070 on the track, and loved them. I wore them out earlier in the year and was looking at R888's to replace them but was put off by a) the cost, at £530 a set , b) reports of them wearing quickly and c) reports of them going off after just a few laps.

So, having researched various forums, I took a gamble and went for a set of Hankook RS2 (Z212) tyres.

I drove them for a week on the road (300 miles maybe) and more or less concluded I'd made a bad choice - I usually use T1-R on the road FWIW. It was with great trepidation that I ventured out at Silverstone last Saturday. But, once warmed up on the track they proved my early fears ill-founded and proved themselves an excellent choice.

They gripped exceptionally well, had sharp turn-in characteristics, good steering feel, and did not go off even during my longest on-track session of just under 30 minutes. Wear was minimal (except the front offside...about to go and post a question about this in the suspension section )

Now they're scrubbed in, I almost didn't want to take them off the car.

They may be a relatively unknown choice, but I would certainly recommend them - especially at only £320 for the set from camskill

simac

Cheers fellas, appreciate the advice.

Also notice the common theme is 17" rims, though having just had the Prodrive Performance Pack fitted, Prodrive (in their PPP literature) state the following -

"To fully benefit from the extra torque levels available, fitment of 18" wheels and tyres is recommended"

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Yeah I bet they did !

Have you seen their prices....

R888's are awesome, but very soft, I will get another set, but only for track use. Also considering the RS 2 from Hankook for the road next.

HTH

DunxC

RRH

I bought a set of STi rims with RE070s for £150 I even got a bit of tread for that too- although they wouldn't suit everyone with the 2005> offset.

cheap as chips

corradoboy

I used to run RE070's on my WRX PPP on track and one set lasted me 3 trackdays and 20k summer road miles over nearly 2 years. Superb tire for dry weather and extreme circumstances like the track, though can be scary in the wet.

I recently fitted Hankook RS2's to my Fabia for track use and like the above poster, was a little concerned when I had a big tail-out the first time I put the car through a tight, off-camber bend. Again, once scrubbed in though they are superb for the money.

For me the ideal track tire has a sturdy side-wall to cope with the extra lateral forces that track driving generates, and minimal tread cutting to the outer shoulder which can break up due to scrubbing. Both the RS2 and RE070 are like this....

simac

Cheers mate
I'm happy with the factory fit RE050's. Performed well at the 'Ring last month, so will probably go with the 070's on your recommendation.
Just need to find the right track wheels now...