Tires for BRZ for Track Use - Seeking advice
 

Hello everyone,


New track driver here. I have been to the track 4 times now with my stock michelin primacys and they are so shredded the hoes be gettin bedded. Im looking to get some track tires that I could keep on for occasional street use. Can anyone give any suggestions or comments on the following options? I am looking for -> 215/45 R17


Firestone Firehawk Indy 500’s
Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
Hankook Ventus RS4

I would stick with a 3 or 400tw tire class for several more track sessions honestly before moving onto a competitive tire. Upgrading to the 200tw category is going to also necessitate balance in your suspension, braking system, as well as your approach.

Just give yourself a little more time to get the fundamentals down :)

this.


Going to sticky tires too soon will hamper your progression as a driver. A more racing oriented tire will improve lap times but will mask a lot of mistakes. If your goal is to get better in the long run then stay with something on the less grippy end.

RE71R if tire life isn't much of a factor. Way fastest of the tires you mention. Wear rate is a bit ridic tho... RS4s will last a LOT longer.

Michelin PS4S would be a fine choice but quite pricey... In the same Max Perf category, the Continental ExtremeContact Sport is a really good tire and trackable, I just got back from the track with mine :) I turned quicker laps on them than on my friend's RS4s I borrowed for a session yesterday fwiw...

You go to Skippy School and they use hard tires for a reason.

to not spend as much $$$ on tires...

Huh?

RS4s last forever for a 200tw. I'd probably go that route over RE71 unless you were doing time attack.

The new RT660 is getting some praise as a good middle ground between RS4 and RE71.

Definitely suggest adding some Camber. Should help wear on the outter edges.

I've heard good things about the indy 500s for a higher tw tire, but never tried them myself. Champiro sx2 are really nice for track driving and easily controllable at the limit, but need a bit of temp for max grip (being controllable the whole time)


For more grip I liked my continental extreme contact sports.

I have always found the Hankooks as meh in the 200TW catagory. They seem like they give up at the limit, where other tires seem to let you play with a bit of slip angle without much effort.

Hm, I liked them fine the couple of times I tried them at the track, and I like to hang it out a bit... I thought they were pretty solid/fun. But they are more than a second slower than RE71R and not much if any faster than Conti ECS at half tread-depth... Contis are quite squirmy when new tho and start to give up a bit after a few laps.

I had a really hard time managing them at the limit. It always seemed like once they started to go I was saving a spin. You have quite a bit more track experience then me from what I gather, so it could be your driving is much better then mine. Once I got off them I found I was able to play with a lot more slip angle and hang the car out. I got a lot faster really quick once I went to a different tire.

Yeah, I could see that... For sure the Contis give WAY more audible warning and are very forgiving when they start to "let go". Based on that, for someone new to track, and better wet grip on track and street, my best recommendation for OP is:
Continental ExtremeContact Sport

For a good 200 tire I've heard a lot of good things about the GT Radial SX2, pricing seems good also.