Best Slicks / Race Tires for the Money
 

Hey guys,

I'm currently running Dunlop's Direzza Z2 on a stock set-up, and looking to take it to the next level at the track.

What's the consensus on the best value for money track-only tires? I'm currently looking into Hoosier A6, R6, and NT-01.

Also, is the 17 inch rim the smallest rim we can fit on the car? I'm trying to go with the smallest rim for the track to minimize rotating mass as well as tire cost. Assuming 245 is the widest that will fit without rubbing (stock alignment/ride height)?

Thanks all.
:cheers:

Khumo 710's or Hankook Z214's are very similar to R6's at 60% of the cost.

What are your goals?

Long tire life?
Fastest single lap time?
Budget?

Also, stock alignment with these tires will not be a good thing.

- Andy

Add BFGoodrich R1s in 235/40-17 to your list. Or in 245/40-17 if you want 3/10" wider tread. Excellent pricing and service can be found at Phil's Tire Service in Cragsmoor, NY: http://www.philstireservice.com/. Phil has the concession for all of the NASA Northeast and NASA Mid-Atlantic events.

What exactly is your goal?

Will you be driving on them to the track?

How much are you willing to spend?

one thing to mention that the tires that you listed are not in the same league, A6, R6 and Z214s are the real R compound tires whereas the NT01s, R888, MPSCs are relatively closed to each other .. general consensus really depends on what is your ultimate goal as others mentioned..

I prefer Nitto NT01 for now since it's widely available, cheap, last longer, you can drive them on the street or to track, and people on rennlist forums and a few other forums also seem to like them ..they even run them to the cords.. you can even flip them on the same wheel and run inside and out (not in the rain of course since you change the tread directions)

For the record I had some minor rubbing with stock suspension and ride height and that was with 235/40/17s, you will definitely rub them if there are some serious elevation changes at the track you use them..




People seem to like the Z214s, I heard nothing but good things about them and it's similarly priced with NT01s ( costs about $25-30 more than NT01s)..Did you get a chance to compare Z214s to NT01s? Are those light years ahead of the NT01s? heat cycled out quickly?


Also, not really popular but Ventus TD Z221 also looks like another nice option but I don't think it's widely available in the U.S as of now.. in a recent test it showed some serious gains against to NT01s

http://ventustd.com/technicaldata.php

the guy who ran the test was on the renntrack forums

see his impressions

http://www.renntrack.com/forums/show...4559#post24559

I know people in the time trial community that like the Maxxis RC-1. I plan on giving them a go next season.

http://www.maxxis.com/catalog/tire-450-107-victra-rc-1

I'll group the tires by category (no particular order within a category)

"R-comp" 100TW
Toyo R888
Toyo RA1
Nitto NT01
Maxxis RC1

"R-Comp" 80TW
Hankook TD

"R-Comp" 60TW
Toyo RR

"Slick" 40TW or lower
Hoosier A6
Hoosier R6
Kumho V710
BFG R1
BFG R1S

yes, I've heard about them too:thumbsup: I wonder if they are one of those softer compounds since they didn't mention ..maybe I should try something new on my next set but I am not sure about the longevity and predictability of the other tires besides the NT01s and the only way to tell is to try them..

also heard about these too, it seems like they come in both Soft and medium compound

http://www.federaltire.com/en/produc...ts_detail_sn=3

It's a quieter tire that's for sure and a very good daily dry tire. Doesn't require much of a warmup time to get them running. :)

How would you compare them against the NT01s or R888s?

NT01 requires a little warm up time, but grip is comparable. NT01 strives better in hot situations, RC-1 is better for cooler situations. Either way, you shouldn't be overheating either tire. If you are, you are over-driving the car.

R888 are not as consistent as the NT01 or RC1.

awesome, yes I know the R888s are notorious for being inconsistent and consistency is the main reason I picked NT01s over the hardcore lower TW R comps.. it seems like the NT01s are still the magic tire when all considered :/


if you saw the comparison between the Hankook TD and NT01s that I posted above, TD might be another good alternative ..since I do care about the tread when I drive to closer tracks within 100 mile radius. too bad there are not so many places offer the Ventus TDs and I don't hear as much feedback except that test

TDs are faster than the mentioned R-Comps, but the wear rate is higher. There are pros/cons to each setup. It's all a balance when it comes to your application, scope, quality, and budget. :)

We do our best to post positive results and suggestions based on our findings, experiences, testings, and data. :)