Tires for track/HPDE - anything better than RS4?

[Espi]

a great bang for buck I am currently enjoying the Falken Azenis RT615K+

Once they warm up talk about GRIP! Great for AutoX and track days and best of all on the super affordable side.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by dragoontwo

What did you think about them?

I thought they performed decent, it's just hard to compare because it wasn't a car I was familiar with and it was about 4 years ago. It was a rented FRS on 18's with lowering springs, maybe bilstien's or koni's I don't know, not sure what other mods. I don't recall them getting greasy, but I was also driving with an instructor and not pushing so I don't know how they would have behaved during a full normal session.

[Tokay444]

Originally Posted by almostquick

Quick question for you since we are both in Dayton. Any particular shop you would recommend to perform a good alignment in the area? I have a similar suspension setup and looking for those similar camber results.

Thanks in advance!

Turn In Concepts in Cincy did my alignment and corner balance. I will be using them going forward. It's not TOO far from Dayton.

[Scargod]

The 17", 245x45 F1 Supercar 3R's sure are putting a big smile on my face! Next to Hoosier R-7's I've not run anything better on a dry track. The price is also nice.
I have some 17", 245x40 Conti Extreme Contact Sports I use for the rain/wet, DD and going to and from the track. I have a new set of 245 Conti Extreme Contact Force tires to try next.

What I'm having heartburn about is I want to stick with 17" wheels and try some 255's on the car since I'm now making 230 HP!
I'm leaning towards Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R's. Strictly for dry track days and 20-30 minute sessions, I don't want them to fall off like many do after just a few hot laps. The other factor is I don't want to pay the high price for Hoosiers and none of my buddies run them so I want to be fair when we're out there playing.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

I ended up getting a set of Continental ExtremeContact Force in 225/45R17 from TrackDayTire.com using @Opie discount code (which brought the price down to a reasonable $180 per tire shipped).

Ran them in Mid Ohio last week with another evening session later this week. My novice driver impressions are that they are not that much different than the 300 TW Potenza Sport I ran before in terms of grip, but they did feel more consistent throughout the session.
They warmed up quickly (one out lap was more than enough, even in the morning with temps in the high 50s) and liked lower pressure than the street tires - I kept bleeding pressure from 42 hot (started from a conservative 34 cold) down to 37 hot (around 29 cold), I'll try even lower on Thursday.
Much too soon to talk about longevity/heat cycling, but so far the tread looks much better than the street tires with no perceptible wear.

[autoracer86]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

I ended up getting a set of Continental ExtremeContact Force in 225/45R17 from TrackDayTire.com using @Opie discount code (which brought the price down to a reasonable $180 per tire shipped).

Ran them in Mid Ohio last week with another evening session later this week. My novice driver impressions are that they are not that much different than the 300 TW Potenza Sport I ran before in terms of grip, but they did feel more consistent throughout the session.
They warmed up quickly (one out lap was more than enough, even in the morning with temps in the high 50s) and liked lower pressure than the street tires - I kept bleeding pressure from 42 hot (started from a conservative 34 cold) down to 37 hot (around 29 cold), I'll try even lower on Thursday.
Much too soon to talk about longevity/heat cycling, but so far the tread looks much better than the street tires with no perceptible wear.

Did you not want to try the potenza race ? I was looking at those myself but I think I am going with the AD09 instead

[Muskoka800]

Batstig,
Stop the madness! Spend the money.
Just mount up some A052’s, RE71RS or cheaper RT660’s and go fast. They’ll last you a season or more with no regrets.
As far as Canadian un-availability, it is a blessing considering how tire company’s extort us for $. Just order on Tire Rack or Discount Tire and drive to Niagara Falls or Detroit for installation and save many HUNDREDS of Looneys.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

I ended up getting a set of Continental ExtremeContact Force in 225/45R17 from TrackDayTire.com using @Opie discount code (which brought the price down to a reasonable $180 per tire shipped).

Ran them in Mid Ohio last week with another evening session later this week. My novice driver impressions are that they are not that much different than the 300 TW Potenza Sport I ran before in terms of grip, but they did feel more consistent throughout the session.
They warmed up quickly (one out lap was more than enough, even in the morning with temps in the high 50s) and liked lower pressure than the street tires - I kept bleeding pressure from 42 hot (started from a conservative 34 cold) down to 37 hot (around 29 cold), I'll try even lower on Thursday.
Much too soon to talk about longevity/heat cycling, but so far the tread looks much better than the street tires with no perceptible wear.

I've heard they are a pretty good endurance 200. 37 hot sounds like way too much though.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by autoracer86

Did you not want to try the potenza race ?

I bought the ECF a couple of months ago, so there was no Potenza Race yet. Plus the Potenza Race are significantly more expensive.

Originally Posted by Muskoka800

Batstig,
Stop the madness! Spend the money.
Just mount up some A052’s, RE71RS or cheaper RT660’s and go fast.

It's not about the money - I don't want to go fast, I want to learn and have a tire I can trust for a 20-30 minute session without needing to manage heat or wear.

Originally Posted by Muskoka800

They’ll last you a season or more with no regrets.

Would they? From what I read these "cheater" 200TW can barely handle a 20 minute session and wear out like butter. They're aimed at autocross and time trials, not HPDE.

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

37 hot sounds like way too much though.

So I gathered. I didn't have any baseline on cold/hot pressures and didn't want to start the first session with 25 PSIs cold. I guess I could have been quicker with adjusting pressure. I'll experiment more on Thursday.
And BTW, the common answer in the forum to the question "what tire pressure to run on track" is almost exclusively "it depends" with a bunch of caveats but not even a suggestion, so it's hard for a noob to get a starting point. I chose way too high to start with...

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

And BTW, the common answer in the forum to the question "what tire pressure to run on track" is almost exclusively "it depends" with a bunch of caveats but not even a suggestion, so it's hard for a noob to get a starting point. I chose way too high to start with...

I usually target 34 hot and work from there unless I hear otherwise. Some tires like more, some like less, but that’s in the ballpark. Usually ends up being a little less. There are other factors too but it’s always been a decent starting point for me.

As far as the longevity on the RT660, I got 4 days. You’ve got the right idea sticking on a tire like the ECF.

[autoracer86]

ECF should be awesome. I can't seem to source them in Ireland so they are not an option for me lol.

For tire pressure on my PS4 I run 27 cold and they come up to 32 which is where I leave them. I tried to find some info from Michelin themselves but no such luck. I am thinking of trying 35 out to see what difference it makes but 32 for the PS4 seemed good

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

I usually target 34 hot and work from there unless I hear otherwise. Some tires like more, some like less, but that’s in the ballpark.

Ran 36 hot the first session yesterday, then went down to 34. That seemed to be great so I stayed there for the rest of the day. That was the last day of the season for me, so further testing will have to wait for next year.

After dropping the pressure I really liked the tires. Warm up fast (on the out lap), consistent throughout the session and confidence inspiring to push my limits. By the last session I was getting pretty close to the pace I run in the sim (Assetto Corsa) in most corners.

I talked tires with a guy with a W20 MR2 on RT660 and he confirmed that they started getting greasy after the 3rd hot lap and he had to manage them for the rest of the session. I'm happy I went with the ECF and don't need to worry about that.

[NoHaveMSG]

All the super 200’s are really sensitive to track temperature. I had one session on the rt660’s were it was overcast and 70f and I got 10 out of 13 laps within a few tenths of each other. If it would have been 70f and sunny it would have been 2-3 laps and then cool them off. Doing HPDE with an ECF like you are doing is the way to go. You get more meaningful laps with the tires in the window. Glad to hear it worked well for you.

[blsfrs]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

Ran 36 hot the first session yesterday, then went down to 34. That seemed to be great so I stayed there for the rest of the day. That was the last day of the season for me, so further testing will have to wait for next year.

After dropping the pressure I really liked the tires. Warm up fast (on the out lap), consistent throughout the session and confidence inspiring to push my limits. By the last session I was getting pretty close to the pace I run in the sim (Assetto Corsa) in most corners.

I talked tires with a guy with a W20 MR2 on RT660 and he confirmed that they started getting greasy after the 3rd hot lap and he had to manage them for the rest of the session. I'm happy I went with the ECF and don't need to worry about that.

Are you still happy with the ECFs?