Track specific Wheel/Tire setup

Dave B

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I think it all depends on the level and seriousness of tracking.



and on a side note why the hell are the new Contis so damn pricey.
Continental bought Hoosier so......

Agree that buying the fastest tire is not the right choice for the majority of people who want to enjoy their car the most at the track.
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AlphaDigital

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Continental bought Hoosier so......

Agree that buying the fastest tire is not the right choice for the majority of people who want to enjoy their car the most at the track.
oh wow didnt realize that but still... I could find R comps at that price! its crazy
 
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Yomny

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Thanks! They are 255/40/18 PS4S. I only do a few HPDE per year so I needed a tire that was tolerable on the street.
I was just looking for some wheel prices and noticed your wheels were around 500 a piece, is that the case? When you mentioned not so expensive I thought it a bit cheaper than that.. o_O :p Did you get a deal?
 

roflitzjinno

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I always think of the Yokohama A052 and Bridgestone RE-71R as autocross tires. I suspect the new Continental will be similar. They are wickedly fast for a short time and then overheat for track use. I remember some Corvette owners saying that the RE-71R was good for about 4 hours of track time and they were toast. The Yoko is very light weight but has a softer sidewall and needs a ton of camber.

I was really hoping to use Falken RT660s for this season of time-attack competition. Heavier, but stiffer sidewall and a compound that is a bit tougher than the other 2. OTOH, they were sold out when I needed them and I ended up with the old reliable Hankook RS4. Not overly fast but more consistent and long wearing. I also have a set of Nitto NT-01s. Definitely not fast but very reliable and can handle heat very well. Great for lapping days but not very streetable so I take them to the track in the hatch and put them on there. You certainly won't set any lap records with either the RS4 or NT-01 but you can't "win" a track day so being 1-2 seconds slower is not important if you are not competing.
A lot of the people I run with run A052's, previously RE71R's as their normal track tires. Hard to go back to mediocre grip when you've had better. Even those running time attack will take a cool down lap mid session when they get greasy. Current friend is stating his A052's have been grippy until the wear indicators. So he's definitely getting best use out of the tire and can still run down to the cords. I borrowed them for a session to see how much grip there still was even at the wear indicators, and there was definitely more grip than my RT660's only had one weekend on them.

I personally don't see the RT660's being a competition tire unless it's a class tire. Having used it for the past few weekends on track it's more of a budget lapping tire for me. Was very consistent, great feedback from the tires, and rarely fell off during my sessions.
 

Jpembry

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I paid $450/wheel. Compared to titan7, volk, advan, weds tc105, etc they are more affordable. They are definitely not “cheap” lol. But for a lightweight flow formed Japanese made wheel from a reputable brand I considered them “a good deal”.

I was just looking for some wheel prices and noticed your wheels were around 500 a piece, is that the case? When you mentioned not so expensive I thought it a bit cheaper than that.. o_O :p Did you get a deal?
 


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Yomny

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265/35/19 Re71r hardrace front camber kit -2.5, rear camber kit -2.0 zero toe. Rv6 sway bar at medium setting. Next season going with rt660 275/30/19
053633FA-E863-4324-AA7B-0B86239778F5.jpeg
Very nice, you seem to be doing a decent amount of tracking, how’s the over heating going, any cooling mods. Don’t mean to be nosy, just that this entire sub-section seems to revolve around track wheels/tires and cooling mods lol.
 

davemarco

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I've been running on Cup 2's for both back roads and daily fun. They provide mountains of grip, but I find that in day to day driving, they feel like driving on jello. I got them because I wanted the stiffest sidewalls I could find to maintain the stock feel when I went to 18-in wheels. But instead, it feels like the Cup 2's are insanely soft, even after driving for a while. Maybe they can't physically heat up unless I'm pulling G's on them for 20 mins? Not sure.
 

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WHEELS: Enkei TS5 18X9.5 +45. Roughly $1000 for a set of 4 delivered. Lighter than stock. Wider than stock. No rubbing.

Remember to pick up hub centric rings for these wheels...72.6 to 64.1 if I remember right...set of 4 metal ones are $10 on amazon.

TIRES: Hankook RS4 if you want your tires to last. YOKO A052 if you want to go fast and don't care about $.

There are a couple different Enkei wheel options that fit our car and are cheap.

I like mine so far...cheap and fairly light. Not as good looking as the Volks or the Titans, but you will save $1000-$2000.

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Running theses same wheels and do HPDE events regularly, I've ran the following tires on them so far, all in 265/35/r18.
  • Bridgestone Potenza RE71R
  • Falken Azenis 615k+
  • Yokohama A052

I'd rank them as Azenis >= A052 > RE71R. If I was purely tracking I'd move A052 ahead of Azenis.

You are correct on the hub ring sizing :thumbsup:
 
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Yomny

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Cant recall if I read this anywhere but, anyone running a 19"/9.5" wheel and having issues with rubbing at the track? I know the offset will vary and be a factor.
 


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Yomny

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Every time I revisit the "to buy or not to buy" new wheels question I come back to why not just upgrade tires. I did a quick little math and going with the wheels I like I'll be saving around $350 per tire set but with an upfront cost of ~$2k plus install and whatever tpms transfer or extras I have to do. I think I'll just get better tires 245/35/20 or 255 and see how they treat me. Aside from the weight savings (which are very appealing) from a much lighter set of wheels, the initial investment is too much.

Using Michelin PS4S for arguments sake. 255/35/r20 VS 255/40/r18. I don't want to run huge 265 or bigger tires. I don't want anything to do with rubbing or other potential issues. I know you have more tire options with smaller wheels but Id likely never be that adventurous.

New wheels and tires $3000 + install, TPMS transfer & balance
VS
New tires $1180 + install & balance.

I could almost buy three sets of tires. That's a lot of track days and or consumables for me.

o_O ? Open to opinions.
 
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Dave B

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I ruined 2 OEM Contis in 2 days at the track. Meanwhile my RS4s are looking great after 5 days. The Michelins might last longer than the Continentals but will not be great in the long run. As you get faster, you will be seriously limited by a decision to stay with 20" rims and likely not better off financially. You may not need the 18s quite yet, but you will.

19" rims are likely just an between compromise. Not as bad as the 20s but not as good as the 18s.
 
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Yomny

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I ruined 2 OEM Contis in 2 days at the track. Meanwhile my RS4s are looking great after 5 days. The Michelins might last longer than the Continentals but will not be great in the long run. As you get faster, you will be seriously limited by a decision to stay with 20" rims and likely not better off financially. You may not need the 18s quite yet, but you will.

19" rims are likely just an between compromise. Not as bad as the 20s but not as good as the 18s.
Yeah I know I’m just prolonging the inevitable. Either way I’m not changing anything right now but it’ll be wise to invest once as I am planning on keeping this car for some time.
I was hoping to stay with at least 19” or a size not so far off original wheels to maintain the excellent work the engineers have done with the ride.

So really the reason for going 18’s is tire cost, weight savings or simply availability/selection?

Appreciate the input as always. I just feel the 18s paired with the chunky tires look odd in this car with its massive body kit.
 

MadMage

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I went out and got a used set of 18 wheels for the track. I found out after my third weekend day that I was rolling and trashing the Conti 20's. Only ran a day and a half on the 18's so far. Got a flat at lunch. Was glad I had a set of track tires, otherwise would have been 300 miles from home on a Sunday with only 3 wheels. Instead limped a couple miles back to the track, changed wheels and was ready for the drive back.

Similar thread; https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/track-wheel-or-wheel-tire-guide.53688/
 
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Dave B

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Yeah I know I’m just prolonging the inevitable. Either way I’m not changing anything right now but it’ll be wise to invest once as I am planning on keeping this car for some time.
I was hoping to stay with at least 19” or a size not so far off original wheels to maintain the excellent work the engineers have done with the ride.

So really the reason for going 18’s is tire cost, weight savings or simply availability/selection?

Appreciate the input as always. I just feel the 18s paired with the chunky tires look odd in this car with its massive body kit.
In general an 18 inch combo will lose some of the great steering feel of a low profile 20 but have a better ride quality. OTOH, 200 treadwear track tires give better steering feel with worse ride/noise etc. The lack of steering response is particularly evident when starting out on track at much lower pressures in anticipation of putting a lot of heat into the tires during a track session. My hot pressures are routinely between 8 and 10 PSI higher than cold pressures. Your regular street tire won't normally see this change and if you start on track with really low pressures with 20 inch 30 series tires they will get chewed up very quickly. If you don't start out with lower pressures, with any spirited driving they will get too hot and greasy.
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