trackpig

PM'd, any news?

I ran the Hankook RS2's on my e36 M3. They are a good tyre, they grip better than t1r's and falken 452's on dry tracks but are more loose on a wet road. I reckon they are a good intermediate step between a road tyre and a semi slick like an R888. I did an 8.31min at the Nurburgring on them.

Just to come back to few points raised in the last posts- I can pull away without spinning the wheels on a snow covered bank without the TCS system on. I always drive the Z without TCS as I like to be able to slide the rear when I want- thats why I bought a rear wheel drive! (TCS is for kids ). The winter tyres allow you to grip when you want but still have fun in the snow when you want. Studded tyres- great in scandinavia where they have constant snow and ice for months but not so great here where we have a mixture of snow/ slush/ wet roads. Studded tyres would be too extreme and become a problem when the snow melts. Snow socks- great idea. Pricey for what they are. £120 for front and rear set when I last looked. But the main problem is having to take them on and off according to the conditions (they wear out when driven on anything other than snow I hear). In a snow blizzard, I cant see many people wanting to get down on their hands and knees and reaching around the backs of their wheels to fit them or take them off. This will end up with people thinking "the roads dont look too bad, i'll just drive without the snow socks" or "I cant be arsed to take the snow socks off" and wearing them out on clear roads. All in my opinion

Cheers The tread blocks are around 9-10mm, the tyres are 40 ratio and have fairly stiff side walls. When driving in the wet, I could feel a little movement as the tread moved on turn in but they werent bad, I expected this. Being the last word in cornering during spirted driving is not what they are about and I would not use them as an all year tyre. If I were to drive on warm summer day and up the pace on these tyres, I am sure the tread blocks would move a hell of alot more. They seem to be doing the job for what they are designed for though

My girlfriend has been using the 350z for work and had reported the tyres were "fine" in the snow. I have finally had a chance to really test them for myself and have to say they are spot on! I had a drive to a particular bank that never gets gritted and has seen me stuck in the past. It was easy! I even stopped so I could pull away again to see if I could do it without spinning the wheels, which I did. Traction out of rounabouts is excellent. Braking on snow and slush is also so much better than the Qashqai I drive on its new bridgestone summer tyres. The only thing I did find was that the turn in on slow tight corners (90 degree) is not up to the same high standard and still have to be taken at a more summer tyre style speed or understeer occurs.

Naah, floating discs, 8 pot calipers and the most expensive pads and fluid is the way forward. There is nowt like talking a fast lap!

I have been out and tested the tyres tonight- temps around 2deg down to 0 and wet. I dont drive the car much through the week (the girlfriend uses it to get to work and back) so I have not driven it on its sumer tyres in the cold conditions. I am now struggling to say if in the wet, the winter tyres grip better than the summer tyres. There cant be much in it. There does seem to be alittle more movement from the tread blocks under cornering. Grip during acceleration and braking seem good. I had been concerned the Nankangs were going to be terrible in the wet non-snow conditions but I am pleasantly surprised. They performed well and did not show any comedy traits. As they seem to be usable in the wet, I just need it to snow to get some real value from them. The slightly non oem tyre sizes have not given any TCS problems either

I have had the same problems- change your brake fluid and your clutch fluid while you are on. I've had my brake and clutch pedals go to the floor (not at the same time!) due to old fluid, boiling. On the 350, I run standard discs, ebc yellow, ATE super blue fluid and some cooling ducts to cool the front brakes. This setup works for me on track. P.S I saw you and your car at Cadwell on Sunday, I was in the orange R1 kit car. I might have some on track footage of you, I'll Check.

£20?

I'll take it off your hands for £20. Nice easy sale.

Hi all I have purchased a set Nankang SV1 winter tyres and had them fitted to my spare touring style alloys. The tyres are 225/40/18 fronts and 245/40/18 rears (non oem size due to lower cost of tyres). I also took the opportunity to give the wheels a respray. I am waiting for the winter weather to kick in before taking off the Rays and fitting the touring wheels with the winter tyres. I know Nankang tyres seen as a poor brand but maybe the SV1's will do the job and get the car moving and braking in the snow! I will report back once tested.