Track tyre combo's

[Oli9876543]

Looking for advice on track day tire sizing for standard-ish 350z and what tyres(sizes/compounds) actually effects the turn-in, mid corner and exit speed. I have standard 18" rays and I will be looking to purchase second set to run some aggressive track day only tyres. 

 

These are the two possible solutions,

Standard wheels:-

F- 18x8" (204mm width)

R- 18x8.5" (216mm width)

Yokohama AD08R's

Front 235/40/18 (231mm tread width)

Rear 255/40/18 (249mm tread width)

This combo will allow a slightly wider width and being track tires the sidewall flex should be minimised whilst maintaining large contact patch

tyrerack site puts tread width as per above sizes leaving a 13.5mm bulge on front each side and 16.5 mm bulge on rear each side

Second possible combo:-

Toyo R888R

Front 225/40/18 (208mm tread width)

Rear 245/40/18 (226mm tread width)

Widths from tyre rack above give 2mm bulge on front and 5mm bulge on rear.

 

From My limited knowledge of tyres it sounds like for racing purposes the tread width should be slightly less than rim width thus allowing preload on the sidewalk hopefully minimising flex. Ive tried to rid the car of as much weight as possible, maybe 80/90kgs for now albeit mostly in the boot but with standard tyre sizes the tyres overheat fairly fast. I've chosen the wider tyre sizes to hopefully reduce this overheating. So the question is, will the increase in width create terrible sidewall flex and the smaller R888R's be better or will they maintain ridgidity and combat the overheating?

 

All solutions welcome

[Ekona]

R888Rs in the sizes you've specced will be perfect. AD08Rs are great, but they weren't as good as the old 888s which aren't as good as the new ones. You'll need to run some silly low pressures from cold though (like 22psi IIRC) so that they achieve the proper pressure when warm.

 

Also, tyres not tires. And welcome along!

[ZMANALEX]

This is what you want/need.

Brilliant in the wet, damp and dry, so only 1 set of tyres required, however slicks will have the edge when very dry.

I have set my PBs on these in the wet.

Not cheap and not a lot of tread from new, but saves the aggro of carrying more than 1 set of tyres and wheels.

 

https://www.yokohamatire.com/newsroom/yokohama-rsquo-s-new-ultra-high-performance-advan-a052-trade-hits-the-streets

 

 

[Ekona]

Are they the new A048s Alex?

[Kieran O'Quick]

I run the 888r in the sizes you're looking at on the Rays. The front rim seems to sit a bit proud of the tyre. 

 

I can only compare them to MPSS. I'm 1.7 seconds quicker so far on a 66/67 second hillclimb. (I meant to share the data in another thread but never got round to it )

 

Surprisingly, on my first run on a cold dirty track they matched the best that the MPSS had managed the previous season. Once the track warmed up they cruised past.

 

As for wear, they do get hammered if you're at the wrong pressures. I think I've been a bit too low this year and the fronts are rough now. The backs are fine even though they're smoked a lot (some tight bends where you need to keep the revs up..)  

 

There's a guide for 888 tyres here:

 

https://www.toyo.co.uk/page/index/identifier/set-up-advice

 

They consider the Zed "Very Heavy" ...

[ZMANALEX]

48 minutes ago, Ekona said:

Are they the new A048s Alex?

Indeed they are Dan:   http://www.yrc.co.jp/release/?id=2573&lang=en

[Jetpilot]

The Toyos have triangle markets on the side wall, the tyre scrub should be just touching the top of this marker, so quite easy to get your pressures perfect, too far down and the pressures to low, not touching and its too high.

 

I am personally a big fan of the Nankang AR1's, they have the same triangle wear indicator at the r888's, i have them on the rear of my vx220 running 350hp and they offer exceptional levels of grip, not had cause to ever think they are not up to the job.

[Oli9876543]

Cheers guys, 

Looks like the new A048's will be best option. I'll check out a few places and see what kind of prices I can get. I was looking at the AR-1's as well but they don't sell them in a staggered size which is annoying. 

That Toyo article is an interesting read what kind of cold and hot pressure do you guys use for Z?

Standard weight is 35psi all round but with a bit of weight out of it 32psi front and 30psi be about right?

Suppose tread wear and grip go hand in hand but would you be able to drive to the Ring (2000 miles for me) on these A048's or even the R888R's?

[Jetpilot]

1 hour ago, Oli9876543 said:

Cheers guys, 

Looks like the new A048's will be best option. I'll check out a few places and see what kind of prices I can get. I was looking at the AR-1's as well but they don't sell them in a staggered size which is annoying. 

That Toyo article is an interesting read what kind of cold and hot pressure do you guys use for Z?

Standard weight is 35psi all round but with a bit of weight out of it 32psi front and 30psi be about right?

Suppose tread wear and grip go hand in hand but would you be able to drive to the Ring (2000 miles for me) on these A048's or even the R888R's?

The AR1's do come staggered but will just be a 35 profile on the rears which wont present a problem.

 

Ihttp://www.nankangtyre.co.uk/performance/motorsport/ar-1

 

I wouldnt be adverse to running a square set up on track as the Zed can be a little understeery,  you would just need a pair of rear Rays to accommodate the extra width

[Kieran O'Quick]

17 hours ago, Jetpilot said:

The Toyos have triangle markets on the side wall, the tyre scrub should be just touching the top of this marker, so quite easy to get your pressures perfect, too far down and the pressures to low, not touching and its too high.

 

I didn't know that -

 

you might have found me a few tenths there, cheers.