skippster123

I was at Lime Rock earlier this week in my 2008 Cayman S, in the SCDA advanced group. There were several other Cayman S's in our group of 20ish. We were running pretty close to each other but it was clear that at least two of them made modifications to their cars. I have street tires on my car--Bridgestone Potenza all weathers. The others had racing tires which I think helped them a lot. I increased my pressures to 40/43 and that helped but I still got smoked. Later I looked one guy had Nitto 01 tires. Does anyone have a suggestion what tires I should get or if that's a good one? Can I drive those on the road or do I have to have a completely different set of rims. I am not quite deep enough into the hobby to have a trailers and pretend I am a mechanic but I wouldn't mind being a little more competitive.

Rob M.

Frank 993 C4S

You can use Nitto NT01s R compound tiires on the track and still drive the car with them on the street. Just note that the tire noise on the street is very loud. Anything beyond that (Hossiers) are not road legal.

A general rule is to keep your tires pressures (hot) at the same level as what your manual says for cold tire pressures. Not sure what that is for a Cayman. 40/43 hot seems waaaaay to high but other should chime in.

amfp

Another tire option for street and track are Toyo 888's. No personal experience with Nitto's, but heard good things about them too.

Frank 993 C4S

Toyos are a good option too but a little harder to come by in certain sizes.

993Guy

Hankook RS-3s are available in OEM sizes. Have heard good things from those running them. They are not R compound but seem to be a good mix for street and track.

Cayman_Sense

Preferred the NT01s over R888's as the Nittos are cheaper. You can drive to/from the track though you may be better off with a second set of wheels so you aren't using NT01s for your daily commute.

Foozed

That pressure is WAY too high. Your target hot pressure that I'm finding most success with (on RS-3's) is 36 - which means starting cold around 30ish depending on track temps, track, outside weather etc.
For me at VIR I start at 29 cold mid day and run them hot up to 35/36.

Jim Michaels

Rob: You were probably at least two (if not three) quicker tire categories off from some in your run group. Even Ultra High Performance A/S tires probably lose several seconds per lap to Extreme Performance Summer tires (e.g., RE-11s, Star Specs, or AD08s), so they would be your first step up to quicker lap times.

As discussed above, the next level up from Extreme Performance Summer tires in dry grip would be the "compromise" R-comps that have a tread pattern (e.g., NT01s and R888s). One can drive on these to and from events (slow down in the wet, but pull over in a hard rain), but they shouldn't be used as daily driver tires even when it's dry, as they wear and weather-out rather quickly.

The next level up in dry grip would be the R-comps that don't have a tread pattern (they're like slicks with grooves), such as Hoosiers and Kumho 710s. I wouldn't even want to put these tires on the road when it's dry. The Hoosiers don't have steel belts, so are very susceptible to punctures. Besides, they wear and heat cycle-out quickly.

I doubt if anyone in that group was on race slicks (no tread pattern, no groves, and no steel belts), but they would be the quickest in the dry.

Many instructors apparently advise students to drive on their street tires, at least until they're quick and smooth enough that street tires become a limiting factor to further development and quicker times. Street tires have the advantage of a more gradual loss of grip, so easier to catch and correct when they start to lose grip.

Maybe some of those in your run group also had more brake upgrades than you as well. More track worthy brake pads and fluid can also cut several seconds off of lap times.

skippster123

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I still felt more confident on the track at the higher pressure--over 40 front and back. Before I left the track I brought it down to a more normal level. I am at 33 in front and 37 in back which is a bumpy ride on crappy roads. 31/34 is probably more appropriate.

Frank 993 C4S

At those tire pressures you are over heating the tires and lose a lot of grip with increased tire wear. Why wouldn't you want to maximize grip, safety and wear?

Dr.Bill

I've found RE-11's or AD08's to be great dual-use tires. Performance is just a bit less than NT01's, but feedback is much better and they are fine on the street. For mainly track use and limited street use, the NT01's are hard to beat.

For me, I have the best results with hot pressures of 36 front and 38 rear. (cold pressures around 27 or 28, depending on weather, etc) Anything over 40 and the tires get too greasy and slick.