mooty

first 6 HC is NICE.
next 6 HC is no better than primed toyos
after that, i sure learn about car control

JR944

My experience (on my much less powerful 944S2 race car) is similar to Mooty's. First 6 HC's are great for qualify or race, next 6 are ok for practice, next 6 before hitting cord are ok to tool around at a DE.

himself

Sounds right. That's about 20 HC, which is a bit more than 2 full DE events. At 20 HC, I see only about a second difference from sticker. At a DE, 1 second is not even worth worrying about. For me, this is an acceptable trade off over the Toyos, as you do get a few HC's faster than "prime" Toyos, for just a bit more cash.

-td

cfjan

I'm running just PS-2 now since tire grip is definitely not the limiting factor for me.. but just curious what would be the next step up? For me, the goal would be acceptable grip but long life (since I expect myself to be in the green group for awhile and maybe move up to yellow by the end of the year (10 days?) if possible (or not, wouldn't mind staying in green..).

I read that people like the NT-01, seems to offer a lot of life.. what do you guys think? I guess I'm asking what's the best "value" for beginner track tires. Or should I stick w/ PS-2 for the first year or two? I have no clue...

himself

You have identified the main issue with track tires - life vs performance in context of cost. Inherently, more perfomance means less life, and longer life means less performance.

Most track junkies go with Hoosier R6s, as they are OK on life and good on performance. Other tires include Toyos (R888 and RA1), Nitto NT-01, MPSC, Yokohama Advan and Kumho Ecsta. These are viable alternatives used by many as they offer the correct sizes and are about equal on cost. BF Goodrich R1s also work, but don't come in 315s (last time I checked anyway).

There is no perfect solution, just a personal preference based on your wallet. Before you take the plunge on getting R-comps, you should try to borrow some scrubs that a buddy is going to toss, or even buy some "lightly" heat cycled ones from the various dealers that sell them. Sometimes you can find R6s that were used to qualify, with only 1 or 2 heat cycles for a fraction of the "new" cost. IMO, these are perfect for DEs.

-td

roberga

When you are ready: corsas, MPSC, or another street/track tire. As you get more skill and faster the PS2 will melt during a session an will have a very movable rubber band around the entire circumference of the tire.
Next your will then have PS2 for street and rain: another set of wheels with cups or Hoosiers. and on and on. It never ends :-)

996FLT6

Cfjan- stick with the street ps2's for now. If u haven't ne prior experience with rcomps- they offer higher levels of grip but they don't squeal like street. Street tires will let u know the limit rcomps don't. Hopefully someone on your neck of the woods has a 6 who drives well will let u ride in his/her gt3 at a relaxed 5/10-6/10 clip. Then take u for another ride going 7/10-8/10(I love rides like that!!). I sat in Dave's(171 mph) for one session- I lowered my laptimes by 1 sec at thill. Mike

AllanJ

I found PS2s worked ok when I started DE and now it's expensive to buy a new set after a couple days because I'll shred the outside edge due to the tread cap being so thin. I've given up on them for track.

I'm now trying:
PS2 for street
Yoko AD08 for wet/mixed weather track
Hoosier R6 for dry track

I think the Nitto NT-01 is a fantastic "intro to R-comp" dry track tire. Very communicative when it's about to let go, will let go very progressively, decent grip and much cheaper than PS2 both in initial cash outlay as well as value when you factor in lifespan when you really push it. Discount Tire Direct (online) is a great place to buy them.

Using someone else's "used" R-comps to test them out may not tell be the best idea, because performance can drop off and you won't know how good they could be.

At my local (small) track, I wanted to compare my 2-yr old Kumho V710 (used autox only) to my new Hoosier R6. Lap time with R6: 1:16.5........Lap time with V710 1:20.5!!! (changed tires at lunchtime) 4 seconds slower with the V710 that still had a chunk of tread left when the tires should've been close if new. Nitto NT-01 lap times are ~1:17.8.

I threw out the V710 after that day. So beware used R-comps.

Cheers,

Terry T.

I would stick with the PS-2s for now.

I have been following this thread with interest, and I must say that you have the ideal attitude for learning. And I have supreme car envy . . .

cfjan

Thanks all for the comments regarding tires. Yeah, as I said, it is really just a "thinking ahead" thing, as I am sure that PS-2 will serve me okay for awhile. Really is not going fast enough to take advantage of stickier tires. When I'm going fast enough that would melt the PS-2 as described above, then I will move on to more track specific tires. (Looks like I will be getting a set of rims at that time..!)

I'm not sure if I can drive to the track w/ Hoosiers. I will probably need something that I can drive to the track with. Maybe when I need to go to a far away track (in the future), I can pay someone to transport the tire/wheel for me or something like that. I'm sure I will figure something out in the process.

Regarding attitude -> yeah, I figured that I will make up the lack of skills w/ right attitude.. I don't see myself having a future as a race car driver.. so I'm not really interested in being the fastest guy but really just want to learn how to pilot a car like this closer to its limit, instead of using only 30% of its capability.. !

Oh yeah, 2nd DE coming up this Saturday and autoX on Sunday.. !!

4porsh

^^^^^^Good for you, keep tracking with that kind of thinking and you will do well.

cfjan

The only thing that's hurting is my wallet...

Just signed up for my 5th DE (hey, got to plan ahead of time, right?! ) that will take place in June..

mooty

dude, you are ADDICTED.

cfjan

No way Mooty, I am just looking up to you, that's all..

Although the idea of Mooty being a role model is quite a scary thought... (joke)

mooty

i admit i am an addict.
when i was younger, i was a good role model. got my 'hood kids into some good schools. now that i am older i resort to corrupt youngster to spend money on porsches.

say, i think u need 3 more sets of wheels.