RonCT

What I'm saying above is fix the alignment and get a second set -- and not R-comps.

sundog

I found that my DE experience became MUCH more fun when I went to the R-compound Nitto NT-01. They aren't that finicky, and are "reasonably" priced. And the alignment makes a massive difference to the handling of the car. Do the alignment first though.

J richard

In my oh so humble opinion...if you have the interest and disposable cash, I would keep an eye out for a set of used factory wheels, twists or cups (you can get a straight but not pretty set for under $500 if you jones around). Get some good A A 140 or so dry performance tires, and thrash the hell out of them. It only takes a trip or two into the gravel, a slide over a rumblestrip to ding your nice street wheels or chunk the hell out of your daily drivers and leave you wondering how to get to work safely on Monday morning...

Starting out you will make mistakes, spins, slides and overdriving, which will trash and flatspot a set of R comps, and you want a progressive, durable street tire until you have the basics down and you can really benefit from the added stick.

...and THEN go buy a full blown prepped racecar and save yourself a bunch of time money and frustration...unless like most of us, you're just not that sharp and repeat our mistakes all over again...welcome to the slippery slope....

dan212

Its worth getting the car aligned for track use since the off-the-lot alignment is sub-optimal. Thats just good maintenance.

But aside from a decent alignment - Honestly, I'd put off fussing around with the car and tires until you get more seat time..

Here's why:
You don't want to make the car faster. You want to make the driver faster.. Concentrate on that.

And have fun..

67King

Slippery slope? More like an ice-slick cliff!

Jimmy, I think you should skip the second set of tires, and go straight to a second car. That's when the fun can really begin.

Potomac-Greg

Another reason to start with street tires is that you can use a set 3-4 times a year, for 3 or 4 years before they get old and hard. You could age-out your R-compounds before you put a dent in the tread life. Although RA1s and NT01s appear to have a long, long calendar life.

Before I went to NT01s I got Hankook RS2s and had then shaved.

Bill Lehman

The max negative camber will be in the range of -.7 to -1.0. There is a range of about 1/2 degree in the top strut slots. The cheap and dirty fix is to elongate the slots. Camber plates are available but the best thing to do is use GT3 lower control arms but they cost about $1200 plus install and alignment.

rlm328

The Caymans/Boxsters do not have much you can do to the front end alignment unless you get camber plates. The front end is where you will get the wear in these type of cars. You should stick with street tires until you have at least a years worth of DEs under your belt. You will definitely learn better technique with the street tire. R compund tires will hide alot of the basic mistakes that you are making.

A good set of wheels and track tires will set you back about minimum of $1600 for wheels and $1200 for a set of tires. Granted you will be buying the tires regardless as they are a wear item, but the 1600 for wheel can be but forward 5 to 6 more events.

Please note from one who has gone over the precipice, prior to modifying your present car, have a look for a well sorted car that has already been modified. It will be far cheaper in the end.

RickBetterley

All this talk about slippery slopes gets me to thinking:
Since I went from a very lightly prepared street/track car to an ex-club racer, did I avoid the slippery slope, only to jump off a cliff and plummet straight to the bottom?
Seems that way.

bart1

I am a rookie here and should not be listened to, but I think I have a decent compromise for a similar situation as the OP. I bought some MY02 wheels to run on the street and had my factory 17s sitting around gathering dust. I did one track day on my street tires and saw it was a little rough on the,m. This year, I bought some inexpensive aggressive tires to mount on the factory Cups (Falken RT-615, don't want to go super sticky yet) and swap them out to drive to and on the track. I also bought some Pagid Yellows, which I swap out the week before.

JimmyT

Thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate it.

It's a given that I'll at least have the alignment done and max out the front camber. Even if I never go further than a few DE's per year with this car, and keep it mainly stock, I think that is a no brainer due to the wear on the track.

I'm really not trying to make the car go around corners faster, so I didn't have r comps in mind. I had my first experience on a rainy day, and that was great, I learned so much more due to the lower traction. My main concern is wear and tear on my nice wheels and tires that have to work in the rain on streets, as a few have mentioned. I guess it just comes down to the price of the new wheels. Tires are a wash in the long run, as I either own two sets, meaning higher upfront costs, or I replace one set much more often, meaning higher costs starting in year 2.

I'd like to have a race car, but I couldn't keep this street car and get a track car, so I'm not going that route any time soon. I also don't have the time to commit at that level. I'm also not going to alter this car much, no seats / harnesses / suspension, etc. It will stay a street car that my wife can enjoy too. Maybe in 5-10 years a spec boxter will be in my future, but I'm not going half way with this car.

Jim

J richard

There's a few sets for sale in the wheel/tire classifieds, some 02 twists with MSCPs for $700 and a set of cup2s for $400, pick them up and throw on some good tires on sale and your done for $1100, and ready when you want to make the jump to Rcomps... Just sayin.....

Also if you want to try autocrosses as well this is the way to go...

JimmyT

Bart -

What you describe sounds like what I was thinking. How do you liek the pagid yellows? Are they too much pad for DE? I wouldn;t want something so overmatched for my tires and for me that I can't even heat them up and they squeal at the track so everybody knows how bad I am!

RonCT

Look at it this way, you can beat-up / use up your ultra expensive PS2 tires and stock wheels, or you can do the same with a 2nd set with tires that are much less expensive, but serve a great DE purpose. For example, a set of Hankooks are about $750 vs. $1700 for the PS2s you have now. Other options like Bridgestone RE050 are in between.

Not sure twists even fit our 997s. I think some have tried a set of 18" OEM 997 wheels, but they are very narrow and made for 235/265. I tried a set with 235/295 PSCups a few years ago and it was terrible - the 295 bowed out because the rim was way too narrow. Again, at about $1500 or so for a new set of 18" OZs (look them up via 997 non-S for 8.5x18 and 11x18) and a set of Hankooks for $750 and you're out the door for about $2300 including mounting and balancing.

techno99

No issues with Pagid yellows and street tires. Also, they may not even squeal for you. Some people report massive squealing others do not. In my case, they squealed on my C4S but not on my M3.