Tyres.. again.. semi-slick/trackday tyres

240z

240z

Club Member
I am looking to get a new set of tyres since I have nearly bald fronts and a slow puncture on the rear. I am tempted to go for a semi slick, there are a few new ones that claim to be a good cross over between a road tyre and a race tyre, i.e soft and wear very quick, very grippy in the dry but still ok in the rain.. I just wondered if anyone had any experience of them?

I do very few miles, so wear is not a problem, I just don't want to get caught out on the motorway if it starts to pour with rain!

The tyres I'm looking at are:
Toyo Proxes R888
Avon ZZR
Falken Azenis RT-615
(yokohama) Advan Neova AD07

My Backups for a 'normal' road tyre would be
Yokohama Parada spec 2
or the old favourites - Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3

Any input would be much appreciated
 
grolls

grolls

Well-Known Forum User
240z said:
I am looking to get a new set of tyres since I have nearly bald fronts and a slow puncture on the rear. I am tempted to go for a semi slick, there are a few new ones that claim to be a good cross over between a road tyre and a race tyre, i.e soft and wear very quick, very grippy in the dry but still ok in the rain.. I just wondered if anyone had any experience of them?

I do very few miles, so wear is not a problem, I just don't want to get caught out on the motorway if it starts to pour with rain!
Click to expand...
just use a road tyre that you are happy with and drop the pressures for track use....remember to take a foot pump with you to reinflate at the track....only a very fast driver and a well set up car would get any benefit from a semi slick. i played this game many a time racing bikes, the basic princaples are the same.
 
S

status

Well-Known Forum User
i use toyos on my 260z,seem pretty good and bridgestones on my 240z,they real suit the way it is set up
 
A

Andytt

I remember Kevin Irons taking me around Goodwood at petrifying speed on a set of Technic remoulds, he swore by them, and so did I after I recovered, by the way he also acheived fastest time of the day in his 2" SU'd standard HSCC 240Z and there was a well driven Corvette ZR1 in attendance
 
racer

racer

Club Member
I have raced a 240 for 5 years on road legal track tyres just like the ones youv'e looked at. Let me say that you are takeing the right approach as this type of tyre will make a huge difference to the way your car performes both on and off the track. Not only in terms of grip, but also turn in and feel wich, will also give you much more confidence behind the wheel especially importent when your new to track days. I have the most experience with the Yokohama AO32-R wich is now well established in the track day and road legal motorsport arena. It has a symetric tread pattern and a high grip tread compound, to improve braking and cornering performance plus a Aqua Tusk tread design to increase traction in the wet. I recently sold Rob Gaskin a second hand set of these for his track exploits, he told me the car was transformed! Unfortunatley there not available in some smaller sizes now, but there is a new version, the AO48-R wich is a development of the 32r. Dunlop's track day weapon is the Formula R Do1J. I used this tyre last season and they were very grippy, but perhaps a bit edgy on the limit. The Yoki's are more progresive easyer to drift! and better in the wet. Avon do the ZZR and Kumho the TWo1 and V70a . All of these tyres have a MSA road legal 1B listing suitable for competition. I normally do about 3000 miles a year(road) plus 10 races. Starting with 5 yoki's at the start of the season 3 are normally totally shagged by the end of the year, but hey that's racing. If you have a spare set of tyres just for the road then the track tyres should last you quite well. If you have trouble finding a dealer who can get this type of tyre try Ken at ZXS. Hope this is of some use?
 
Rob Gaskin

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Yes I bought some Yoko A032R's off Matt (Racer) and found them to be fantastic for the track. They give loads of confidence and contrary to what I expected they were very progressive and safer than 'road' tyres. '240Z', I had them on at Japfest. If the car is used mainly for the road they are noisey and 'tramline' i.e. follow grooves in the road.

So my experiences are different than Grolls, but then I have not had any really good road tyres (and bike tyres are like track-day tyres anyway). I know when I was enquiring about tyres, all the suppliers said you either buy a track tyre or a road tyre i.e. they will not be good at both. The Yoko's are road legal but really a track tyre and wear out quickly!
 
Z

zman240uk1

Forum User
Agree with Rob & Matt. The 32r is a cracking tyre if you want a road/race combo. Had them on my old road legal hillclimb car and they never let me down. Great for standing starts and increasing those corner speeds.

Now Avon slicks, thats a whole different league!!!!

Good luck finding some.
Ken...
 
240z

240z

Club Member
Thanks very much for the replies! great help. Good to hear reports from people that use these sort of tyres regularly, and so can compare between them which is invaluable!

I think I have pretty talked myself into getting some of these, if I can find them in the right sizes, in the following order:

Yokohama AO48-R
Toyo Proxes R888

I can't seem to find anywhere that sells the Falken Azenis RT-615 or Advan Neova AD07. But the AO48-R sound like the best bet anyhow.

Having said that I have also now seen these, which are supposed to be a bit better than the AO48-R in the wet, but a similar compound.

Toyo R1-R
R1R.1.jpg

"The Trampio R1-R is a unique hybrid ultra high-performance / race tyre designed for club-motor sport competitors that regularly use their vehicles on public roads. Due to its aggressive tread pattern & tread depth, the Trampio R1R is particularly effective for hill-climbs & lap-dash events on wet & dry tarmac."

and a good comparison here
http://www.toyo.com.au/TechInfoPDFs/TTT-130%20Semi%20race%20tyres.pdf

I'll have to see what I can get my hands on first though!

Thanks again to all.
 
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Rob Gaskin

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Nigel, Yes.

240Z, good choices. I can only comment on the Yokos, but if they are an improvement to the older A032R they will provide plenty of grip. However you will be using wider tyres than me so road manners will be worse. Tolerable for driving to tracks but not as a frequent drive. Best to have two sets of wheels and tyres if poss.
 
P

pmac

Well-Known Forum User
"The Trampio R1-R is a unique hybrid ultra high-performance / race tyre designed for club-motor sport competitors that regularly use their vehicles on public roads. Due to its aggressive tread pattern & tread depth, the Trampio R1R is particularly effective for hill-climbs & lap-dash events on wet & dry tarmac."

and a good comparison here
http://www.toyo.com.au/TechInfoPDFs...ace tyres.pdf
Click to expand...

Doesnt appear to be e -marked. looks like jap spec only???????
 
Black Bug

Black Bug

Well-Known Forum User
For reference Lotus slapped the Yoko 32s the the 340R and probably the S1 Exige, they now use the 48s on the S2 Exige and some variants of the S2 Elise, definitely road legal but apparently a bit scary in proper wet conditions.

As for a decent road tyre, some of you may recall my similar thread from a few months ago, in the end I decided to try the unknown Nokian NRZi brand (from Finland) so I bought a set in readiness for some wheels. In the end I ended up getting a set of wheels shod with brand new Falken FK-451s so I left them on. The Nokians have ended up on my beemer 325TDS tourer - OK not as light as a Z I'll give you that, but we are talking a 6 cylinder rear wheel drive motor here. The tyres are a revelation! I'd rank them as the best road tyre I've played with in wet and dry performance. My comparisions are Bridgestone S02s and S03s on a TVR, Bridgestone RE040 on a Lotus and Dunlop SP9000s on same Lotus. Definitely worth a try in my opinion, especially considering they're pretty cheap in comparison to the big names.

Cheers,
Rob
 
240z

240z

Club Member
Doesnt appear to be e -marked. looks like jap spec only???????
Click to expand...
I emailed toyo uk for details, and it looks like only the R888 will be available (and road legal) in the UK, they are introducing quite a few sizes for it though.

looks like it'll be either Yokohama AO48-R or Toyo Proxes R888 for me then..
 
240z

240z

Club Member
After all that, I went for kumho ecsta V70A, meant to have very good wet traction for a semi-slick, although prob not quite as grippy as the yokos in the dry.. Though the main reason I went for them was because they cost me 60 quid each! def worth a try for that
v70a_d.jpg
 
Russ

Russ

Club Member
Thanks for the link! My friend had a pair of Kumhos on his 106 and we laughed having never heard of the brand and got rid of them, turns out they might have been alright :D

Cheers
 
Rob Gaskin

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
240Z (Phil? wish people would use their names!)

Yes, I've heard good reports about the Kumho's, shame I can't read German though. Can anybody translate the headings for me please?
 
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Russ

Russ

Club Member
Jez: If you read this, maybe you could start a links section for tyre manufactures please?

If you buy a set of tyres for your car (semi slick or otherwise) I would really like a review of it please... if you supply the details I'll find a suitable picture. Going to start a tyre section for them now, won't take you five minutes and it all adds to the sites appeal and hopefully membership numbers!
 
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