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recommendation for track tires for a beginner

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I am looking for a recommendation for track tires for a beginner.

My daughter is starting to track her Mustang and after 6 days on track she is progressing nicely. At this point she is simply melting her Potenza S04 (it was 110 at Thunderhill today).

I have set of 19x10 rims and I am thinking to put a track day tires for her. I want her to learn on not too good of tires, preferably at reasonable price, so looking for recommendations. Eagle F1 Supercar 3R deal at tirerack sounds very good, but I am not sure I want her to have 100 rated tires, thoughts?

Thank you.

PS: yes, I know that I am opening a Pandora's box....
 
1,289
1,113
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Philly Metro Area
You may want to look at the Hankook RS-4. There is another recent thread that provides additional info:
 
You may want to look at the Hankook RS-4. There is another recent thread that provides additional info:
I missed that thread, thank you for the link
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,356
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Flyhalf likely runs the tracks you do, so he can answer the one question I try to find out from friends, and that is what is the track surface like. I can get twice as many runs at one track near me as some of the others, and surprisingly the fairly sticky rubber ( RE 71Rs , BFG Rival S 1.5s ) work pretty well there. No experience with A052s except at the autocross track and they are quite fast , but seem to wear pretty quickly at the Solo Nationals site in Lincoln ( concrete ). Likely different wear on asphalt like many tracks or autocross sites.
 
A052 actually wears very well.
This pics are 4 trackdays in.
Secret is to rotate them.
As mentioned in the facebook post
I really believe the nitto nt01 is a great compromise for beginners/intermediate drivers who want to learn car and driver's limit.
Predictable. Good wearing. Consistent.
For sure not the fastest.
I found the A052 having similar features but being way faster. Downside only on 18"
If this " hobby" become serious i suggest 4 APEX wheels 18x11 so you can mount many different tires and also save money (cause tires cost less)
3R are fast. And great feedback tire but max 3-4 days. And not too many sizes
The supercar3 are really fast but they tend to become greasy at the end ,according to many guys using them at muscle cup.

I'm in walnut creek if you need anything please let me know. Alessandro

20200708_175157.jpg

20200708_175321.jpg

20200708_175259.jpg
 

Norm Peterson

Corner Barstool Sitter
939
712
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
a few miles east of Philly
Sounds like I might want to put A052's in that size on my future track tire "short list". The height/revs per mile is right about where both my 25.9" "track set" and 26.3" "street set" are at, and once upon a time I didn't pay much attention to tires with treadwear numbers above about 220 even for purely street driving.


Norm
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,356
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
I think the tire diameter gets over discussed to a little degree because when it comes to fast on track the 315/30/18 will run either 25.5 or 25.6 regardless if you run BFG gforce R1S, Hoosier R7 or A7, Falken RT 615K+, Yokohama A052, BFG Rival S 1.5, etc. Fast DOT Competition Tires, 200 TWR tires, the gearing is really solid in my opinion on the tracks most run and they pull strong out of the corners.

Sorry bit off subject as OP is looking for good tire for beginner, and we are all moving to the faster stuff, ha. I will end with just get as wide as you can with the rims you have and try to run a square system so you can easily rotate.
 

Norm Peterson

Corner Barstool Sitter
939
712
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
a few miles east of Philly
im selling my 4 295-35 for 400$ total..
i'd like to try the 315..
Thanks for the offer, and if I had a place to store yet another stack of tires (you don't want to know) I might take you up on that. Even though my 285/35-18 MPSS tires have lost a step or so, there's too much tread life left in them to just throw them away. Truth is, I've not been all that active lately so when I do get back to it I might as well inflict the initial portions of my re-learning process on the old tired stuff instead of wasting the better stuff.


Norm
 
I am looking for a recommendation for track tires for a beginner.

My daughter is starting to track her Mustang and after 6 days on track she is progressing nicely. At this point she is simply melting her Potenza S04 (it was 110 at Thunderhill today).

I have set of 19x10 rims and I am thinking to put a track day tires for her. I want her to learn on not too good of tires, preferably at reasonable price, so looking for recommendations. Eagle F1 Supercar 3R deal at tirerack sounds very good, but I am not sure I want her to have 100 rated tires, thoughts?

Thank you.

PS: yes, I know that I am opening a Pandora's box....

You may also want to check out the BF Goodrich G-Force Rival S 1.5 tires. Very similar to the Hankook's suggested by the other member. I have found these tires to be very predictible in that they hold really well yet you can still slide them in a very controllable fashion.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,356
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
The Rival S 1.5 is a heavily used in the CAM C Class for Autocrossers ---- tire works well on heavier cars and many find it takes longer than some other very competitive 200 TRW tires before getting greasy on a road course.

Actually much quicker than a Hankook on an Autocross.
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
At this point she is simply melting her Potenza S04 (it was 110 at Thunderhill today).

What were the hot pressures? Did you take any?

Reason I ask is 110° will be hard on any tire...getting the pressure right for most I think would be tough, and high pressures on a hot day will make any tire feel ‘greasy’.

That said, the Rivals do have high slip angles and should be a nice choice for someone learning basic car control, but I don’t see why the S04 wouldn’t be a decent tire to learn on...as well as any of the ones mentioned in this thread. I’ve used Rivals, but have no experience with the S04s.
 

302 Hi Pro

Boss 302 - Racing Legend to Modern Muscle Car
2,009
441
Southeast
A set of SO4 tires was my first set after the OEM pirelli tires of my Boss... Nice street tire and good in the rain... But not a very long lived tire at the track. They deformed after one day of track school.

MH: When you had your track day school were you too a beginner in the sport of racing like the OP?
 

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