Best Road Course Tires

[inferno03]

So this weekend I raced on the Infineon Raceway track. I had a blast and it totally blows drag racing away. I feel i did pretty good for my first time and really pushed my car to it's limits...which is my new problem when it comes to tires. obvioulsy I wasn't expecting much from the stock tires but the held pretty well so now I want some good beginner tires for road course.
What do you all reccomend?

 

[sunburned]

If you will be driving on the street as well, try Falken FT615 tires. They have a medium treadwear (200) so you will get decent mileage on the street, but still get good traction when they are heated up.

If these will be mostly racing tires with maybe a little street driving, try the Nitto NT-01. They have a 100 treadwear so they will wear pretty fast on the street, but when heated up, will give great traction and handling on a road course.

If you want an all out road/race tire, go for the new Toyo R888. They are replacing the RA1, which is a treaded race tire.

 

[ShelbyGuy]

I seriously doubt that you 'really pushed the car to its limits' on your first time out. Your instructor signed you off by the end of the first session??


Stick with street tires until you get more experienced. they offer a ton more feedback which makes learning fun

 

[nightstalker865]

I agree with Shelby Guy. Race tires tend to hide mistakes. Get some seat time under your belt on the street tires before you make the jump.

With that being said the 615's would be an awsome street/track tire. I know alot of guys that are really happy with them.

Ohh and welcome to the club!!!

 

[Force4.6]

Not trying to be negative or anything but an on-track session is not the same thing as racing (My first instructor corrected me when I said the same thing). As mentioned above, did you get signed off? You don't want to learn bad habits early on with the slicks because they will be harder to fix later.

WELCOME TO YOUR NEW ADDICTION!!!! :beer:

 

[wheelhopper]

I totally agree w/ OT driving vs. drag racing. I am getting ready to do my third event.

I would stick w/ the stock tires or a high performance street tire that has a treadwear of 250 or more. They squeel louder as you approach their limit. If you want to push them harder get a more performance oriented alignment done. You will get a little more out of your stock tires.

And upgrade your pads and brake fluid as well.

 

[inferno03]

Not trying to be negative or anything but an on-track session is not the same thing as racing (My first instructor corrected me when I said the same thing). As mentioned above, did you get signed off? You don't want to learn bad happens early on with the slicks because they will be harder to fix later.

WELCOME TO YOUR NEW ADDICTION!!!! :beer:

you are absolutly correct. I had on-track time, not races. I apoligize for any confusion. But i'm still very excited about it and i'm even gonna to thunderhill race park on October but still using the stock tires. maybe by next year i will buy a set of good road tires to use so any info will be appreciated.

 

[Force4.6]

Yeah it's awesome isn't it, the cool thing is it gets even more fun as you get more accustomed to your car and its limits. The stock F1s are a good tire to learn on because they communicate very well when the car is about to let go.

The next tire I used was BFG KDs and once you get some heat in them they stick pretty well for a street tire. They make a big difference compared to the F1s in the dry but they aren't so good in the wet though.

 

[inferno03]

Yeah it's awesome isn't it, the cool thing is it gets even more fun as you get more accustomed to your car and its limits. The stock F1s are a good tire to learn on because they communicate very well when the car is about to let go.

The next tire I used was BFG KDs and once you get some heat in them they stick pretty well for a street tire. They make a big difference compared to the F1s in the dry but they aren't so good in the wet though.

That is one thing i did like about the stock tires is that you do learn from your mistakes faster and know how to correct them. I'm basically gonna compare all the ones that were mentioned here and go with the ones that aren't gonna cost me an arm and a leg since i'm only gonna be on the road track about 2-4 times a year. and I don't have to worry about wet surfaces since i don't even take the car out during the winter. I call it my cars hybernation (sp?) time.

 

[ShelbyGuy]

no wet surfaces?? track events in the rain are a BLAST!