Tyres and Wheels for track

[Jubal]

For track wheels and tyres I am thinking of buying some Pro Race 1.2 shod with R888. Wheel size would be 7.0x15 ET35 with 205/50/15 tyres. I'm going 15 for the cheaper and wider tyre choice. No stagger because I want to encourage turn in. Before I splash out I'd welcome any comments or advice from those who've been there before. Thanks.

[Goeman]

I can confirm that those wheels in that size and offset will fit OK...


I'm running Federal 595RS-R and I, with many other people prefer them over R888's. They may not have the ultimate grip of an R888 but they're harder wearing, better in the wet, don't make anywhere near as much tyre noise and don't heat cycle as quickly as the R888. If you want more grip then there are Federal FZ-201. I've been told they're much grippier than an R888.

You wont get any argument from me on the tyre size front. I was happily running 195/50/15 at Blyton Park all of yesterday in the wet and dry.

[Jubal]

Thanks for that. The budget is running away so all tips are welcome. I've just stalked you across the Internet and found your thread on track culture.

So most of the questions I had have been answered. However, what are the Gaz coilovers like? And how do you find the brakes? Like you I am thinking of staying with stock ARBs. Any other thoughts for me? My car's a turbo so heat will be a huge issue I reckon but I'm not sure what the thinking is on wrapping and turbos. The engine cover does have a fan mounted.

[jonty]

wrapping is good- seems to me keeping the heat in the turbo and exhaust means it temp cycles slower so is going to do less damage than heating and cooling rapidly, also heat shields to keep the heat away from everything else is always preferable!

if you don't have a charge cooler then I think it is a much better idea for track work from what I have seen on the forums, the airflow at the rear of the car isn't great.

On the subject of wheels pro race 1.2s are pretty light, you can't go too far wrong with them, they look good on russell's car too!

[Jubal]

I'll look into the charge cooler options but it's a TTE install and I haven't found much precedent out there for replacing the intercooler.

Can you point me at any links?

[Goeman]

I don't know how much effect having a turbo will have on how much tyre you need. 205's with standard power is enough. It might be a bit lairy in the wet for you.

I've mixed feelings about the Gaz coilovers. They're good on track but there are a few problems. The low speed ride isn't very good. I have to have the dampers of their lowest setting to be tolerable. This can probably be solved by running softer springs. They rusted very quickly. It's only surface rust but it was within months. They've been cleaned up and waxoyled since then but it shouldn't happen. Then there's the big but. They want £1200+ which is a bit much. It's only £200 off of KW Variant 3 and I know which I'd rather have. Thankfully I didn't pay full price as I was the first to mk3 to have Gaz. There is a thread about it somewhere but I never updated it. My car wasn't working for a very long time so I've only tested them on track this year.  

My brakes are good. I'm using standard discs and yellowstuff pads. They don't seem to fade and they stop the car. For the price they can't be beaten but when they're done I think I'm going to upgrade to some Carbone Lorraine and make up some ducting. Your car will obviously be going faster than my car can with the Turbo and all so you might want to skip to the higher quality pads.

[Jubal]

Good info thanks Russell. I'm jumping straight into Carbotech or CL pads. I've done a bit of track driving in the past so I'm worried I'll be hard on the brakes. The wheels are a factor but I'm sacrificing a bit of rubber at the back for a whole lot of cheapness and the flexibility to swap wheels around to balance the wear. Plus, I rarely go to track days alone so I can usually rely on someone to bring the road wheels for rainy days.

The Gaz pricing seems a bit out of touch, I've had both Gaz and Protech previously in lighter cars granted and they were pretty reasonable. I'm looking at the BC coilovers currently as a decent price/performance compromise. See you on track sometime I hope!