Intermediate HPDE Driver Tire Recos

[dth656]

hi all,

i have a ZCP F80 with the base 513M wheels (a bit of a weird size when it comes to finding tires). the car is completely stock except for PFC11 pads and fluid.

i have 40+ track days, but am not looking to get every last 10th. i've been running the OEM Michelin PSS or Conti tires since i purchased the car. Question: are there other street tires that any of you would recommend for the 513M size? for example, does anyone have experience with the kumho ecsta PS91, or equivalent bridgestone potenza?

i know most on the forum run a dedicated wheelset with more aggressive rubber (NT-01s, etc), but i don't have room for that right now. also, i like the progressive breakaway characteristics of street tires, and the noise they make when i near the limit.

thanks in advance!

[shaddy]

100% recommend RS4s. They will last forever, and will probably heat cycle out before the tread is gone. But excellent tire especially as you're learning and will stay consistent. I started running them as I started in Intermediate and have allowed me to grow as a driver. I was running PS4S through Novice/Early Intermediate. In a 20-30 minute session, I'd see a drop off in my data after about 3 hot laps. The RS4s have hardly any spread in my data so they allow me to try new things each turn and try to get better in each segment.

Recently a link was provided in the track discussion thread: https://endurancetire.com/

Makes the prices of RS4s super cheap. It's the top-rated endurance 200tw tire today: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/ar...-buyers-guide/

You could go with something like 265/35 front and 275/35 rear on your 513m. If you could switch to a square 513m by using another set of rears/18x10 you could run 275/35 square and rotate to prolong the tire life.

I'd avoid getting a stickier tire at this point. Not only does the cost go up much more in comparison to RS4, but you need to learn car control and how input can affect the car. A stickier tire hides those mistakes and will punish you more during a sudden breakaway.

[NYG]

Agreed with shaddy - RS4.

[shaddy]

Sorry for the double post

[SYT_Shadow]

This is sound advice. You should also consider camber plates, they will even the wear out.

There is nothing wrong with a non dedicated set of wheels. With that staggered setup you can go really, really fast.

[dth656]

awesome, thanks all for the recommendation!

[jfritz27]

.... And if you go with camber plates, I'd recommend the Vorshlags -- nice beefy yet simple design. Many people like Ground Control, but I think their design is needlessly complicated.

Farkle's got some nice comparisons:

[TractionControlDelete]

Firehawk Indy 500 are my favorite budget street tires that I have also used on track. Super happy with them and run them on 3 different cars. I've probably gone though 14-15 sets by this point. My home track is Sonoma, but I've run them at Laguna and thunder hill as well.

[Theruleslawyer]

FWIW RS4 are also streetable in the summer. I didn't bother changing between track days most days, but I WFH so I'm not racking up miles. Because they last so long I didn't worry about it too much.

[uncle ben]

I ran Goodyear super car 3’s in 265/35r19 and 285/35r19. They gripped incredibly well, but after a few track days the front tires outside shoulders were quite worn. If you can run more camber in the front with camber plates, it would be a great investment.


If you go with the vorshlag plates you can run stock springs and dampners, then if you switch to coilovers, you can use the same camber plates, just call vorshlag and they will sell you a kit to convert the plates to run coilovers.

[NYG]

Originally Posted by Theruleslawyer

FWIW RS4 are also streetable in the summer. I didn't bother changing between track days most days, but I WFH so I'm not racking up miles. Because they last so long I didn't worry about it too much.

Anything is streetable if you're brave enough.

I drove my Corvette from Suffolk to Brooklyn on Hoosier A7s in December while it was 27 degrees out (I had to, wasn't for fun). They actually didn't feel bad at all.

[drroc]

I got to say that I am pretty happy with Conti Extreme Contact Force. It is slower than NT01, but it is more consistent lap after lap and can last longer. I run a staggered setup and rotate the tires side to side. I have attached a pic of the front driver tire for reference after day six at the track. If I were to run zero toe in, the front might have lasted a bit longer.

[polarbearz]

Originally Posted by drroc

I got to say that I am pretty happy with Conti Extreme Contact Force. It is slower than NT01, but it is more consistent lap after lap and can last longer. I run a staggered setup and rotate the tires side to side. I have attached a pic of the front driver tire for reference after day six at the track. If I were to run zero toe in, the front might have lasted a bit longer.

I just bought them! Great to hear. Do you run 275/315?

[Theruleslawyer]

Originally Posted by drroc

I got to say that I am pretty happy with Conti Extreme Contact Force. It is slower than NT01, but it is more consistent lap after lap and can last longer. I run a staggered setup and rotate the tires side to side. I have attached a pic of the front driver tire for reference after day six at the track. If I were to run zero toe in, the front might have lasted a bit longer.

How are the force cold? That's my biggest complaint with the Rs4. They don't get warm quickly enough for stuff like autocross.

[drroc]

Originally Posted by polarbearz

I just bought them! Great to hear. Do you run 275/315?

275 and 295. The only downside is that the the rear is 295/30/18 so this causes the speedo to read a bit fast.

[drroc]

Originally Posted by Theruleslawyer

How are the force cold? That's my biggest complaint with the Rs4. They don't get warm quickly enough for stuff like autocross.

How cold is cold? I've driven them in 50F. They do warm up pretty quickly in a lap or two.

[Theruleslawyer]

Originally Posted by drroc

How cold is cold? I've driven them in 50F. They do warm up pretty quickly in a lap or two.

Same with the rs4 at hpde. At autocross they only really have heat in them at the end of the day. Wet performance would be the other time I had trouble getting them up to temp. Slower speeds and the water sucking away heat made warm up hard.

[polarbearz]

Originally Posted by Theruleslawyer

How are the force cold? That's my biggest complaint with the Rs4. They don't get warm quickly enough for stuff like autocross.

They are not good at auto cross at all. I heard continental will release another version of ECF for auto cross. ECF is designed for track.

[polarbearz]

Originally Posted by drroc

275 and 295. The only downside is that the the rear is 295/30/18 so this causes the speedo to read a bit fast.

The rear diameter will be a lot less than front. Have you try to put 295 in the front? Many people in the forum run 295 square. But I heard ECF runs really wide, wider than 295 A052 so I am not sure if they will fit.

[MineralWhiteF80]

I wish they offered better sizes in the RS4 that fit the F8x better. None of those sizes gets me very excited.

[drroc]

Originally Posted by polarbearz

The rear diameter will be a lot less than front. Have you try to put 295 in the front? Many people in the forum run 295 square. But I heard ECF runs really wide, wider than 295 A052 so I am not sure if they will fit.

I haven't tried running 295 up front. My wheels have staggered offset so I can't easily swap fronts with rears. Even with the diameter difference, I haven't had any issues besides the speedo reading higher than usual

[polarbearz]

Originally Posted by drroc

I haven't tried running 295 up front. My wheels have staggered offset so I can't easily swap fronts with rears. Even with the diameter difference, I haven't had any issues besides the speedo reading higher than usual

What's your wheel spec for front that fits 275/35/18? I just put mine on and the sidewalk are so thick that I need to add 12mm spacer onto my 18x10.5 et27 wheels. And it pokes out a little bit