Originally Posted by The HACK

Experience level...Usually I say no to R-comps unless you've got a few events (like 15-20) under your belt. But that's hard to determine sometimes. If you've got 3-5 events, I'd say run what your OE comes with.

Originally Posted by The HACK

Well, more power (no pun intended) to ya.

The few times I was at Buttonwillow and California Speedway the ambient temperature were in excess of 115 degrees F.

Originally Posted by dnguyent

Marc, I think I met you at LS earlier this year. I'm the guy in the '04 silverstone running street tires. I'll see you May 21st at Thill too. This time, I'll be on some old Pirelli Corsas (which btw, are probably on the lower end of the scale for r-comps).

Half of my track days are driven on street tires. I do that to become more comfortable with higher slip angles. I also like running in the intermediate group, and have gotten to the point where I fit in well when I'm running street tires while others are using r-comps. I find it challenging trying to keep up with drivers running r-comps, and I end up learning how to go faster by pushing myself with a set of rather forgiving tires.

I made the jump to r-comps when I was about as fast as you are now at the those respective tracks. I did about half a dozen days on r-comps, got comfortable with the higher speeds, then recently jumped back onto street tires. I ended up dropping my lap times on street tires about 4 seconds.

I found it to be an educational and worthwhile experiment. I also like learning how to adapt to different tires.

Back on subject...I suggest you go with what so many people are happy with: RA1's

Originally Posted by MSR350Z

My recommendation and one that I make to all my students. Wear out at least two sets of high performance tires... Hankooks, Kumhos, 615, etc. Forget about mods, forget about times. Only focus on modding that nut behind the steering wheel.

Money spent on improving oneself is always money well spent.

Get out there and drive and drive and drive and drive. The fastest always spend the most time at the track.

Originally Posted by The HACK

What is your experience level?

When you mention track, is it for DE or time trial? Open track?

Suspension? Any work done? Alignment settings?

How much are you looking to spend per tire?

What sort of brake and brake compound do you have?

Don't mean to pry, but the more information you can give the easier it is to give a better and more objective suggestion. For example, unless you're on track pads like Hawk DTC-60s or Cobalt Spec VR/XR series, real track pads, you probably shouldn't run an R-Comp. Reason being that the R-comps (Pilot Sports Cup, Toyo RA-1...etc) will allow you to go so fast that your brake pads will be overwhelmed quickly. Especially if you're just doing DE or open track days where the money for R-comps just doesn't justify itself. Now, if you're doing Time Trials, you should consider ONLY R-comps and make sure you upgrade your brakes.

Certain tires respond better to additional camber, whereas certain tires will wear really fast with camber. For example, Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position S-02 and S-03s don't need a lot of camber to work well and seems to be rather indifferent to camber settings, except when you have more than 2 degrees of negative camber it'll start wearing out the Potenzas really quick. R-comps, especially, are sensitive to camber settings. Make sure you have a tire temperature gauge to take temps if you're running R-comps and adjust your camber accordingly to even out temperature distribution.

Experience level...Usually I say no to R-comps unless you've got a few events (like 15-20) under your belt. But that's hard to determine sometimes. If you've got 3-5 events, I'd say run what your OE comes with, if you need to replace, replace with OE. If you've got 5-10 events under your belt, look to something like Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position RE050A or Michelin Pilot Sport 2 or equivalent street tires. After that but before R-comps, try Yokohama Advan Neova or Bridgestone RE-01Rs. They're street tires with near r-comp grip. Then when you've pretty much maximized your own ability to handle the car, move up to R-comps like Michelin Pilot Sport Cups or Toyo RA-1s or Nitto NT-01R. But be sure to upgrade your brake and suspension hardware when you move up to R-comps.

Save true competition tires like Hoosiers when you're competing.

Originally Posted by tmak26b

That's why I retire my car during July and August, why beat on the car and the driver. I should be at the beach!

Originally Posted by The HACK

Well...I have no choice. See, there's this addiction called "track" calling my name. And who am I to pass up free track time?

Call me stupid.

Originally Posted by Marc Mc

I totally agree. I am very fortunate to have a mentor with whom I can discuss driving on track or off. My learning curve has been much improved just by having the willingness to listen and do (and understand) what he tells me.