If you overheat your tires, you will most likely see it feather or a nice blue streak on the edge of the tire

 

How weird, i've seen the blue streak on my t1r's before. I was wondering what the hell it was. I thought it was rubbing against the rear fender even though my rear fenders are rolled. lol

 

nope heat

 

Do different tire brands handle different temperatures? My falken azenis 615's on my 06' never got that hot, but these 19" toyos have gotten that blue streak before.

 

yup. i could overheat the azenis, but they dont have nearly as much oil coming out as the stock 040

 

Yup, good points. I will have to do some tweaking with the pressures the next time I'm at the track. Hopefully I'll have Traqmate too so I can tell for sure what difference each makes.

 

Proper tire management is one of the keys to winning races. I don't know of any racing series or class where tires provide the same grip at the end of the race as they provided at the start of the race. A fast, race winning driver knows how to conserve his tires while still turing fast laps. Its one of the two most difficult things to learn as a racer; proper braking is the other.

If your tires go away significantly in the middle of a track session, you as the driver have made a mistake. What you're trying to achieve is a gradual/predictable reduction in grip over the entire session so that you have more tire then your other competitors for the last couple laps. This requires a lot of "feel" for what the tires are doing and this "feel" can only be learned with seat time. Some race drivers never get the feel.

 

Going back on topic. This is like an autobiography of my experience with tires on the Z.
Started out with...
Tire: Bridgestone Potenza RE040 (OEM)
Miles: 16000
Size: Stock 17"
Pressure: 36 psi (warm)
Wheels: Stock 17"
Mods: too few See the sig
Highs: Lots of feedback at 60+ mph = confidence in the corners
Lows: Not enough grip. Too easy to break loose. Will break loose at the first sign of heat. Heats up very quick.

Moved to...
Tire: Goodyear Eagle F1
Miles: 18000
Size: 225/50 17 front, 235/50 17 rear (stock sizes)
Pressure: ~40 psi (hot) all around
Wheels: OEM 17
Mods: too few See the sig
Highs: Loads of grip for a 280 treadwear rating. Long-lasting. Can take lots of heat and maintain consistent grip.
Lows: The softest sidewall I've ever felt on a "sport" tire, which numbs the driver. Little-to-no road feedback. On the auto-X, I rolled the hell out of the sidewall. You will only think this is a good tire if you are not a seasoned driver or are using it for straight-line.

Currently driving...
Tire: Bridgestone Potenza RE050A (2007 OEM tires)
Miles: 2000
Size: 225/45 18 front, 245/45 18 rear
Pressure: 38 psi (hot)
Wheels: 18" 35th Anniversary cast wheels
Mods: Still the same
Highs: Very grippy and stiff, very, very, very stiff sidewalls. Beautiful inside/outside sidewall design gives great feedback in corner carving. Seems to last longer and take more heat than the 040, even though same treadwear rating (140).
Lows: Not as grippy as the RE-01R, so I got beat by my brother's S2000 (which has RE-01R's).

 

225/40-18 and 245/40-18 Falken 615's on my stock wheels. So far 4 trackdays and 6 autocrosses. Tread is about 30% left , they do seemt o get greasy when overheated , but cool down in just a couple corners of backing out if it. Next set will be 265/35 and 275/35 615's.

Edit , tire pressure.. I usually run them at 31 cold and go for a target of 36 to 37 PSi hot.

 

Little thing we have discovered about the 615's. The greesiness of them seems to occur if the pressures get over 40 lbs, not the actual heat in them, especially if they get in the 43-45 lbs range. By letting them start lower and build up to 39, 40 PSI, they stayed consistent.

 

Good info! I was starting to doubt the fathomed 615. I might give it a try eventually.

 

If you can fork the cash, I think the PS2 are just as capable. I don't know how they compare, but the RE01 seems to be very nice too. I had the Azenis 615, I absolutely hated it. Car rode very harsh, it was also very noisy and the 350z can easily overpower those tires.

 

PS2s are great on the track. Ran 2 days on them at the Glen, day at Lime Rock, day at NHIs.

Just ran NHIS on RE050A PPs. Not bad. Not my favorite either. I liked the PS2s more overall... I'm looking forward to moving up to a stickier tire next year but these are quite fun up to (and slightly beyond) their limits

 

for what its worth, over the weekend I was forced to switch back to my street tires. on the front i have one of the cheapest tires made for the size I wanted. I have Sumitumo 245/46/18 on the front and they held up fairly well. They did tend to get a bit greasy at the end of the session but I had expected that. I was running at Rockingham and that track is hell on some front tires and brakes. Needless to say, I went through both. Anyhow... I run my car hard. as anyone that was there will say, I don't take it to easy unless I have to. The tires by days end looked great. Initial turn in required a bit of tedious input but overall I have to admit they did great. Cheap tire that if I had to find somethign in a hurry to have for a track day, I would definately buy again. I tried Kuhmo Ectas something something before and didn't care much for them. They melted down rather quickly and this was when I was just starting to get into track days.

edit: I also run Hawk HP Plus all around with high temp fluid on oem non-brembo calipers/rotors and only a few times did I over brake the tires. It was more my mistake trying not to come in to hot then it was the tire.

- as a street tire they have been great so far. haven't had them but a month or so. they are quiet and from what little rain has come around here, they did great too.

 

+1
Tire: Bridgestone Potenza RE050A (2007 OEM tires)
Miles: 3000 street
Size: 225/45 18 front, 245/45 18 rear
Pressure: 38 psi (hot)
Wheels: 18" rays track
Mods: springs sways

these were great but looking for more grip for cornerspeed from an r compound

i am trying to figure out new r compound size set up for kumho take offs that i have

 

+1 on the Goodyear GSD3 F1 tires. Had them on my G35 and they were tracked at autox and Motor Sport Ranch, and they are AWESOME in the wet and dry, and great on the track!

Excellent wear rate as well.

 

Wanted a wider rim, so I treated myself.

17x10 +25 5zigen FN01RC's in flat black, with 275/40 NT01's.

 

In the pics I was lazy and left my 10mm spacer in the back. They rubbed slightly, which doesnt matter much because I was not planning on running it at the track.

 

looks sick!

 

You suck , really you do.

Same set i want , hopefully mid spring i should have them. Same tires too.