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Track semis question

PranK
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PranK Grand Master

PranK

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Hello all,

I'm planning on hitting Wakefield soon in my 330i for a bit of fun. It has new shocks and lower eibach springs and that is the extent of my changes to the car. As I've always been out using street tyres and how everybody who uses semi's have told me that they are just so much better I thought I'd do that this time around.

My daily wheels are 19's and wont be used. I have a set of MSport 17's that will become my track wheels.

First question - my rears on the 17's are 255/40/17 and I'm wondering if there'd be much of a problem to use a more common size, such as 245/45/17 ? 

Second question - I do not have much money for this, it really needs to be a budget hobby. I was looking at using KENDA tyres but most feedback for them is from people drifting. The next cheapest are the Nankang NS-2R which have great feedback and are pretty cheap still. What are people's opinions here? Is there another tyre I should consider? 

Anywhoo, I'm seriously looking forward to getting out there again.

Thanks all.

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GeeDog Experienced

GeeDog

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9 minutes ago, PranK said:

my rears on the 17's are 255/40/17 and I'm wondering if there'd be much of a problem to use a more common size, such as 245/45/17

Assuming you have 8.5" rims, 245 should be ok. The 245/45 will be a slightly larger diameter, so acceleration will suffer a bit.

13 minutes ago, PranK said:

The next cheapest are the Nankang NS-2R which have great feedback and are pretty cheap still.

We tried these a few years ago, and compared to a "real" semi slick they weren't very good. I thnk the AR-1 is a better track tyre than the NS-2R, but not sure how the pricing compares. Have you tried to find used tyres - there are some bargains to be had sometimes.

Dose Pipe Sutututu Grand Master

Dose Pipe Sutututu

Posted
Posted

I'll chime in, AR-1 tyres are good for 1~2 hot laps, but they don't progressively fade and just go from grip to shit in half a lap..

For the beginner however I would say they're a pretty good budget semi, I personally preferred Nitto NT01 over them and of course if budget can be stretched further Hankook Z221 would be preferred.

Hit up Taleb Tyres or St George Tyres - they seem to have old stock (approx 2 year old) Z221 at a reasonable price.

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admS15 Grand Master

admS15

Posted
Posted

Im going to be that guy and say the opposite of dosepipe. AR1 bang for buck cant be beat. I seem to be able to have grip for 5-6 laps before needing a cool down lap. My best ever time was on lap 8. 

 

My current  set has completed 190 laps so far and still look great. My first set went close to 300 laps, started going backwards at around 250.

Unfortunately can't upload pics as the forum isn't allowing files larger than 2mb for some reason. Maybe the server has covid.

But if you can get z221 handcocks cheap, then it's a no brainer.

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PranK Grand Master

PranK

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1 hour ago, admS15 said:

Unfortunately can't upload pics as the forum isn't allowing files larger than 2mb for some reason. Maybe the server has covid.

That should be fixed now? Missed config from server migration.

Thanks all, thats some good info.

Firstly, I'm assuming that if possible it'd be better to get 245/40's instead of 245/45's ? 

Then, I guess I need to work out my budget per tyre and then from there see what I can get. 

245/40/17 AR1's are ~$250.
255/40/17 NS-2R's are ~$200.

I've noticed nobody mentioning the KENDA's. So message received there. :)

I forgot also about treadwear. If its an option, what is best for tyres lasting longer but still a good performer? I'm not doing time trials, just trying best bang for buck.

Duncan Grand Master

Duncan

Posted
Posted

don't worry about wear on a track tyre, nothing will last compared to a street tyre. You are heading out in summer for 20min sessions so you need a medium/hard or hard compound.

Do you have a second set of rims or are they going on your dailies?

I'd go cheapest 245/45/17 in the following order - Hankook z221, Yoko A050, Dunlop DZ03G, Kumho V70a, Bridgestone Re11s, Toyo 888R. There's a bunch of other ones but I don't know them and haven't seen them used seriously

And let me know when, I'm just up the road and can drop by with some kitty litter for the oil down.

  • Haha 3
Unzipped Composites Rising Star

Unzipped Composites

Posted
Posted

Going from a street tyre, the AR1's are going to feel pretty good anyway. So if you're concerned about money, AR1's are ok. Personally I agree with Dose - they seem to have a really tight performance window, where to get the best times out of them you really need to dial the pressures in for each corner (of the car). And then when they are gone, they are gone. Which makes it really hard to have confidence in them, because you'll go out for a couple of laps, get some heat into them, love the grip, and then go into the next corner like you're on ice. All well and good if you aren't actually trying to dive later and later into each corner and really trying to find those tenths, so they aren't a terrible option if you're really just wanting a bit of fun while going faster than you would on street tyres. If you genuinely want to drive on the limit of what your car can do - the AR1's wouldn't be my choice.

 

To put that in perspective, I would probably be happy to run AR1's for testing/tuning purposes where seat time is really the ultimate goal. If I was entering a competition, I would stay well away, and go a proper tyre like A050/Z221/AD08 pending regulations.

Kinkstaah Grand Master

Kinkstaah

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, GTSBoy said:

Misha's Nurburgring M4 taxi runs on AR-1s. Flat out, lap after lap.

I'm sorry, Robert Kubica drove the car on these tyres, and I'll have you find that a regular track day user is significantly better than Kubica.

 

/s

PranK Grand Master

PranK

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks guys, loving the info, much appreciated!

D I have a 2nd set of 17's that I'll use for track tyres. And, BMW's burn oil, they don't drop it. I'll just fill it up when I get fuel. 😂

 

Dose Pipe Sutututu Grand Master

Dose Pipe Sutututu

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, PranK said:

This is not the BMW bashing topic!!

Don't worry brah, I heart BMW too.

On the fence between stripping the R33 shit box, adding a bit of cash and getting either a M2/3/4

  • Like 1
Kinkstaah Grand Master

Kinkstaah

Posted
Posted
54 minutes ago, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

Don't worry brah, I heart BMW too.

On the fence between stripping the R33 shit box, adding a bit of cash and getting either a M2/3/4

How much would the BMW have cost you if it did what the R33 did?
(Sorry for BMW bashing)

Dose Pipe Sutututu Grand Master

Dose Pipe Sutututu

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Kinkstaah said:

How much would the BMW have cost you if it did what the R33 did?
(Sorry for BMW bashing)

If I binned a BMW motor, I would probably just set the car alight, call it quits in the car scene and then buy a hybrid Camry

admS15 Grand Master

admS15

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

Don't worry brah, I heart BMW too.

On the fence between stripping the R33 shit box, adding a bit of cash and getting either a M2/3/4

Have you seen what r33's are currently going for with covid tax and yes they are changing hands. If you want to get rid of it, now is the time. Bang a second hand motor in it and send it on.

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