Cheap, long lasting track tire?

[Radekxpl]

WTF? 42 sessions is a lot! I have the same tires on with about 15 sessions in and they’re still going strong. If I end up getting as much life out of them that would be a great selling point for these tires. However, they’re nowhere near as fast as the Yoko a052s that I was running before. I managed to get ~35 sessions out of those but past 30 they were getting a bit sketchy

Yea that’s what I thought at first never expected them to last this long. Toward the end they definitely don’t have as much grip as when their at their peak. Don’t have any experience with a052 but they are definitely as fast re71r if not faster easily matched my regular times at tracks I attended prior with re71r some improved alot by but that could be due to getting more familiar with particular venue.


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[Nick_P]

I got 42 sessions out of fz201m’s just ordered second set 😁


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WTF? 42 sessions is a lot! I have the same tires on with about 15 sessions in and they’re still going strong. If I end up getting as much life out of them that would be a great selling point for these tires. However, they’re nowhere near as fast as the Yoko a052s that I was running before. I managed to get ~35 sessions out of those but past 30 they were getting a bit sketchy

[Radekxpl]

Damn, that is not fun. Sounds like they know how to avoid giving you a refund or new tires. Ive been looking at the Federal fz-201 Mediums after reading your comment. Seems like I can get them for 744 shipped to my door at the moment. Thats only 170 dollars more then the Rs-RR I ran for 3 years at ~$600. Probably the direction ill be headed. With 2/3 other members quoting ~36 sessions on them, they seem to be the right choice for me.... I hope.

I got 42 sessions out of fz201m’s just ordered second set 😁


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[Jersey_M3]

Short-ish version is yes, but it got a bit ridiculous (they obviously don't want to just replace them for free). I dealt with a distributor who shipped the originals to my house and then I took them loose with wheels to a local tire shop. Had to work via the distributor as middle man in the process, after a bit of a runaround I dropped it. They wanted write ups and pictures from shops to measure the tire condition, proof of latest alignment after the delamination, inspection of any recent collision/body work, inspection and condition of control arms/bushings/suspension components, etc. It became a real pain in the rear. Guys who installed the tires and did the tire condition write up were super friendly, but said they rarely see these warranty claims succeed. Also told me not to mention track time (that claim would have gotten thrown out without any consideration), because these are dot street tires, so where in the f would I be driving like that on the streets (with -3 degrees camber) to cause that delamination, etc.

All this said, have a friend running those tires for several years and he loves them for the price. Maybe I had a bad batch, but i moved on.

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Damn, that is not fun. Sounds like they know how to avoid giving you a refund or new tires. Ive been looking at the Federal fz-201 Mediums after reading your comment. Seems like I can get them for 744 shipped to my door at the moment. Thats only 170 dollars more then the Rs-RR I ran for 3 years at ~$600. Probably the direction ill be headed. With 2/3 other members quoting ~36 sessions on them, they seem to be the right choice for me.... I hope.

[mrgizmo04]

Wow. Did you try and replace them under warranty?

Short-ish version is yes, but it got a bit ridiculous (they obviously don't want to just replace them for free). I dealt with a distributor who shipped the originals to my house and then I took them loose with wheels to a local tire shop. Had to work via the distributor as middle man in the process, after a bit of a runaround I dropped it. They wanted write ups and pictures from shops to measure the tire condition, proof of latest alignment after the delamination, inspection of any recent collision/body work, inspection and condition of control arms/bushings/suspension components, etc. It became a real pain in the rear. Guys who installed the tires and did the tire condition write up were super friendly, but said they rarely see these warranty claims succeed. Also told me not to mention track time (that claim would have gotten thrown out without any consideration), because these are dot street tires, so where in the f would I be driving like that on the streets (with -3 degrees camber) to cause that delamination, etc.

All this said, have a friend running those tires for several years and he loves them for the price. Maybe I had a bad batch, but i moved on.

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[Radekxpl]

What is everyone looking to purchase this season? federal RS-pro looks good and so does the Federal fz-201 Mediums.

Last season I was running fz201 m’s very happy with them got 42 sessions out them which is far more than any other tire like re71r or RT-660 lasted me. I thinking of ordering another set, but they went up in price a bit since last year was able to get 285 set for $700 now it’s closer to $900


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[eacmen]

RS PRO didn't do so hot for me https://youtu.be/MRISkltfBwQ

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Wow. Did you try and replace them under warranty?

[mrgizmo04]

What is everyone looking to purchase this season? federal RS-pro looks good and so does the Federal fz-201 Mediums.

RS PRO didn't do so hot for me https://youtu.be/MRISkltfBwQ

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[Jersey_M3]

What is everyone looking to purchase this season? federal RS-pro looks good and so does the Federal fz-201 Mediums.

[bigjae46]

That's interesting about the NT01s cycling out before they cord. That's the opposite of what I've heard as conventional wisdom, and the couple of times I ran NT01s they were good down to the cords as well.

The Pro3 racing guys up here run RRs as their spec tire, so for my E30 I have no shortage of cheap scrubs. $100/set is not bad at all.

I’ve always been faster on fresh NT01s.

My car is 2900lbs with driver and 1/2 tank. I used to just cord NT01s with mostly consistent pace at 3100-3200lbs. Only recently since I’ve added aero and got down to 2900 lbs that I’ve had the heat cycling issue.

I let my buddy run the last set once they get bald and he corded them in 2 sessions.


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[r4dr]

That's interesting about the NT01s cycling out before they cord. That's the opposite of what I've heard as conventional wisdom, and the couple of times I ran NT01s they were good down to the cords as well.

The Pro3 racing guys up here run RRs as their spec tire, so for my E30 I have no shortage of cheap scrubs. $100/set is not bad at all.

[bigjae46]

Long term update on the RRs...

The RRs were heat cycled. My alignment specs are -3.8F and -3.0R for camber, zero toe up front, .07 toe in at the rear.

I have 19 sessions or heat cycles, 171 laps at 3 tracks and 382 miles on them so far. I think the tires started falling off noticeably a little bit the last day. Maybe a .5 to 1 sec during the last 2 heat cycles. By falling off, I DO NOT mean it's like driving on ice. I started noticing I couldn't trail brake any deeper when the day before I knew I could. And the data shows the car wouldn't accelerate as quickly. It is a slight difference, kind of hard to tell. Without data, might not even really notice until new tires are thrown on.

I run 275/40R17s. Cost for the NT01s is $1150. I typically get 4.5 weekends out of the NT01s. At that point, the tread is smooth and the grip is fallen off by 2 seconds per lap, started out at 1:42 per lap when new. I haven't corded an NT01 in 2 years...they just get to the point of garbage.

Cost for the RRs was $1300 incl tax and heat cycling. The tread is still in good shape. I can still see the two grooves in all of the tires, I think I can get at least 2 more days out of them. Maybe 4 days if I run them all the way to the cords. The wear pattern is the same as what I get on the NT01s with the same alignment specs except a little more toe in at the rear with the NT01. If I can get a full 4 weekends out them, I'd be happy. 5 weekends with the last weekend having decent grip...these will be my new tire for sure.

NT01 - $255 per weekend
RR - $260 per weekend

About the same cost - more grip from the start and then will likely be the same at the end assuming 5 decent weekends.

[F1Dryvr]

I have found the R888Rs get super greasy ~15 minutes into the session.

Ive experienced this but its usually the hottest session of the day(2pm) and cooling off a couple laps and its good again. I do like their level of grip and apart from the hottest conditions i find them quite consistent over a session. I want to try the nto1s though they now have a 265/40 which i think ill try when they come off back order.

I have a question,....my R888Rs are about 4 years old now, probably have 12-14 track days total on them and minimal street driving just for shakedowns. I only get to the track 2-3 times a year and they have plenty of rubber left on them. Does anyone consider a shelflife for track tires irrespective of use/wear, assuming theres plenty of rubber left? I always take the wheels off the car and deflate to 15 psi during downtimes.( i heard this was a good thing to do)

How long would u keep (for track use) a set of tires for?

[foolio]

I know I said I would report back after running the Maxxis RC1 R2 tires at my home track, Putnam Park. We had good weather albeit a little cool but that worked out ok because my prior time at Putnam Park the weather was similar and I set my PB on my preferred NT01s. All in all, I find them very similar but a tick slower. I was also instructing this particular weekend so having a student in the car probably hurt my times a little. Perhaps a session alone I could have equaled the NT01’s. They were that close. I could only get within a second of my PB on the Maxxis. My consistency was very good lap after lap (when I didn’t hit traffic) being within a second of each other. I can’t yet speak for longevity but the wear seems really good so far. They did seem to “talk” a little less than the NT01’s but weren’t so silent that I couldn’t get feedback. Of course, my Bimmerworld race exhaust doesn’t help when it comes to hearing the tires . They didn’t *feel* slower but the times were not up where I wanted them. All in all, I would get these again provided they wear well. I will look forward to getting some NT01’s though next time I need tires. I have two sets of wheels but now I have these R888Rs that I need to burn through before I get more NT01’s. Not of big fan of the Toyos for my driving preference but they do seem to be a good consistent tire…just not quite on the same level as the Maxxis or NT01’s in terms of lap times.

[SQ13]

I hated my Federal FZ-201Ms. Currently have Accelera 651s in both 100 and 200 TW. The 200s are faster than the Federals I had at COTA (IME). They’re okay…I have no experience using other 200TW tires on my M3, but these didn’t feel great and increased my braking distances. My complaints with the 200TW 651s are probably strictly due to the fact that they’re 200TW tires, which just aren’t as sticky as the tires I’m used to using. I’ll be using the 100TW 651s at COTA in Dec and will report back.

Out of all the tires I’ve used on track, I still think NT01s are the best, followed by NS-2Rs. Tire prices suck these days and I’m scared to see what a set of 275/35R18s will cost me when I’m ready for more rubber.