wanted: opinions on dual-use tire setup

[rs911t]

Generally, from those with another daily driver that are active DE participants with their p-cars. Have you opted for different track tires or found a compromise you run all the time? In my case, the car is already fairly stiff (22/28 tbars and RSR shocks), is an occassional driver and I tend to drive in a "spirited" fashion most all the time. So, I'm inclined to go with a track oriented tire 24/7. I'm curious what others do...

Thanks

[gchappel]

I tried running yoko A032's on the track and on the street. They are, imho, a decent compromise track tire. I did not like them as a street tire, however. They were LOUD- and if there was any loose material on the road within 50feet of my car, the tires would grab it and loudly sling it against the side of my car.
I ended up with several sets of wheels, with track and dedicated street tires. Of coarse, your mileage may vary.

[ted]

With track tires like Hoosiers or Kuhmos I find the car is not enjoyable to drive on the rain grooved freeways. Or in the rain!
I do drive it to the local AX and some P car events.

If I had to drive it on the street more often I'd get a set of street tires to settle the car down on the uneven, grooved and wet roads.

That said I'd rather have 2 sets of rims with race tires, one for practice and a 2nd cherry set for timed runs.

A 3rd set of rims with street tires is a pretty low on the list for me.

[APKhaos]

Jeff,
The best thing to do is to stick to good street tires for your first DE season. There are many threads with version of this core advice from people who have aeons of experience.

Street tires are very communicative - they wil let you know when the limits are approaching. R Compound tires will mask many things [bad for a novice] and have a much finer margin at the limit [more bad for a novice].

Find some good intermediate tires - the yoko AVS in your 15" sizes mat still be available from tirerack, AO32Rs, SO2s, set. Many threads on high performance street tires, and a mess of opinions there.

Be prepared for the very real possibility that you could fry these tires on the track. The potential for flat-spotting, chunking, and other ills is rather high. With that in mind, it may not be a bad idea to have a separate set of wheels & tires anyway. You'll need them as you advance to the higher run groups and graduate to R Compound.

[Randy W]

IMO, If you have to drive a long distance to DE (and do not want to use a trailer or roof rack for separate track tires), then a good compromise R compound tire for a non-daily driver/active DE 911 is the Yokohama AO32R. This tire lasts a long time, resists flat spotting, and can be driven in the rain - just keep hot track pressures under 30psi. If the DE is reasonably close by and you will not be driving in the rain, then a Kuhmo or Hoosier R compound is a better DE tire, but also wears out faster. For example, after six years of DE here in the PNW, I now drive to the track on AO32Rs using a roof rack loaded with Hoosier slicks. Others who have similar cars to yours have found that a street tire is probably not the best choice for DE in the long run, although I agree in principle with the "learning to drive your first year of DE on street tires" idea. AVS Intermediates were great because they were so cheap as a street tire that you could afford to toast these at DE, but unfortunatly they are being phased out. Best of luck and have fun!

[rs911t]

Thanks guys.

As it turns out the car came with two sets of wheels: 5.5x15 chromed steel running Yoko S306's at 205/60 and 6x15 Fuchs mounted with Yoko A032R's at 205/50. It shouldn't come as a surprise I prefer feel of the car when running the A032R's. The others feel really spongy.

So, the other issue (?) is the 206/50 size. Sure, the speedometer and odometer will be off, but I can live with that. Should I be aware of anything else, e.g. differential (stock), gearing (shortened), etc? BTW, I think I may have the original spare. A Dunlop SP 57 in 165HR15. Doesn't look like it's touched pavement and has the shinny, old rubber patina.