I will hopefully be doing my first track day soon. I am looking into a reasonably priced R compound tire to run at the track. Any suggestions are welcome. Also how many of you run your street tires at HPDEs -Thanks

 

You can get Nitto R2's for all 4 corners from Discount Tire for about $ 930 US IIRC. Im buying a set of these next month. Most guys love them.

 

the Nittos would be a very good choice

 

Nitto Nt-01s are about the best deal out there. Send me a PM

 

In all seriousness, run your street tires your first time or two. Chances are highly likely that their grip exceed your current skill level...

 

Ya, is this your first HPDE? If so, then street tires will be all you need. Some say that they are more forgiving as well, so you can learn how take a tire to its limits. I really liked my Kumho MXs, pretty sticky for a street tire. I ran them for like 4-5 weekends with daily driving before they are done.

R-compunds are very fun when you get some experience. However, they also wear a LOT faster. Twice the fun, and half the life

If its not your first HPDE, then I'd love to hear what people like as well I ran the Kumho V710s last year and after a few laps they got pretty greasy. As I got to the fast point in my run they were over temp. So, still searching and still learning.

 

first DE? street tires for your first 10 DEs or HPDEs.

Most clubs will now allow R compounds on ppl with less then 10 DEs anyway.

 

I've run both the NT-01 and the 555R2, both nice tires. The 555 has less overall grip and is a better street tire. Both of them make noise at the limit and don't give up traction suddenly. The NT-01 isn't a good dual purpose tire (if you only have one set of rims), it throws a ton of rocks up on your fenders, wears out fairly quickly (if you street them) and isn't the best in the rain.

But I have to echo the other comments - street tires are a better choice when first starting out. They have advantages - you can reach their limits (and yours) at lower speeds so if you make a mistake its not as bad. They also make a lot of noise and are usually very progressive when they start to loose traction. R- comps cover up to many mistakes for the learning process - they make you feel like you are superman because you can keep up with some of the better drivers but the reality is they are covering up for a novice's lack of skill and experience. Learning to know the car's limits, knowing how to handle slides, oversteer, understeer, etc is all part of the learning process and R-comps, because of their grip, don't let you learn that until you reach speeds far higher than you should. Also they are harder on brakes, you need to upgrade your brakes or you will quickly toast the stock pads and fluid. My soapbox...YMMV.

 

Ditto on the advice about not getting R compound tires if this really is your first ever track experience. You want the feedback from your street tires when you are starting out. They are more forgiving and let you know before they let go. R compound tires will just let go, and that's it, you are off the track.

More important than R compound tires, you want to have a good helmet, and if possible a harness bar and good set of belts, with a racing seat, and a HANS device, before you put a set of slicks on the car. With slicks, you will run at higher speed, and more g-force in the corners, and if you let go, you could be looking at a serious crash. Wearing a helmet with a regular seat belt is a recipe for a broken neck.

Before you worry about tires, be sure you have the best safety equipment you can in the car, and that means a proper seat, racing harnesses and HANS.

 

If you have run stickies successfully in a past life, ignore the below. If not, and this is your first DE in the 'vette, read on.

I ran street tires for the first year I did DEs. The group I run with recently made a rule that the lower two ranks of drivers could not use a tire with a wear rating under 100. It makes sense.

The reason for this is because while R comps are great within their heat profile, they suck outside that. Thus, you want to be able to turn consistent, fast laps before making the transition. If you can run the same lap pretty well session after session, then it's time to move up to the stickies. Second, R comps provide less aural and tactile feedback than street tires. Or rather, less tactile feedback until you learn to feel them through the wheel and your seat.

While learning you want increased feedback, to figure out where the edge of the traction circle is. Until then, enjoy the increased feedback and scream of the streets as you corner. It's a blast!

 

It will likely be more than 10 events before you will get close to needing stickier tires.