Track Stuff

I've bought a Puma 1.7 to use as a daily drive but also at trackdays, i'm looking for advice on what are the best tyres to bung on her.. Also i'm taking i need a different lid to the one i use on bike trackdays?? What else?? all info very gratefully received.. Karl

skid lid is fine for cars no need to buy another. Tyres, I use Toyo Proxy T1Rs and they have been excellent in both the dry and the wet

as above, ive been using T1-R's and there pretty good, especially if your on a budget. if you want to spend a bit more then look at the new Nankang NS2-R there about £65 each for puma fitment and are excellent tyres, slightly softer compound than your average road tyre.

Cheers lads, looks like i'll be wearing the shark bike lid then :wink: as for the tyres, i'll be getting a price for both those locally and will throw the best at it.. Hoping to be out on track september/october once my holidays are out the way..

T1R's here as well, seemed good in dry on combe, just check you can get in car with crash helmet on

if you have the recaro's its easier as they sit a couple of inches lower.

i'm currently looking for a millie interior, recaro's and door cards in good condition.. so if you see any for sale point them this way please :wink:

karlc145 said:

i'm currently looking for a millie interior, recaro's and door cards in good condition.. so if you see any for sale point them this way please :wink:

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I got my set free.......... just need a bit of work

lucky lad haha! i need the lot, got a mint interior in her already but i want recaro's :wink:

T1R's don't give anything like the performance of a proper track day / motorsport tyre on a dry track - I'd even recommend trackday tyres over T1Rs in damp conditions - better off with decent road tyres if theres a lot of standing water on track though.

For decent track day tyres - look at Yokohama A032R's, A048R's, Toyo R888's, Avon ZZR's, Dunlop DZ03G's, possibly Nankang NS-2R's in the softer compound.

Ziggy said:

T1R's don't give anything like the performance of a proper track day / motorsport tyre on a dry track - I'd even recommend trackday tyres over T1Rs in damp conditions - better off with decent road tyres if theres a lot of standing water on track though.

For decent track day tyres - look at Yokohama A032R's, A048R's, Toyo R888's, Avon ZZR's, Dunlop DZ03G's, possibly Nankang NS-2R's in the softer compound.

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totally agree any proper trackday tyre/ road legal semi slicks etc will be better, T1R's aren't a lot of cop in the wet, although I find wet trackdays more fun as you get more 'hoon value' at less speed, I prefer driving something right on its limit to get a real feel of fun, rather than something dedicated for track that my talent could never drive properly.

Agreed, I love going out on track when its abit damp and slippy, much more fun and you have to concentrate more to get the best out of the car.

I do agree that any track day tyres is 100% better than a road tyre but when your on a budget like most people are, the specialist tyres can get very expensive! Especially when you wear through them much quicker.

Ive done 4 track days on 1 set of T1-R's now and theres still loads of life left in them, for the money I cant complain at all, I will however be buying some Advan AD08's next.

I did donnington in my Pooma last October.It was a fun car on track but I just needed more power.

I have the Nankang NS-2Rs and they have been a really good tyre so far on the road, going to Croft on the 24th so will report back on how they are on the track. I recently got them at £56 each on ebay brand new (my-tyres summer sale) 195/50/15 and not that more exspensive than T1Rs but a much better tyre

Okay, the guy is on a budget and is using it as a daily, a full set of T1Rs is £150 delivered one single R888 is £120...there is a difference. For the money you cant beat T1Rs and in the wet I was blasting past just about every car on track at Cadwell, a semi slick will be useless in wet weather no matter how much you paid for it, believe me we have tried.

Then again, just back from Oulton on a hot sunny day and the car with proper track tyres competition use only slicks and semi slicks were not a whole lot quicker - a Type R honda was 5 secs a lap quicker but he also has 60 bhp on me our Pumesta on semis was only a second a lap quicker. The main thing is about learning your cars limits and having FUN. Its not a race or a competition.

Yes proper track tyres are good and will improve your lap times but only after you have learnt to drive the car properly, £20 worth of instruction on a track day is worth far more thane a set of track tyres

I don't agree that semi-slicks are useless in the wet Noob. I used my AO48's at Brands on half/half day, ie it was dry to start then the heavens opened and we had a real downpour. When I went back on track the tyres were still awesome. Yes, they were still hot and as they cooled down into the evening they got slippier but when hot they were great in the wet.

T1Rs it is then.. :wink:

I'll defer to your experience with semi slicks in the wet Scott, our experience was at Cadwell where is rained all day long and no one could get any heat into them, I can see if you can get them warmed up they may have some benefit but we ran some R888's on the Pumesta in the dry, hot day at Oulton and although it was quicker, there wasnt that much difference - then again towards the end of the day I had really got my lap times down and was pushing the limits so the Pumesta was just keeping up

How about some R1R's as a compromise ?

Grrr.... all these opinions are making it even harder for me to make a decision on which track day only tyres i should purchase!

Someone needs to help me out! i need a new set of boots for my first trackday (Cadwell 1st October) :?:

Simple terms...

If your on a budget and use your car daily as well as on the track then go for some T1R's you really wont need anything more.

If you use your car on track mainly but still like to get out on the road in it then throw a set of Nankang NS2-R's at it, they are great tyres and you can get a set for about £240 so not mega money.

If your car is nothing but track use then buy the best you can afford, R888's, Advans, Pilot sport's. what ever your budget allows.

There is no right or wrong answer to this as I promise you once your on track you wont care what tyres your on! Just concentrate on making the most of whats underneath you.

My personal advice would be start from the bottom, use some normal road tyres, the T1R's are a great starting point, learn the basics of track driving, its a frightening experience if you've never done it before, spend some money on tuition then move up to a more track focused tyre that way you'll feel where your faster and how much benefit you'll get from it.

As I say to everyone that asks me why my puny little puma is faster than there big power car round a track...... If you cant drive fast with 130bhp, 300bhp wont do you any favors!