I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __Tyres
Hi, I have a ND 2.0 with 17" wheels which will be used for Sunday blasts, road trips and a few track days per year.
Looking for recommendations for a new set of tyres to do all of the above. I don’t really want to be swapping between two sets of wheels.
I had NS2R’s on a previous NC model used primarily for the track but as the car is now more road biased I guess these may not be ideal for wet road use?
Current short list are PS4, Conti C6 or Goodyear F1 A5.
Interested in what thoughts you good people might have?
Are the MRF tyre used for MX5 racing suitable for the road? Or are they just too soft? There performance seems to be very good and they look to last reasonably well in the race series.
I’m considering them for the same purpose as my ND only gets driven when the weather is dry. Their 205/45 R17 size has an “A” wet grip rating for its EU label however, this rating seems to be specifically for braking in the wet only.
A less hardcore option is the Yokohama Advan Neova AD08RS which replaced the AD08R for EU compliancy. Unfortunately, the changes have made them worse than the AD08R such as having less grip and making more screeching/squealing noises. Interestingly, the AD08RS has a “B” wet grip rating for the same size.
Forgot to mention a non-Yokohama alternative which are the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Connect tyres in 215/45 R17. Unfortunately, that’s the smallest size they offer. It seems these tyres are more suited for heavier/larger cars as other ND owners have reported difficulties getting the non-Connect tyres warm even on the track let alone on the road.
I would go for 215/45 slightly cheaper than 205. I’ve run Cup2s and it’s difficult indeed to get them up to working temperature unless its a hot day and tarmac. For a road tyre you should get an A wet rated tyre and ive gone for PS4 this time and a few track forays are planned.
This type of requirement comes up a lot. It is always a concern to me when someone states that they want to drive on the road have good or decent wet performance and do a number of track days. The main issue comes from the reack days. You should be getting 2 hours driving out of a track day even if there are a number of red flags and 3 hours is not by any means impossible. That average race meeting is only a hour and 20 minutes at most so 3 race meetings would only be 2 track days or 1 and a half at the higher end. So the first bit is don’t go looking for a tyre to do too much unless you don’t really stress them.
The MRF tyre mentioned is the tyre of choice for the MK4 cars in the Mazda Motorsport race series and is the tyre on the car in the last STHT and in the back of the calendar. It holds class lap records at Silverstone and Oulton Park and is easily as fast as AO52 and will be more consistent.
@NickD, I know the tyre will be a compromise given the multi-tasking it has to do. I don’t mind losing a second or two on track as long as the tyre won’t completely melt. I am assuming I’d struggle to get a semi-slick up to temp in normal road use?
Just don’t want to get a generically highly-rated UHP road tyre that doesn’t work well with light cars.
It’s not that you struggle to get tyres to temperature, most will give you totally adequate grip for road driving. However, more to the point, if you are attempting to get circuit tyres to their proper operating temperatures on the road, you shouldn’t be on the road.
The other point I am making is people’s life expectancy of a tyre given the work they want to do with it.
I changed the underwhelming Bridgestones on my ND Sport Nav for Pilot Sport 4s . A significant improvement in every respect and a night and day improvement in the wet . I will be buying the same again.
