Tyres & suspension

[ziplobb]

Just after some thoughts on the following

 

Have a 1.8 Roadsport on Avon ZZ3 - want grippier tyres for tracks and non wet road use (1500 miles a year max) and am thinking about going for Toyo 888 (not the soft compound) on the standard 14 inch rims in 185/60 - anyone had any experience ?

 

next thing is should I be running the standard geometry settings or can I tweak anything for the track ?

 

At this stage I do not want to change suspension or wheel size as I lack experience and want to get some more track days under my belt.

 

thanks

Jai

 

Come to Wighblat 08 and have a slice of my birthday cake

[Neil_K]

I have the 14" R888's on mine after ditching the original Avons. They're fantastic

 

Steve at Simply Tyres is your man - do a search and you'll find lots of good reviews

 

Where am I?

[oldbutnotslow]

jai, there are other tyres that will give you more grip than the ZZ3 Avons ie CR500 or Yoko 48 but they wont have the wet grip that you current tyres have. The ZZ3 is an excellent tyre and gives excellent wet and dry grip. They will be more than capable of doing what you will initially be capable of doing on a track.

 

Before you start changing things and getting sticky tyres etc. I believe that the best advice that I can give would be to get 3 or 4 sessions of professional instruction on track. We are almost without exception the weakest part of the car and driver package. Spend your money on improving your skills before you start on the car. You will be surprised at just how capable the standard set up is!

 

Then and only then start on the car. Better brake pads mean that you can get around a lap faster followed by tyres but don't forget that if you have a wet sump you should consider an apollo tank if you are serious about track days.

 

Driver improvement 1st ...... Car improvement 2nd.

 

Grant Taylor - OBNS Motorsport

😬 183 BHP of Black and 'Stone Chip'. YBNS VX Classic. 😬

 

[CageyH]

An interesting point of view.

I agree on the driver training is required before major steps are done on the car.

I disagree about the tyres. For everyday use, I would want something like A021 or CR500 tyres, so I could make effective use of the brakes when I needed to.

 

Only dead fish go with the flow....!

[ziplobb]

thanks for the info

 

the point with the tyres really is that the ZZ3 certainly on the front need replacing so I thought now would be a good time. The driver training issue is very valid & a group of us hired Goodwood recently including 2 instructors - we are doing that again in February but I would like to replace my tyres before then hence the opinions sought.

 

With regard to braking - it obviously means that tyre effects this - I had 21s on my red xflow car but I never tracked that so dont have a comparison.

 

Come to Wighblat 08 and have a slice of my birthday cake

[Ivaan]

I second Niel's post.

 

I've just changed from Avon ZV1's to Toyo R888's, on standard caterham suspension setup. Huge difference...........LOADS more grip. 😬 😬 In dry and damp conditions.

 

Again, great service from Steve at Simply Tyres. *thumbup*

 

If you have a K series car without an Apollo or dry sump, I suggest you fit one to protect the engine against oil surge/starvation. Definitely a higher risk with better tyres.

 

Clive