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      04-24-2011, 08:42 PM   #1
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After 10K miles, time for new tires...

It's been 10k miles and my Continental Extreme Contact DW tires are about gone. I have one more track weekend in May and that will do them in. NCCAR is easy on brakes but hard on tires.....

I put them on in August of last year, drive the car almost everyday (55+ miles round trip) and have done five track weekends (10 days for those who won't count ). Current tire size is 235/40 & 265/35 on stock wheels.

I have approx. 4/32" on tread left. 2/32 until I hit the wear bars.

Even with -2.5' of camber in the front and -2.0' of camber in the rear, the wear across the tire is almost uniform. At most 1/32 less tread depth on the inner sides of the tires. I have been expecting more inner tire wear due to the camber. Wear between the front and rear tires are almost identical also.

Since I have not figured out how to take four 'track wheels' with me, I have to keep driving with what I came with.

I originally bought the Cont's primarily because the wet weather handling was almost as good as dry handling. I find myself always driving my truck when it is going to rain so that requirement has been lessened. I guess my original self assessment was flawed when setting up the requirements.....

Now to open up a can of worms and I am looking for opinions, plus I am increasing the size this time to 245/40 and 275/35.

My options are:
Stay with the Conti DW. $906
Switching to the StarSpec, but I don't like that move since they will wear out faster than the Conti's. $944

Currently also looking at these:
Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110. $640
VREDESTEIN Ultrac Sessanta. $825
General Exclaim UHP. $660
Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy tires. $750

The Firehawks caught my eye. Their performance is damn near identical to the DW, except in price.

I would love a set of the new Michelin's but $1300 for tires that I have to replace every 8 to 12 months is just not appealing..

I also have to buy a set of tires for the Roadster also.. Expensive week that will be.....
I have a little bit of time and a lot of research to do. Let the flames begin.

Last edited by Shipkiller; 04-24-2011 at 09:00 PM..
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      04-24-2011, 09:00 PM   #2
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2006 Z4 3.0si  [8.50]
Look into Michelin Pilot Super Sport. They are supposed to last.
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      04-26-2011, 12:35 AM   #3
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Ship...Do you have pictures of those 235/40 & 265/35 on stock wheels? Any issues? If you do decide to go with 245/40 and 275/35 on stock wheels, please provides some feedback on that setup as well (pictures would greatly be appreciated as well). I'm considering going wider (but on stock rims) on my next set of tires as well. Thanks.
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      04-26-2011, 09:05 AM   #4
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I have a thread from Aug that shows the then new tires 235/245 on my stock wheels.

There have been zero fitment issues with that size.
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      04-26-2011, 10:56 AM   #5
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Ship, have you considered Nitto NT05s?

235/40ZR18 XL 95W B
265/35ZR18 XL 97W B

~840 shipped (depends on location)from discounttiredirect (for some reason Tirerack doesn't carry these).

There's a pretty good discussion on this tire (and other options) in this wheel thread. From what I've read, the Nittos would be an upgrade from the Contis for the track and are more equivalent to the Star Specs. Looks like they have the right fitment for 10 mm wider on the stock wheels too.

If a good amount of the wear/use expected in on the track, and you drive the truck in the cold/wet anyway, I'd lean towards tires that have a compound and tread pattern more equipped to deal with the stresses of track driving (and hold up under those conditions) and which will give better performance on the track as well. The only downside to a tire like the NT05 or Star Spec is that they are absolutely not to be used in the cold/wet (by cold I mean 40 degrees or under).

The Ventus and Vredstein have a large amount of tread squirm until they're decently worn (lots of review on these.) Looking at the tread pattern on the Firehawk, it looks designed for wet traction more than track work (it has tiny little tread blocks) and is a performance all-season tire, not something that is probably well suited to track work (like an Extreme Summer Performance Tire). UHP has tiny tread blocks as well, soft sidewalls, and poor cornering grip (from reviews).

Some tires may be cheaper initially, but if they end up chunking or melting (and getting greasy) on the track, then that is going to both cut down on the fun and also end up costing as well. It's kind of about using the right tool for the job IMO--but that's just my point of view, YMMD.

Last edited by Finnegan; 04-26-2011 at 11:21 AM..
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      04-26-2011, 11:07 AM   #6
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^

Just got Nitto NT05 installed, can't wait to see just how sticky they are
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      04-26-2011, 01:18 PM   #7
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I also daily NT05s and love em, work great on the track as well, especially for the price. Don't be scared of the camber, I've found that as long as my toe is in check camber wear hasn't been a problem.
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      04-26-2011, 09:18 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shipkiller View Post
It's been 10k miles and my Continental Extreme Contact DW tires are about gone. I have one more track weekend in May and that will do them in. NCCAR is easy on brakes but hard on tires.....

I put them on in August of last year, drive the car almost everyday (55+ miles round trip) and have done five track weekends (10 days for those who won't count ). Current tire size is 235/40 & 265/35 on stock wheels.

I have approx. 4/32" on tread left. 2/32 until I hit the wear bars.

Even with -2.5' of camber in the front and -2.0' of camber in the rear, the wear across the tire is almost uniform. At most 1/32 less tread depth on the inner sides of the tires. I have been expecting more inner tire wear due to the camber. Wear between the front and rear tires are almost identical also.

Since I have not figured out how to take four 'track wheels' with me, I have to keep driving with what I came with.

I originally bought the Cont's primarily because the wet weather handling was almost as good as dry handling. I find myself always driving my truck when it is going to rain so that requirement has been lessened. I guess my original self assessment was flawed when setting up the requirements.....

Now to open up a can of worms and I am looking for opinions, plus I am increasing the size this time to 245/40 and 275/35.

My options are:
Stay with the Conti DW. $906
Switching to the StarSpec, but I don't like that move since they will wear out faster than the Conti's. $944

Currently also looking at these:
Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110. $640
VREDESTEIN Ultrac Sessanta. $825
General Exclaim UHP. $660
Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy tires. $750

The Firehawks caught my eye. Their performance is damn near identical to the DW, except in price.

I would love a set of the new Michelin's but $1300 for tires that I have to replace every 8 to 12 months is just not appealing..

I also have to buy a set of tires for the Roadster also.. Expensive week that will be.....
I have a little bit of time and a lot of research to do. Let the flames begin.

You should reallly consider the Yokohama AD08. Its the fastest tire on the track on tirerack test and I can attest to its speed! It brought me a first place finish during a timeattack last summer. I drove that tire all the way up from NJ to Toronto, destroyed that time attack and then drove all the way home on them. They performed perfectly! The wear has been outstanding too. These have wore way better then the Bridgestone RE050A Pole Position, contisports and PS1's. The only tire I have tried to have near the great wear characteristics is the Bridgestone RE-01R/RE-11. I actually think tires of the extreme performane class (AD-08, RE-01R, RE-11, Starspec) wear better for guys like us that track. In my thinking most of the wear for guys like us that track these tire comes from the track and not the street driving. The extreme performance tires hold up better under track driving since they are designed for it. I find them very easy to drive in the wet track/street and have no problems with them under 40 degrees. I have had them in the wet and mid 30s and they really where not a whole lot worse then the PS2
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Last edited by F360C; 04-26-2011 at 09:27 PM..
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      04-27-2011, 06:57 PM   #9
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Hey Ship,

I can't remember how you got your additional camber up front--did you pull the pins or did you shim? I'm shimmed to -2.75, and I really like how the car turns in, but...

I plan to go to 245s on stock wheels up front soon, and I'm worried about clearance between the inner sidewall and the strut, as it seems pretty tight already with the 225s, courtesy of the shims altering the angle at which the kingpin bolts to the strut. I need to find a four post lift to get it in the air to see what it looks like with the suspension compressed, but in the meantime, I was wondering what you think about your clearance. (I guess if you added the camber at the top of the strut, rather than shimming, the issue doesn't exist.)

Thanks

FG
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      04-27-2011, 07:06 PM   #10
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I used the Turner shim kit but I left the alignment pins in for a reference point. So I have -2.48 (just had the car aligned...). I could go more but it's a daily driver....

With this extra camber and my 235/40's up front, I do not have any clearance issues.

I would go out and measure for you tomorrow but I have to be on a flight to Mayport, FL in the AM. Be back on Monday...

I am currently also researching the new Michelin Super PS or what ever they are called. I really don't want to spend that kind of cash on this but.... it is getting tempting... we shall see..
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      04-27-2011, 07:40 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MFGJR View Post
I plan to go to 245s on stock wheels up front soon, and I'm worried about clearance between the inner sidewall and the strut, as it seems pretty tight already with the 225s, courtesy of the shims altering the angle at which the kingpin bolts to the strut. I need to find a four post lift to get it in the air to see what it looks like with the suspension compressed, but in the meantime, I was wondering what you think about your clearance. (I guess if you added the camber at the top of the strut, rather than shimming, the issue doesn't exist.)
I run 245/40R18 NT05s up front with about -2.5 camber shimmed with no issues. Granted, I'm on 8.5ET35 wheels, but it's only +1mm inside clearance. I'm betting you'll be fine on stock wheels.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Finnegan View Post
Ship, have you considered Nitto NT05s?
If a good amount of the wear/use expected in on the track, and you drive the truck in the cold/wet anyway, I'd lean towards tires that have a compound and tread pattern more equipped to deal with the stresses of track driving (and hold up under those conditions) and which will give better performance on the track as well. The only downside to a tire like the NT05 or Star Spec is that they are absolutely not to be used in the cold/wet (by cold I mean 40 degrees or under).
+2 on the NT05s. Haven't tested them on the track yet but at around $720 shipped at the time, don't think they can be beat for the price. Not to many opportunities to put them to the test around town, but they've felt incredibly planted on off-ramps the few times I took them aggressively. Will report back after this weekend at the track.

Had to drive on a cold rainy day once (around 40 degrees) and by no means did I drive all that aggressively, but they were fine and got me home in one piece.
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      06-05-2011, 07:55 PM   #12
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I was one click away from buying the StarSpecs today but I am now looking at the looking at the NT-05's.

More research to do.
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      06-05-2011, 11:18 PM   #13
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Could you afford a track wheel/tire set up and a more wear/season friendly daily tire? As you know, it's near impossible to have a tire with good wear rating that sticks like glue on the track, and can be driven in suboptimal conditions.

As for your choices, I'm running the star specs and love them. Will give the Nitto's a hard look next time around, esp if I bump up to 19's.
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      06-05-2011, 11:31 PM   #14
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I don't recommend downgrading to Hankook V12s, so that helps a little..
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      06-05-2011, 11:49 PM   #15
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I don't think you can go wrong with either. The Specs in 235/40 and 265/35 have the same width/contact patch as the 245/265 in the Nittos IIRC. The 35/40 profile on the 235/265 also gives about ~2.5% less in diameter than the 245/275 35/40, which gives a bit more torque to the wheels.

But like I said, both are good tires and should serve you well at the track if broken in properly.

Anyone think shaving them down to 6/32" would be beneficial? Better initial traction, less tread squirm/heat, initial tire break-in done? Rcomps are often shaved, but with Extreme Performance tires nearing yesterday's rcomps? If the track is the primary use, then reducing tread squirm and heat while the tire is new would seem to be a benefit. Then again maybe it's overkill and uneccesary.
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      06-06-2011, 04:51 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jdl1pt View Post
Could you afford a track wheel/tire set up and a more wear/season friendly daily tire? As you know, it's near impossible to have a tire with good wear rating that sticks like glue on the track, and can be driven in suboptimal conditions.

As for your choices, I'm running the star specs and love them. Will give the Nitto's a hard look next time around, esp if I bump up to 19's.
Once I figure out how to put a small hitch on the MC without it looking FUBAR, I will do this and get a tire trailer...

Sometime this year, I am taking the car up to a local trailer place and we are going to put the car up on a rack and discuss how to do this. I really want a dedicated set of track wheel/tires... and that's the only way to do it.
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      06-06-2011, 09:58 AM   #17
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      06-06-2011, 01:16 PM   #18
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Well, I ordered a set of NT-05's today. I could not get the 275 size. They are on backorder all over the country and Nitto has not stated when a new production run will commence. Damn

So I stayed with the size I currently have 235/265..

Ordered from Discount Tire. First time I have used them. Price out the door with free shipping was $728.00. I find that very reasonable...

I hope these last more than 10K miles but I am NOT holding my breath...
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      06-06-2011, 02:12 PM   #19
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^I have the same sizes.
Fewer rubbing issues lowered with spacers.
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      06-06-2011, 03:56 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shipkiller View Post
Once I figure out how to put a small hitch on the MC without it looking FUBAR, I will do this and get a tire trailer...

Sometime this year, I am taking the car up to a local trailer place and we are going to put the car up on a rack and discuss how to do this. I really want a dedicated set of track wheel/tires... and that's the only way to do it.
why not tow with your f150...I'd understand if you didn't have a tow vehicle, but the other pro is if something happens while your on track you won;t need AAA
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      06-06-2011, 04:03 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by krnnerdboy View Post
why not tow with your f150...I'd understand if you didn't have a tow vehicle, but the other pro is if something happens while your on track you won;t need AAA
The issue with that is I would have nowhere around the house to park the trailer and finding off site parking would entail more expense than I would like, plus worrying about the trailer...

I am more in keeping this hobby a 'gentleman's game' for now. If I win the lottery or a long lost uncle leaves me with several million, then all bets are off....
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      06-06-2011, 04:07 PM   #22
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have "her" put the track set of wheels/tires in the back of the F150, and follow you to the track. heh
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