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irishandy
08-03-2012, 23:47
Hi All, Im new to track days - got my first one in a few weeks time and i'm very exsited!

I own a 1995 Clio Williams 2 which apart from an exhaust and filter is standard including the tyres.

I was thinking as I my be attending a few track days this year - would it be worth and beneficial to buy some track/road tyres such as Federal FZ-201s?

Cheers, Andrew
:)

16v_paddy
09-03-2012, 00:06
Oh hell yes! Well worth every penny, the difference they make is actually scary :twisted:

My advice is to get a spare set of wheels & buy used semi-slicks like R888's, yokohama A048's or AD08's things like that. Keep an eye out on ebay & the motorsports parts section of the classifieds on pistonheads. I just got a pair of still road legal R888's for £50 delivered on PH 8) New you're looking at at least £100 per tyre in 195/50/15

As an example, I've got it on good authority when R888's have 1mm of tread left on them, they're still good for 2 - 3 track days & that's from a guy that uses them on a volvo estate.
I bought a pair back in 2010 that were not quite road legal and I will be doing my 5th track day on them in a couple of weeks, they'll be ready for the bin afterwards tho :lol:

irishandy
09-03-2012, 00:15
Hi 16v_paddy, I thought track tyres would and should make a big difference!

how about these on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251010896265?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_2923wt_1398

I will be keeping an eye out for some R888 or equivalent tyres over the next few days.

Is there anything else I should get for a track day?

16v_paddy
09-03-2012, 00:54
To me, they seem way too expensive for my liking, but I'm a tight git :lol: You also need to take into consideration some circuits might not let you use slicks (don't know if it applies to cut slicks though :? ) unless you've got a roll cage

Can get R888's very cheap http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l2736&_nkw=r888+195+50+15

have a look under completed listings to get an idea what they go for
http://www.ebay.co.uk/csc/i.html?_nkw=r888%20195%2050%2015&_clu=2&_dlg=1&LH_PrefLoc=0&LH_Complete=1

stevie_b
09-03-2012, 09:37
would it be worth and beneficial to buy some track/road tyres such as Federal FZ-201s?


Decent tyres will certainly benefit your lap times, but that isn't really what a track day is about. They can last better than ordinary road tyres would in such a situation, so they can work out cheaper to run on track too. I've got R888s and would recommend them if you are looking for a set of track-biased tyres, but as Paddy says the best idea is to buy a spare set of wheels and fit the track tyres to them so that you can run them below the legal limit and get more use out of them without worrying about driving the car home afterwards with tread below the legal limit (you are not planning on trailering the Williams, I presume?)

If it is your first track day I'd be inclined to just leave it exactly as it is initially. If you decide you are hooked (highly likely!) then you'll have a much better idea of what areas will need your budget allocated and whether investing in an extra set of track wheels and tyres is going to get regular use. You might find that there are weak parts of the car highlighted by the stresses of track use that need money spending to bring them up to scratch - brakes, cooling system, worn suspension, etc. before spending on a spanky set of tyres!

stevie_b
09-03-2012, 11:19
Is there anything else I should get for a track day?

The following could come in handy, not all of great importance but are on my 'packing list':

- Umbrella. Tracks are generally pretty remote places and when the heavens open it is handy to be able to get to the nearest building without getting soaked to the skin!
- Small pop-up tent. Mine cost less than a tenner - somewhere to keep all your kit so you don't have it banging around in the back of the car when you are out on track. Needs to be one of the ones that don’t need pegging in to hold them up as most of the places you will be parking are solid concrete.
- Jerry cans of fuel. I like to run my car fairly low on fuel so having more to put in saves having to pay the high prices at the track petrol station (if it has one) or leaving the circuit to refuel. If you arrive with a full tank you might not need these to last out the day.
- Helmet. A cheap motorbike one will do for track days but if you are buying a new one it could be worth buying one that will also cover you for motorsport with the correct Snell approvals, etc.
- Carton of oil for top ups. You might find the car burns a bit of oil on a track day, or springs a leak, and having some to keep it above the min level at all times could come in handy!
- Tyre pressure gauge. Tyre pressures will rise on track and you will need a gauge to be able to reset them to your chosen settings
- Pump. For replacing air removed during the track day so that you can drive home on tyres that are the correct pressure once cool.
- Driving licence. Easy to forget and most track days request that you bring it, although I have never had it checked, but just in case there is a first time!
- Trolley jack. If you plan to swap tyres/wheels to track ones then you’ll need a jack. Even if you don’t plan on swapping the wheels it could come in handy if you need to work on the car!
-Tools. A decent socket set could come in handy and some screwdrivers. You don’t get any money back if you drop out of a track day part of the way through so if you have a few tools you might be able to fix a minor problem and get back out there.
- Gaffer tape. Useful for ‘fixing’ things ;-) If you get black-flagged for bodywork issues you can usually solve it with tape!
- Spare brake pads. You can probably skip these if you know your pads are almost new. If they are pretty worn you could easily wear them out on a track day and continuing to run with pads down to their backing plates will knacker your discs and cause you more expense to replace afterwards.

irishandy
09-03-2012, 11:53
I do tend to jump in to things full force and did wonder if buying the track tyres on my first track day was a bit to enthusiastic! but i just know im
going to love it! and yes I will be driving the 40 minute journey to the track in the Williams.

Got a helmet bought that over a year ago now - but its taken 2 years to get my Williams to the stage its at now.

All very useful info Stevie cheers! one more Qs you have mentioned about tyre pressure and this may be a silly Qs but how do you know what the pressure should be for the track ?

fabulicious
09-03-2012, 13:37
Is there anything else I should get for a track day?

The following could come in handy, not all of great importance but are on my 'packing list':

- Umbrella. Tracks are generally pretty remote places and when the heavens open it is handy to be able to get to the nearest building without getting soaked to the skin!
- Small pop-up tent. Mine cost less than a tenner - somewhere to keep all your kit so you don't have it banging around in the back of the car when you are out on track. Needs to be one of the ones that don’t need pegging in to hold them up as most of the places you will be parking are solid concrete.
- Jerry cans of fuel. I like to run my car fairly low on fuel so having more to put in saves having to pay the high prices at the track petrol station (if it has one) or leaving the circuit to refuel. If you arrive with a full tank you might not need these to last out the day.
- Helmet. A cheap motorbike one will do for track days but if you are buying a new one it could be worth buying one that will also cover you for motorsport with the correct Snell approvals, etc.
- Carton of oil for top ups. You might find the car burns a bit of oil on a track day, or springs a leak, and having some to keep it above the min level at all times could come in handy!
- Tyre pressure gauge. Tyre pressures will rise on track and you will need a gauge to be able to reset them to your chosen settings
- Pump. For replacing air removed during the track day so that you can drive home on tyres that are the correct pressure once cool.
- Driving licence. Easy to forget and most track days request that you bring it, although I have never had it checked, but just in case there is a first time!
- Trolley jack. If you plan to swap tyres/wheels to track ones then you’ll need a jack. Even if you don’t plan on swapping the wheels it could come in handy if you need to work on the car!
-Tools. A decent socket set could come in handy and some screwdrivers. You don’t get any money back if you drop out of a track day part of the way through so if you have a few tools you might be able to fix a minor problem and get back out there.
- Gaffer tape. Useful for ‘fixing’ things ;-) If you get black-flagged for bodywork issues you can usually solve it with tape!
- Spare brake pads. You can probably skip these if you know your pads are almost new. If they are pretty worn you could easily wear them out on a track day and continuing to run with pads down to their backing plates will knacker your discs and cause you more expense to replace afterwards.

Yep, make sure your wheel bearings are in order! Not only did I have one go on me last year but one of the lads from CS in his MK1 had one of his rear ones collapse on him.

16v_paddy
09-03-2012, 13:47
You want to adjust the pressures so that they're pretty much the same as how you prefer them to be on the road. Depending on what circuit you're on, as soon as you do a few laps you should come into the pits & check the pressures as they will have gone up due to the heat built up inside them which will make the car feel out of balance & lead to excessive wear on other parts of the car. I didn't really monitor mine properly on my 1st track day & I broke stuff :oops:

My 1st day was at castle combe, that's mostly a fast clockwise circuit. The tyres on the passenger side of the car took the biggest hammering & the pressures on that side were much higher after a few hot laps so they had to be let down to match the other side. I didn't do a good enough job of doing that & subsequently buggered a cv joint and ball joint on the passenger side of the car, made for a rather "interesting" trip back up the M5 the day after :lol: