03/11/2004 11:56:52 paul64 Hi, I'm new to this game so a simple question to start! I have an MGB that I'm intending to take on the track, and have just purchased some 15x5.5J minilights. I need some tyres and have been told that trackday road legal tyres are available. Has anyone got anysuggestions on type, maufacturer and supplier and any other general advice? Regards Paul

03/11/2004 12:16:20 Rob Bell There a several manufacturers who are now constructing tyres specifically for the trackday market - track tyres that are road legal. The most recent entry is Toyo, with the R888. To look at, they appear stunningly similar to the racing Dunlops... semislicks with a neat tread pattern. From what I've been told, they're pretty good in the wet, and excellent in the dry. The other tyre you could consider are those available from Yokohama. A038s are one - and I think that there may be others to look at. Are you planning on keeping the track tyres on the car permanently, or change them on track day itself? If you are carrying spare tyres, then clearly you have more tyre options - especially if you don't need to be road legal...

03/11/2004 13:07:41 paul64 [QUOTE=Rob Bell]There a several manufacturers who are now constructing tyres specifically for the trackday market - track tyres that are road legal. The most recent entry is Toyo, with the R888. To look at, they appear stunningly similar to the racing Dunlops... semislicks with a neat tread pattern. From what I've been told, they're pretty good in the wet, and excellent in the dry. The other tyre you could consider are those available from Yokohama. A038s are one - and I think that there may be others to look at. Are you planning on keeping the track tyres on the car permanently, or change them on track day itself? If you are carrying spare tyres, then clearly you have more tyre options - especially if you don't need to be road legal...[/QUOTE] Rob, Thanks for the quick reply. I'm keeping the old wires which are in good condition, even if the tyres are a bit ropey, so if I intend to do some high road mileage then I can swap back. But I don't do more than 5000 miles a year and don't intend to take road corners as track corners - I have today reached an age where impressing the girls standing at the telephone box on the corner are long gone!! I envisage that I will keep the new tyres on most of the time. Paul

03/11/2004 14:08:42 Rob Bell Paul, just to clarify - you're going to be putting the track tyres on wheels other than those wires? If you're planning to use wires with modern very high performance tyres, then I suspect that you could overload their design specifications thanks to the significantly greater lateral grip forces that tyres like the R888 are capable of. A road tyre is already capable of 1G+ cornering acceleration... Might be time to invest in a set of centre lock Mini-lites or similar?

03/11/2004 14:11:57 paul64 [QUOTE=Rob Bell]Paul, just to clarify - you're going to be putting the track tyres on wheels other than those wires? If you're planning to use wires with modern very high performance tyres, then I suspect that you could overload their design specifications thanks to the significantly greater lateral grip forces that tyres like the R888 are capable of. A road tyre is already capable of 1G+ cornering acceleration... Might be time to invest in a set of centre lock Mini-lites or similar?[/QUOTE] Don't worry, thats what I've got and at a decent price. Bought 15" mini-lights at the Classic Car show this year at the NEC. Regards Paul

03/11/2004 16:24:43 Alan Brooke Road tyres capable of 1G cornering forces! Blimey where did you get that information from Rob! (chortle). Have a look for 'list 1B' it's the RAC motorsports associations official list of road legal motorsports tyres. They separate tyres into three types which are pretty much defined as; *List 1 or 1A - normal road tyres *List 1B - sticky tread rubber, slick style construction with some tread to make them legal. *Slicks/wets. There are also a couple of remould companies that apply soft tread rubber onto standard tyre carcasses. In rallying there is a 17% rule where the tyre must have a minimum of 17% of tread over its surface area but the lines needn't join up. Technically they might be "road legal" but in practice they are a slick that looks like its been nibbled by mice, presumably those with a fetish. Have a look for Maxsport and Colway

03/11/2004 16:56:28 Rob Bell LOL Alan! :D Perhaps we should post up a list of 1B tyres? I don't have any specific experience with any one of them, but it does at least give you a list to start from Paul. For no particular reason, other than the fact that they're new, I was thinking of going for the R888. For my wheels, they're about a 100 quid per corner...

08/11/2004 10:03:22 JP12 Does anyone have a list of the tyres that are in list 1 (I think this includes 1a and b from earlier years) of the MSA blue book or know of a link that shows what tyres are on the list? Joe

11/11/2004 10:34:29 Rob Bell Joe, I'll look them up for you - but been so busy of late, I've just not had a chance, sorry :(

13/11/2004 12:50:05 Dave Joe, [url="http://www.mgs-on-track.com/index.php?pg=158"]Here [/url]is the appropriate section from the MSA Blue Book. Dave

13/11/2004 17:07:18 JP12 Dave, Thanks mate. I was thinking of doing some sprints or hill climbs but my car would be in a silly class because of the wide wheels and flaired arches, so I am debating whether or not to do it. Think I will get some Yoko A032R's next as I can get them for 56quid each:D Joe

17/11/2004 17:49:44 Rob Bell [QUOTE=JP12]Dave, Thanks mate. I was thinking of doing some sprints or hill climbs but my car would be in a silly class because of the wide wheels and flaired arches, so I am debating whether or not to do it. Think I will get some Yoko A032R's next as I can get them for 56quid each:D Joe[/QUOTE] Go for it Joe - you'll not regret it! :) The MGCC Sprint championship is really friendly, and you're sure to learn loads. As for being competitive - well, don't expect too much in the first year, and you can work on the car to make it class competitive over time :)

05/08/2005 20:56:22 d.breen the zs 180 understeers at the limit and the back is totally planted,,,,,so what you think about putting the toyo 888's on the front and leaving my t1-r's on the rear,,might equal it up nicely,,,,anyone tried anything like that . I just know if i could dial out the understeer my lap times would be better by miles.

10/08/2005 20:08:20 JP12 Dave, Do you get understeer even on initial turn in, or just when you get on the power? Joe

11/08/2005 22:39:49 d.breen well that depends how quick your going doesn't it!!!! i dont get understeer at all on the road,it turns in and follows through superbly ,,however on track im at the limit even having to set the car up slightly before the corner then cut it as tight as possible on the entry and let it run as wide as the track goes on the exit. Even if i had slicks all round it will still understeer first cause its front drive with a big v6 at the front but im thinking extra grip at the front could bring it neutral.

01/03/2006 09:09:26 Tim If you're looking for some sticky tyres at good prices try [url]www.polleymotorsport.co.uk/[/url] I've just bought some Yoko R048's for the rear of the 7 at a VERY good price (£65 ea inc VAT & P&P). Should increase my speeds around the bends:) Tim

04/04/2006 07:53:36 d.breen do you rate them?

04/04/2006 08:45:49 Tim [QUOTE=d.breen]do you rate them?[/QUOTE] Yes, Both Polley Motorsport and the Tyre. The 048's are brilliant after one heat cycle as I found out at Silverstone last Tuesday. :) Tim

04/04/2006 09:56:02 Rob Bell I've requested a quote for the MGF - a set of 4 195/50 R15s - will be interesting to see how the price compares to the Toyo R888 - which are currently selling for about 67 quid a boot for this tyre size... It's a little irritating that A048Rs aren't available for 16" fitment - and the R888 get surprisingly expensive for any profile close to what is required on the F :( Mind you, none of this is as shocking as the cost of replacing the tyres on the ZTT - 18" rims and rather specialist 225/40 profile... It's going to cost the thick end of 500 quid to replace all four tyres on that. Bah. :mad:

06/04/2006 11:15:23 Gti Hi guys, found the site today and it looks quite interesting. We use 216 Gti Cup cars for racing and trackdays, being short of tyres at the end of a trackday we tried our usual Michelin slicks on the front and put some old Dunlops on the rear, it took a while to get enough heat into the rears (possibly the old, hard rubber didn't help) but when they were hot the car was the best it's ever been, accident 1, design 0...... Cheers for now...Chris

06/04/2006 12:28:07 v8dave [quote=d.breen]well that depends how quick your going doesn't it!!!! i dont get understeer at all on the road,it turns in and follows through superbly ,,however on track im at the limit even having to set the car up slightly before the corner then cut it as tight as possible on the entry and let it run as wide as the track goes on the exit. Even if i had slicks all round it will still understeer first cause its front drive with a big v6 at the front but im thinking extra grip at the front could bring it neutral.[/quote] Before running off and spending £££'s on tyres get an instructor to sit in with you or even drive the car, it might be your driving style that is the root cause of the understeer or maybe something in the chassis setup. Dave

07/04/2006 12:48:59 Rob Bell A048Rs coming out about 30 quid a boot more expensive than the R888. Anyone got experience with both tyres? Are the A048Rs worth 50% more than the Toyos? :confused:

12/04/2006 11:45:16 d.breen [quote=v8dave]Before running off and spending £££'s on tyres get an instructor to sit in with you or even drive the car, it might be your driving style that is the root cause of the understeer or maybe something in the chassis setup. Dave[/quote] its not anything im doing making the car understeer ,its just that at the limits and beyond thats what happens on a zs180 or any other front driver really,if i slowed down a bit and stayed within the traction limits it wouldnt be a problem,all i was thinking is would sticky front rubber let me go quicker or even the same speed but without the understeer,having thought about this more since though ,if i do put sticky rubber on it will be all 4 i change ,much too iffy anywhere let alone on track having different rubber on front to back.

13/04/2006 09:15:18 Rob Bell [quote=d.breen]well that depends how quick your going doesn't it!!!! i dont get understeer at all on the road,it turns in and follows through superbly ,,however on track im at the limit even having to set the car up slightly before the corner then cut it as tight as possible on the entry and let it run as wide as the track goes on the exit. Even if i had slicks all round it will still understeer first cause its front drive with a big v6 at the front but im thinking extra grip at the front could bring it neutral.[/quote] You're certainly right that being FWD and having 150kg of KV6 over the front axle is always going to put a lot of stress on the front to force the car to understeer. But I wonder whether there is another line you could take through corners? What you describe sounds pretty agressive. At Castle Combe a couple of years ago, one of the ZS BTCC drivers - it might have been Rob? Tim - can you remember? (Warren Hughes)- managed to get a standard road car into perfect 4-wheel drifts through every corner. It was awsome to behold! He managed to flick and unbalance the rear before the corner and powered it through. I am sure it wasn't the fastest way through the corners, but it was a rather dramatic demonstration of how the car needn't necessarily drift the front wheels wide... :D

13/04/2006 12:58:32 v8dave Classic driver complaint of understeer in front or rear wheel drive cars can often be traced back to too fast and too early an entry to a corner. Once they start to get round the bend they start to have to add more steering input the further they go. Turning in later and more aggressively corrects the problem, overdo it and you get oversteer or even a spin, however on a track with the large open spaces of silverstone this is probably safer than hanging on as the understeer build. In the gentle rear end oversteer slide you keep you foot down and steer where you want to go but with understeer you have to lose speed to get the steering back - all while the wall rushes towards you. Unfortunately this more gets complicated when you have to consider the effects of front and rear tyres warming at different rates when you go onto a track and altering the grip balance front to rear. Dave

13/04/2006 20:20:58 d.breen turning in later and more agressively whilst helping with understeer also means going slower or you wont even make the corner,and corner speeds are what predict lap times,the fastest line through any corner is making it as straight as possible,starting out wide turning into cut the apex and then run out wide again. At the end of the day im going 10/10ths and the car is just at its limits ,to improve it will cost money on set up ,simple as that .

14/04/2006 11:21:02 v8dave [quote=d.breen]turning in later and more agressively whilst helping with understeer also means going slower or you wont even make the corner,and corner speeds are what predict lap times,the fastest line through any corner is making it as straight as possible,starting out wide turning into cut the apex and then run out wide again. At the end of the day im going 10/10ths and the car is just at its limits ,to improve it will cost money on set up ,simple as that .[/quote] I disagree, the fastest way through a corner has to make allowance for the handling characteristics of the car. There is no simple set of rules relating to the drive layout - front wheel drive does not mean understeer. Also you have consider how much power and grip you have, corner at the limit of grip and you can't brake or accelerate. I don't know what might be available but have you considered improving the roll control. Can you fit a stiffer roll bar front or rear, can you fit better bearings to the standard bar? increasing the rear roll stiffness might help - what about adjustable dampers? The factory setup the suspension to copy with everything from a single occupant to 5 plus luggage and most of that mass change has to be accomodated by the rear suspension. Dave

14/04/2006 19:28:39 d.breen yep,some valid points but tyres will be as much as i do (already has x power eibach springs and they are very good),certainly for the forseeable future as i cant commit the car to only track ,its also a daily used car,ah well its not like cars slow or summat:D

14/04/2006 21:20:02 Rob Bell Actually, I reckon Dave might be onto something there - a stiffer rear anti-roll bar will probably do the trick quite nicely. It should not be too pricey, nor indeed will it impact excessively on how the car rides on the road... :D

26/04/2008 19:45:14 Stephen Walsh [b]does anyone know?[/b] Does anyone know which tyres for my mgb 71 85hp ,at the moment dunlop sp6 10 years old?

26/04/2008 19:49:38 Stephen Walsh [b]does anyone know?[/b] Does anyone know which tyres mgb 71 85 hp, at the moment dunlop sp 6 ten years old ?:confused: