Race Tyres - what's so hot right now?

[GTV]

OK racers, am thinking between the following.

dunlop dz03g 205/50 ~$1400
advan a050 205/50 (did well in Superlap) ~$1300
b'stone re55s 205/50 (seem popular) ~$1400
federal fz-201 195/50 (Glenny won Rally Tas Modern on them) ~$1200
silverstone ftz type r 195/50 ~$1200
kumho v70a 205/50 (as above) $?
toyo r888 205/50 (not sure...?) ~$1300

any others worth bothering with...??

Size is either 195 or 205 to go on a 15x6 rim

Car is alfa gtv6 (190hp, 1200kg, ace driver)

thoughts?

[12arx3]

I chose the Bridgestones and have them currently, and am considering the Dunlops for the next set. I think these are the two best from that list from what I hear and have experienced.
Not sure about the new A050 Advans though as they are supposedly better than the A048 so may be good?

But what does it matter, an "Ace Driver" will be quick on anything!!!

[GTV]

thanks for the input - re55 is certainly close to top of list (edited list for rough priority order)

and, ace driver needs all the help he can get!

[XAC15T]

I've tried the V70a's, A048's, R888's and now on the DZ03G's...

DZ03s > *

[trent from punchy]

dunlops are the fastest.

[Guido]

Have tried R888s, AO48s and V70As. On my car the 888s were the best.

[Evaded]

Have tried V70A, C03, A048, DJ03 and R888. DJ03 > V70A > C03 > A048 > R888.

I didn't mind any of the tyres bar the R888 I thought they were horrible but that was my experience.

[evil_weevil]

Interesting thread :)
thats my size tyre too so let us know wha you end up with GTV as towards end of year I may need a new set!

[jezza323]

ive got the silverstones, im led to believe they are not too crash hot - i had the medium compound on my 14's, they went ok, but fell apart sooner than i would have expected.

the 15's ive got are the harder compound, and are a bit rubbish compared to the mediums. squeal like a bitch at the track even...

[GTV]

hmmm, some good feeback to think about here.

for the dudes that have lapped on the various tyres - any sense of the actual speed differential as opposed to the seat of the pants feel?

eg I can say that re55 to RA1 is about 0.5 sec per lap on long Morgan Park circuit but that the RA1 felt 'better' - nice and balanced - whereas the re55 understeered more and if not for the times, I'd be favouring the RA1 (not that they are available anymore).

[GTV]

also, FYI some other feedback from other sources:

A050 is softer than A048 and therefore better suited to sprints (which is good as I had 48s previously and did not rate them) but are 'pressure sensitive'...?

There are 3 different compounds of FTZ - soft, med and hard - which should be read as hillclimb, sprint and race (depending on weight/power of car, you can kill the soft or med...).

The Federals are new and have nothing to do with 595rs street tyres - are 'wide' for size too (effective a 205).

[morerevsm3]

Hoosier A6 for up to 3 laps, R6 for longer runs, not on cams list of approved tyres though, so if it needs to fit a class, no good. as far as others I have used, in order I rate them
Bridgestone RE55
toyo 888
dunlop (were a bit old though)





Jokahama A048

[Uncle Arthur]

hmmm, some good feeback to think about here.

for the dudes that have lapped on the various tyres - any sense of the actual speed differential as opposed to the seat of the pants feel?

eg I can say that re55 to RA1 is about 0.5 sec per lap on long Morgan Park circuit but that the RA1 felt 'better' - nice and balanced - whereas the re55 understeered more and if not for the times, I'd be favouring the RA1 (not that they are available anymore).

RA1 are available in the US, Toyo had to bring them back due to demand there.

[Chisholm]

So far in my experience/opinion on my car

Kumho V710 > Bridestone RE55s > Toyo R888 > Yoko AO32R

cliffs:

-1st outing on the kumhos recently got me 1:11s at wakefield park from my daily-driven full street trim fwd fagna barge. 2 seconds quicker than I ever went on the R888 and RE55s (though my driving probably improved as well)

-With brand new R888, I didn't even manage to beat my PB on extremely shagged RE55s I had to chuck out after 2 outings. But bcos I bought the RE55s very used, I'm not too sure what they are like brand-new.

- I found the R888s weren't the quickest outright on my car, but do have other good redeaming qualities, like not deterioating in grip with multiple heat cycles, good wear characteristics, relatively un-temperature sensitive for an R-compound.

- The AO32 I bought used, they were easily the worst of the R-compound tyres in terms of grip.

IMO if you don't have to use a cams approved tyre for a specific category, Hoosier A6/R6 or Kumho V710 are the hotness. Otherwise, Yoko Advan AO50R, RE55s and the dunlops seem to be the best options if you wanto go as quick as possible, but are not overly concerned about deterioration from heat cycles. R888 are great if you want a bang-for-buck tyre that will have consistent levels of grip all the way to the belts.