I'm running Yokohama ES100s. The rears are pretty new, and the fronts are of unknown age. So I was on doing a track day this weekend at infineon and half way through one of the sessions my tires started throwing rubber left and right on hard corners. Does this mean the ES100 just can't take the abuse or is this pretty normal for tires on the track? I didn't experience this at all at previous track days, though maybe I wasn't pushing as hard, or the track was cooler. Any insight would be appreciated!

 

no one's had this before?

 

Are you sure the rubber was from your tire and not just pick-up from the track?

The ES100's are not a track tire. They barely pass for a street tire. I'm not picking on ya, I run them on the street myself. I would look for something a little more robust for your next set of tires if you are doing dual duty (street and track).

 

I'm not a track day expert, but I've seen cars destroy much better tires than that on the track. If you have done multiple events on them, you probably just heat cycled them far past where they were ever meant to go and they gave up. Personally, ES100s aren't even very good street tires.

 

Yea it was definitely from my tires. When I got off the track I checked it. The tire was all hot and melty. My friend behind me was telling me how I kept throwing rubber at his car lol. Yea I wasn't sure if it was my tire giving up, or just normal, but i guess they did give up.

Yea they're kinda so-so for street. My car follows road grooves like there's no tomorrow. I had hoped that they'd be alright on the track, but i guess not. Looks like a set of RE-11 or AD08 are in my future.

 

es100 = bullshit. federal 595 is a much better tire, and theyre $60/each for 17's.

invest in some proper tires:
dunlop direzza z1 star spec
nitto NT05
hankook rs3
Bridgestone re01/re11

the rest cost too much lol (advan/yokohama)

 

lol that bad huh. I had no idea. Oh well at least I got them on clearance on tirerack so that wasn't too painful.

 

they were probably 'good' once, but theyre just really old. i got a set on clearance back in 2004, and thought they were pretty meh. 125whp FC spinning 235's in 2nd = sad

 

ahh ic. oh well at least i have some goodyear eagle f1 gs-d3 on my stockers that i can play with while i save up for a set of nice tires.

 

RE-11s will hold up to track day *******. They'll even be very fast for a true street tire.

Dave

 

Didnt they discontinue the ES100s over 2 years ago?

 

Once you get some new tires, get a good alignment. I've been to many alignment shops that give you a print out showing correct specs but is really slightly off b/c their equipment isn't properly calibrated. If you are going to be doing track days, invest in a good alignment from a competent shop. I recommend Custom Alignment in Mountain View. Expensive but you get what you pay for.

 

Yep, I agree completely. There's a good alignment shop near me that not only keeps their machine in calibration, they'll align it *exactly* to your specs. The stock alignment tolerances are sorta loose, and most alignment shops will set to the stock range. It takes more time ($$) to bump everything in as precisely as possible.

David

 

Actually I found a gem of an alignment shop in milpitas called Auto innovations. They have a Hunter alignment machine and they got my specs exactly perfect. And he only charges 80 bux!

 

This made me El Oh El

I've been running the 'overpriced' AD08s on track and been more than happy with their performance. You can't go wrong with the other choices mentioned in this thread as well

 

lol, Talk about cheap I've got a set of Wanli tires on my car. I took them to a shop to get them installed the guy (redneck guy) mounting them saw a little china sticker on them, and he was like haha look these are from China. I immediately, without missing a beat, said, "The car was made in Japan, what's your point?". He stopped laughing then.

Seriously, if you are going to be driving hard and fast like that for extended periods of time, get a set of tires with a higher speed rating.

We have a set of Michelin's on the rx8, and they are rated for 180+ mph. They were expensive ($200.00/each), but they ride nice and are not showing much treadware.

 

I don't mean to get off topic (but here goes). How does that make any sense? Japan has always made high quality stuff, China's always made junk. I remember reading some crash test reports on Chinese cars. It was a crash at only 35 or 40mph. The engine literally ended up where the driver and passenger used to be and the whole front disappeared. Even the rear seats were smashed I think.

 

^^I agree, first time I've seen anyone bragging about running **** tires on their RX-7.

 

Speed rating =! overall grip or durability. Speed rating is related to the construction of the tire and nothing else.

And cmon people, tires are the one thing that connects your car to the road, and the single biggest component of all aspects of performance. Cheap tires hurt your cornering ability, and even more importantly, your braking (and consequently your ability to avoid an accident). There are a few things in life that you shouldn't cheap out on, and tires really should be one of them. You need not go out and buy PS2s for your Camry, but do you really trust your life to some random off brand tire? /rant

 

Uhm, there is no such thing as "few things you shouldn't cheap out on" when you own an FD...lol...but yes definitely tires is one of the most important "not so few things" to not cheap out on.