Hello all, I'm across the pond for this stage in my life. I've got a 2000 focus sedan that I'm dropping a back yard turbo kit (tdo5 14b, mk3 focus st intercooler and other stuff) into.
Plan is to have it up and running by spring but I haven't chose what tires I want. I'm thinking of new wheels too, I'd like 8x15 or 8x16. If I don't find any I'll use my 7x16s.
Any suggestions?
Pick your compound. Then your size.
Are you looking for a pure street tire? An R-comp? Something like AVON/Hoosier?
Dot legal would be nice but I'm ok stuffing the car full of wheels and tires if need be. Want a track day type tire that doesn't heat cycle quickly, has good grip and doesn't wear out immediately.
I've had nitto neo gens and re71r's before. I would rather have re71r grip but don't need the tire to warn up quickly like that one does.
Plan is to hit up the ring on a slow day for a sub 10 min lap eventually.
Hankook RS3(V2)s. Almost as grippy as an RE71R but they don't wear down or heat up so fast.
For what you are asking, I would go with a Toyo RA1. It's DOT, not too bad in the rain, long lasting and consistent on track. It doesn't have the grip of the RE71R, but it comes in a bunch of interesting sizes for what you want: 245/45r16 or 255/50r16
Edit: or their R888 if you don't want rain capability
NT-01
Also, I've driven R888s in the rain, you just have to slow down and be smooth. The aren't going to be Hoosier H20s though.
A little browsing on here showed a fair amount of interest in the nt01. Any upsides or downsides of that and what my goals are?
Thank you for the input!
Edit: oh crap, lots more replies after a refresh
z31maniac wrote: Also, I've driven R888s in the rain, you just have to slow down and be smooth. The aren't going to be Hoosier H20s though.
Judging by the tread pattern, I'd expect them to work at least "ok" on wet pavement (provided it's warm enough to still get a little heat into them), but standing water would make for a bad day.
TurboFocus wrote: A little browsing on here showed a fair amount of interest in the nt01. Any upsides or downsides of that and what my goals are? Thank you for the input! Edit: oh crap, lots more replies after a refresh
If you don't mind taking a set with you. I think these will work great, good grip, long life, affordable. But I wouldn't want to put too many street miles on them and waste them that way.
how many hpdes and trackdays have you done? I'm not too keen on the idea of taking super grippy tires in a car with new to you in the chassis power levels out on the ring. I'd grab whatever is the cheapest performance tire at the time that you get wheels in the correct fitment. Remember to look ahead, don't overdrive your vision or your brakes.
captdownshift wrote: how many hpdes and trackdays have you done? I'm not too keen on the idea of taking super grippy tires in a car with new to you in the chassis power levels out on the ring. I'd grab whatever is the cheapest performance tire at the time that you get wheels in the correct fitment. Remember to look ahead, don't overdrive your vision or your brakes.
NT-01s probably don't even have as much outright grip as the newest crop of 200TW, what they will do is not overheat and get greasy in a 20 minute session......unless you're being hamfisted.
hpde? none autox? 3 years worth 2x-3x a month.
both those lessons ive learned in the past at autocross days and try to remind myself of that every time i get behind the wheel.
for fitment 8" wheels should be roughly 35mm and 7" wheels can hangout in the 45mm range
The Nordschleife is a helluva first track to learn on! Be careful.
GameboyRMH wrote: The Nordschleife is a helluva first track to learn on! Be careful.
I'll just leave this here: lol
Maybe consider the Maxxis VR-1. It's cheap, it offers good grip, it's durable.
https://philstireservice.com/shop/maxxis-vr-1/
Ironically a slowish Audi 3.0t on streets matched my level of daring in a vehicle I didn't own/ want to wreck on my first time around the ring.
well its the closest often open track to me for the next 3 years, autox aint a thing out here.
im well aware of the dangers of the ring, and the costs if you eff up. i dont plan on going on the track if its wet.
I'll posit the following, applied liberally during the years where I learned to drive on SoCal's back mountain roads, which didn't often have guard rail protection - keeping also in mind there are other cars on track with you. Given the video posted by WildScotsRacing, I think the following will be prudent.
Start slow enough that a mistake isn't non-recoverable - a bad line going slow just makes the car lean more, not go off track.
Work up in 5mph increments, or brake only a car length later, no matter how easy the last two or three (or 30) times were to get through a corner. Try "emergency" type maneuvers at slow speeds to see how the car reacts. Repeat ad nauseum until you pretty much know how the car reacts everywhere, on all lines, in all situations. Auto-x you can just wind up and go, you're not hitting anything.
Once you've done that over the course of a year, and you turn up the wick, it'll be a hoot and you'll know EXACTLY how much you can get away with and where. When I started my back mountain road tenure, I'd only do about 30mph at the fastest. A year and a half later, there were sections where I could hit 80-85mph on some sections pretty confidently. Still stupid given where it was, yes, but I knew it, and my car, cold. I probably ran the road 2-3 times a week during that time, though (not really possible for you to do that much time that quickly...).
You'll need to make a habit of checking your mirrors as you go in and out of corners, I never had to to worry about that.
Post clips here when you've gone! 
As someone who's been to the ring a few times, and has a decent bit of other track experience driving; May I suggest you rent a car your first day or two?
In the renault Clio rs that I had from rentracecar.de, I got a 9:06 BtG on a tourist day. I had a few other runs that the predictive lap timer said were going to be in the 8:56-9:00 range until the last section or two where there was a wreck, a yellow and a slow guy who wouldn't let me by (in that order on multiple runs).
I think that for something like the ring, you really REALLY want to get a few laps under your belt where you only have to worry about the ring itself, not watching your cars' instrumentation or worrying about "was that a click I just heard? Did I forget to tighten a control arm?"
I was just at the ring this November on the second to last public day. It was misty/rainy and around 3°c. Watch out in those conditions, it's pretty dicey but a LOT of fun as long as you drive appropriately. For reference, my best recorded time of the day then was a 12:00 BtG. Yes, a 3 minute difference from my previous dry runs. The ring is that crazy! Don't go on a day like that your first time...
I'll step off my soap box now :) sounds like a fun time!
I'm not a fan of turbo cars for track use...especially aftermarket turbo cars...and FWD turbo cars in general. They can be OK in a time trial or hillclimb setting where you're running hard for maybe 5-6 minutes at a time. But they generally don't hold up to being run at WOT all day long without getting into trouble.
So, a Focus with aftermarket turbo would probably not be something I'd enjoy on the track. When I'm on track, I just want the a car that's predictable and reliable.
My brother-in-law had a Euro Focus built in Germany. It was a great handling car. If I were modifying it for track use, I'd just add an LSD and decent tires/pads. And buy a pair of CG Locks. Doesn't need anything else.
In reply to LanEvo:
and really good brake fluid
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