ski35off

After my last track day I noticed not only the normal wear and slight chunking on the outside edges of my tires, but also on the middle/inside tread of my front inside tire (left front tire on a track that is run counterclockwise). These are Goodyear F1 Asymmetric tires, 275/30/19. I tried to keep the tirse inflated to about 42-44 PSI hot, but there were some laps at higher PSIs since we had a relatively hot day and I didn't account for that initially. In any case, the chunking looks like it's almost down to the "base" layer of rubber in some places - should these still be safe to use?

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/112310/img_1817a.jpg">

larryV

A nose-heavy car like the RS4 and Goodyear F1 at the track with high temps are always going to be a bad combination.

I learned this a couple of years ago when I severely chunked and corded my brand new Goodyear F1's by the 2nd day of a two day track event. These tires went from brand new to shot-to-hell in no time and turned out to be a big waste of a $1k+ set of tires. They're great street tires from what I hear but not recommended for track use on heavy cars. I went to the same track event the following year and used the stock 19's with stock Pirelli pzero rossos and after the same amount of abuse, the pirellis showed hardly any sign of shoulder wear and held up nicely. The Goodyears are just not cut out for this kind of work.

<img src="http://homepage.mac.com/lvelano/.Pictures/random/BHF06/IMG_2448.jpg">

ski35off

I've attempted to buy RE-01Rs but they're never in stock (275/30/19). I'm thinking it might be better to find some 18" track wheels for more options - any good, not too expensive (&lt;$500), light 18" wheels out there? Perhaps I'm asking for too much...

larryV

they come in 265/35 for 18" wheels, 265/30 for the stock 19" and will stick like nothing else out there assuming conditions are ideal.

If you don't want to go with R compound tires and want to stick with street tires, Michelin PS2 (which come as oem on some RS4's) are very good tires for occasional track use and should hold up just as well as the pirellis but with better performance.

onrails

once you've ran on cups! Also I heard the Toyo R888's are good, but not sure if they make our size. Some guys are running the Bridgestone RE-01R's on the track with success, from my experience on the street they are damn good.

ski35off

I've got about 10 track days under my belt, and feel pretty confident out there... however, how forgiving and how much feedback do these tires give?

Oh yeah, I live in the Pacific Northwest so it's raining on at least half of my track days :-)

larryV

They provide excellent feedback. Aside from needing to be warmed up before pushing it and avoiding wet conditions, you just have to know that although R-comps' limits are high, when you do reach them, and surpass them, they'll just let go more suddenly, often in a blink of eye. Recovery requires more reflexes and skill than if you were in street tires, also partly because you're likely going faster in a given corner due to their higher limits. In contrast, a street tire will screech and protest more noticeably near the limit as way of notifying you that you're approaching their limits. Street tires are more predictable for most people.

STALKIN RS4

They are not as forgiving and give you less feeback when they are going to let go.
10 track days is enough usually though.
I would run min -2 camber with R compounds though.

The RS4 is heavy car, and will really punish street tires, especially on tight tracks.

STALKIN RS4

It is also very car specific though. In my M3, if I was off a bit, it would not make such a difference, but with the weight of the RS4, is does, ,well, thats how I see it on track days.

Personally, I would stay away from Pilot Cups, there are better tires out there at much better price IMO. Try Toyos. The Pilots I find are very touchy unless conditions are just right.

craiglieberman

I've been doing ride and drives for them for awhile. Not long ago, I spoke to Bob Toth (father of the Eagle lineup) and talked specifically about our heavy RS4's. He steered me toward one of their other brands, Dunlop.

From what I can see here, even with the bigger tire, heat is an issue. Tire pressures seem quite high to me, but tire wear seems relatively even.

Nevertheless, I'll pass your info along to the Goodyear engineers.

Curious to see results from Goodyear's other top tier tire, the Eagle F1 GS-D3, but I don't have any direct results to share, so I can't comment.

Allegedly, other members have had good luck with the Potenza RE01R and I know for sure that the Michelin PS Cups are superb for track days.

If you want ONE tire for both, consider the Bridgestones. For a dedicated track tire, go with the PSCups.