Ultimate track tire guide | 200tw, 100tw, street-legal track and R-comps

I have a version of this chart from 2021 and the Nitto NT-01 was rated much better back then:
B, B A, A, A, C vs C, A, D, C, B, C.  The revised rating really drops the Nitto down.

StrangeC said:

I have a version of this chart from 2021 and the Nitto NT-01 was rated much better back then:
B, B A, A, A, C vs C, A, D, C, B, C.  The revised rating really drops the Nitto down.

Revised rating based on recent testing here ==> https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/toyo-proxes-r888r-and-the-nitto-nt01-tire-test/

In reply to Duke :

OK GRM - As a GRASSROOTS magazine you need to help us all out with a true test like you do with all the other tires (thanks for all the 200 TW advise and testing) with a Hankook Z214 vs. Hoosier R7 test.  With a capital "T".  As the Hankooks are approx. $100 less costly per tire this may be the golden ticket for us on a budget.   The Porsche community seems to like the Hankooks (https://rennlist.com/forums/racing-and-drivers-education-forum/1254140-hankook-z214-vs-r7.html).  I've been running them on my BMW CCA IP E36 M3 as I got two sets with the car when I bought it from a friend.  However, the only way for me to do a true Hooser vs. Hankook test is to buy a NEW set of each... a costly proposition for one trying to save $100 or so per tire by running the Hankooks.  So, GRM, please put the Z214s in your next tire comparison (https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/track-tire-buyers-guide/).  THANKS!

I love that GRM included some 300 and 340 tread wear tires in the roundup. Is there a push to include any other >200tw tires in the article such as the Bridgestone Potenza Sport that came out in 2021 or the Yokohama Advan Apex V601 that came out in 2019?

Also, is the Continental ExtremeContact Sport tire included in the article the same as the Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 that came out in 2023? You mention in the article that Continental updated the tire in 2023, but isn't the Sport 02 technically a different tire than the original Sport that came out around 2018? If so, I am surprised you didn't just make a new section for it in the article. Under the Continental ExtremeContact Sport section of the article, you even link to an article from 2018 which isn't representative of the new compound. By my way of thinking, that would be like saying that the  Hankook Ventus R-S4 is just an updated R-S3 which is just an updated R-S2 so you would keep them all under the Hankook Ventus RS section and still linking to the R-S3 and older articles.

racerrick said:

In reply to Duke :

OK GRM - As a GRASSROOTS magazine you need to help us all out with a true test like you do with all the other tires (thanks for all the 200 TW advise and testing) with a Hankook Z214 vs. Hoosier R7 test.  With a capital "T".  As the Hankooks are approx. $100 less costly per tire this may be the golden ticket for us on a budget.   The Porsche community seems to like the Hankooks (https://rennlist.com/forums/racing-and-drivers-education-forum/1254140-hankook-z214-vs-r7.html).  I've been running them on my BMW CCA IP E36 M3 as I got two sets with the car when I bought it from a friend.  However, the only way for me to do a true Hooser vs. Hankook test is to buy a NEW set of each... a costly proposition for one trying to save $100 or so per tire by running the Hankooks.  So, GRM, please put the Z214s in your next tire comparison (https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/track-tire-buyers-guide/).  THANKS!

They should add the new compound Proxes R to that comparison...

flyin_viata said:

 

They should add the new compound Proxes R to that comparison...

Been trying to arrange that for six months.  Toyo keeps dragging their feet.  Now they say "this fall". 

redbeardmcgee said:

I love that GRM included some 300 and 340 tread wear tires in the roundup. Is there a push to include any other >200tw tires in the article such as the Bridgestone Potenza Sport that came out in 2021 or the Yokohama Advan Apex V601 that came out in 2019?

Not really.  They are rarely used for motorsports, which is what GRM is about.  In that category, only the PS4S and ECS/ECS02 are really viable options.  Tire Rack does a good job of evaluating those other tires for street use.

One note on the Bridgestone Potenza Sport...we came very close to doing that test, but folks we knew who tried them had them delaminate on track.  Not a good fit for track use, even minor.  Potenza Race is much better as a dual purpose tire, despite it's name.

redbeardmcgee said:

Also, is the Continental ExtremeContact Sport tire included in the article the same as the Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 that came out in 2023? You mention in the article that Continental updated the tire in 2023, but isn't the Sport 02 technically a different tire than the original Sport that came out around 2018? If so, I am surprised you didn't just make a new section for it in the article. Under the Continental ExtremeContact Sport section of the article, you even link to an article from 2018 which isn't representative of the new compound. By my way of thinking, that would be like saying that the  Hankook Ventus R-S4 is just an updated R-S3 which is just an updated R-S2 so you would keep them all under the Hankook Ventus RS section and still linking to the R-S3 and older articles.

I assume you are talking about this recently released story? 

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/kenda-vezda-uhp-max-kr20a-tire-test/

If so, that info has not yet been incorporated into the chart and it's supporting blurbs.  We updated the blurb a year ago before ever testing the tire to reflect what we knew at the time (based on TR prelim testing).  It will now get updated to reflect that new GRM testing.  Right, Colin?  :)

Andy Hollis said:

flyin_viata said:

 

They should add the new compound Proxes R to that comparison...

Been trying to arrange that for six months.  Toyo keeps dragging their feet.  Now they say "this fall". 

Well that doesn't really inspire confidence...you'd think they'd want to prove how much better the new compound is for customers

In reply to Andy Hollis :

Thanks @ Andy Hollis.  In reading that article I never got a sense of the drastic change of the NT01's heat tolerance performance from an A to D rating.  In fact, the article states, "Once heated, it settled into consistent laps about a half-second slower"  about the NT01.  Both pace and wear got worse too.

Hard to believe the NT01 looks so bad in the ratings with it seeming to be the yardstick for so many comparisons!

I've been running that tire for years but recently I haven't been so enamored with it an my lap times have been dropping.

Think I might try the Goodyear RS or Toyo RR for my next set on a C5 Corvette HPDE only car.  I've been running 315 square on 10.5" rims (like everyone else) but the article on rim vs tire width makes it seem like that tire is too wide for the rim.

BTW:  would be nice if the chart was text rather than an image, so it could be copied into excel for sorting.

StrangeC said:

In reply to Andy Hollis :

Thanks @ Andy Hollis.  In reading that article I never got a sense of the drastic change of the NT01's heat tolerance performance from an A to D rating.  In fact, the article states, "Once heated, it settled into consistent laps about a half-second slower"  about the NT01.  Both pace and wear got worse too.

 

All of the "one and done" tires get a D.  NT01 is in good company in that regard with A052 and A7.

The 2021 ratings were based on anecdotal info, not our own personal testing.  

Andy Hollis said:

All of the "one and done" tires get a D.  NT01 is in good company in that regard with A052 and A7.

Did they change something in the compound?  "one and done" really doesn't match my experiences with the NT01, but I stopped using it a few years ago.

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

Andy Hollis said:

All of the "one and done" tires get a D.  NT01 is in good company in that regard with A052 and A7.

Did they change something in the compound?  "one and done" really doesn't match my experiences with the NT01, but I stopped using it a few years ago.

 

No idea.

Also, it was a pretty hot day when we tested those.  But they absolutely heat-soaked quickly when pressed hard to the limit.  Quite an obvious change in their feedback and feel...not just the lap time.

On the bright side, they weren't nearly as much of a literal hot mess as the R888R...those went to sh*t quickly and just kept going. 

It's a shame Toyo/Nitto won't build us a new design, instead focusing on r-comps (Proxes R).

Speaking of Proxes R...Toyo now says they are sending us some.  Yay!

Andy Hollis said:

Speaking of Proxes R...Toyo now says they are sending us some.  Yay!

About time!  Can't wait to see reviews of both TAP and Proxes R

flyin_viata said:

Andy Hollis said:

Speaking of Proxes R...Toyo now says they are sending us some.  Yay!

About time!  Can't wait to see reviews of both TAP and Proxes R

If only you knew how one of those affected us getting the other...such a small industry.

"It's not what you know, rather who you know"

Any chance you could add that chart at the end as spreadsheet of some sort? It would be useful to add some of my own notes to it like if its available in my size, price in my size, etc.