Try RS3s next time.
They don't last as long as star specs but they grip closer to entry level R comp levels of grip.
You can drive to and from the track as well.
NT01 are great but they seem to cord pretty fast.
I tried Hankook Z214 and those are NICE r comps. Super sticky.
R888s suck in my opinion. Its the same compound as NT01 but crappier tread.
Honestly I don't think you would shave more than 1.00 seconds on NT01 and R888 over the Starspecs on a 2 minute road course. I think the Starspec is a fantastic tire nonetheless but I'm a Hankook fanboy now. =)
RS3 has almost the same characteristic as the two r comp tires above. It allows your car to slide a little more before it hooks up for ultimate grip. I'm 2 seconds faster than the Star Specs on RS3 at Buttonwillow Raceway in Bakersfield, CA. When I tried NT01 and R888 last year, i was running about the same time as I am now on street tires. I hate switching wheels too. I do want to mention that I'm almost 1.5 seconds faster with Hankook Z214 than I am with RS3s.
But the information is hard to analyze because I feel I have really advanced in driving skill the past 2 HPDEs.
Whatever it is that use, make sure to do a proper heat cycle or you will ruin the life of your tire.
Be smooth = be fast. Have fun!
RS3 = bargain street tire
NT01 = bargain r comp
For the price, I don't think you can beat RS3 performance.
I use RS3's on my track wheels, hence I was quicker than Erwan... :bellyroll:
Michellin PSS is a good street tire but doesn't compare to Starspecs or RS3s on the track.
Starspecs, RS3, AD08, RE11 are at the upper echelon of street performance tires.
Michellin PSS is one notch down. (in terms of ultimate performance)
Ah okay!
U guys talking about a full set of ultime performance tires!
The Toyo R888 look nice for it!
But if your going for a good set of summer tires for streets and some tracks events, around 4-5 per summer,
I think I performed better on track with the Michelin PSS that I did with the Starspecs, but the dunlops felt better at the steering.
Heard the rs3's are awesome. I'm going to try the nt-05 a lot of the 600+ hp cars seem to be running those a lot..
NT01 > R888 even though its the same compound. The way the treadblock was designed makes it better but its the same chemical compound. I believe NT01 is cheaper too.
I have some more information to add, along with a word of caution.
I was at Willow Springs International Raceway yesterday, on the big track. Had a great first session but when I pulled into the pits I noticed my engine was running rough and bucking -- there were no symptoms on the track but the CEL was on solid.
I had my laptop and VCDS cable with me and found DTCs for the following:
000768 -- Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
000010 -- Camshaft Positioner (Bank 1 Intake)
000769 -- Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected
000770 -- Cylinder 2 Misfire Detected
000771 -- Cylinder 3 Misfire Detected
001286 -- Idle Control System RPM Lower than Expected
My catch can was full and the dipstick oil level below minimum.
The car was towed to Eurocode Tuning in Torrance but the engine won't be inspected until this coming week. This is speculation on my part, but I think they will find damaged intake valves.
I believe what happened is that enough oil was lost from the oil pan to starve the oil pump during hard cornering. While the cylinders and pistons will survive brief oil starvation, the timing chain tensioner requires oil pressure to operate and keep the chain from slipping.
I'll provide updates as I find out more, but I would urge anyone with a TSI engine to exercise extreme caution with high lateral G turns.
I have some more information to add, along with a word of caution.
I was at Willow Springs International Raceway yesterday, on the big track. Had a great first session but when I pulled into the pits I noticed my engine was running rough and bucking -- there were no symptoms on the track but the CEL was on solid.
I had my laptop and VCDS cable with me and found DTCs for the following:
000768 -- Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
000010 -- Camshaft Positioner (Bank 1 Intake)
000769 -- Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected
000770 -- Cylinder 2 Misfire Detected
000771 -- Cylinder 3 Misfire Detected
001286 -- Idle Control System RPM Lower than Expected
My catch can was full and the dipstick oil level below minimum.
The car was towed to Eurocode Tuning in Torrance but the engine won't be inspected until this coming week. This is speculation on my part, but I think they will find damaged intake valves.
I believe what happened is that enough oil was lost from the oil pan to starve the oil pump during hard cornering. While the cylinders and pistons will survive brief oil starvation, the timing chain tensioner requires oil pressure to operate and keep the chain from slipping.
I'll provide updates as I find out more, but I would urge anyone with a TSI engine to exercise extreme caution with high lateral G turns.
I do have some video, the car ran great. The problem is not the catch can, all that oil would have been gone anyway, it would have gone into the cylinders and given the engine major indigestion. The problem are the high lateral Gs.
The INA oilpan is something I will look into, I did not realize it had a higher capacity. I also e-mailed Jeff at APR a week ago to see what their solution is but never heard back from him.
The only car that passed me did so illegaly (in a turn when there was a slower car in front of us), but he had an instructor with him and was probably told to pass. I could have taken him on the straight that followed but that would have pissed him off immensely, and it wasn't a race so I let him go.
Thanks for the comment and info.
I just realized the cars in the thumbnail YouTube has chosen for the video are the protagonists in my story -- the silver GTR is the slower car, and the red Lancer (I think) on my tail is the car that passed going from turn 8 into 9.
I don't mind paying for the solution, but I can't do that unless people actually get back to me. The solution is bound to be cheaper than getting the engine rebuilt. The tow itself cost $500.
So I'm going to be running r-comps this season and remembered (after I ordered everything of course) about this thread
http://golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17181&highlight=oil+smoke+track
That happened there was under high G corners the car would blow oil through the PCV system into the intake stream, through the turbo and get burned up in the motor and blow smoke everywhere....
This has me worried. Can any one else who has run r-comps confirm whether they have experienced this (PandaGTI, Gunkata etc..).
Any more info on the fix?