Lack of correct tyre size for track.

[Brendan19]

Hey guys just having a bit of an issue with finding a good set of track tyres ATM, I am currently running on hankook z221's which I'm reasonably happy with but I have issues with finding the correct size. I currently have ce28's 17x8 front/18x9.5 rear with a 265/35 18 on the rear which is great but hankook only provide a 215/45 for the front, when before on bridge stones I had a 215/40, my issue is im struggling to find a 40 series tyre in a semi, because the 45 has literally destroyed my liners and to be honest my car isn't actually lowered a hell of a lot on coilovers, its probably 100m off the ground from the front lip.

So basically does anyone know of a 215/40r17 semi slick tyre I can use, or of any other options, is there a 225/35? For example. Not to mention it looks strange have such a larger sidewall on the front sheen compared to the rear.

 

[stuntman]

Thats the problem for the NSX and it'll likely get worse in coming years. Your only real option is to remove your fender liners, and/or go to a DF (or FXMD soon) wide front fender and a 235/40-17 and 265 or 275/35-18 which has more available options.

 

[docjohn]

a 235/40 can work just need to remove your fan shrouds......and depends on your wheels.

 

[Brendan19]

The main brands I like to stick with are yokohama, bridgestone or hankook but none of them have a 235/40, they do for 17's but not 18's. nitto nt01's come in a 235/40 and so do the r888's but i havent heard good things about the r888's in comparison to other brands, does anyone know much about the nt01's?

 

[TURBO2GO]

I think the NT01 and 888 are very similar, that's what I've been told. In fact I think toyo and nitto are the same company. I'd not listen to what you've heard and try them I think they are great tires. Definitely more grip than anything I used in the past.

 

[angus]

I would (and do) run 205/40/17, I have both R888 and a couple sets left of the RA-1 and love them, I will stick with R888 once the RA-1s are all used up.

 

[nsxtasy]

The Kumho Ecsta V710 is available in 215/40-17 for the front, but is not available in an 18" size for the rear. So another option is to use that in front, with a different R compound track tire in the rear.

 

[SlipAngle79]

I have 235/40 17 NT01 in front with zero rubbing issues BUT I am only about an 1" lower than stock height and have -3 camber in front courtesy of CT camber bushings. Coilovers are KW V3 with the 347 spring currently. In comparison DDozier has the exact same wheel/tire setup as me, a slightly harder front spring on Billstein HD, but NO camber bushigs-so about -1.6 IIRC? and I've seen his front liners starting to get erased at the top when we are at the track. It would seem your options are to stay with a skinnier front tire, install camber bushings to facilitate a wider tire with no rubbing, or buy wider fenders? I ran on a borrowed set of used NT01's in 205/275 for a day and I have to say it felt pretty good on an otherwise stock NA1 at the time FWIW....felt more sure-footed approaching the limit but the overall grip limit was reduced for sure from such a small front tire relative to the rear. I also ran the 91 OEM wheels with NT01's 225/15 245/16 like an idiot for two events and I would definitely favor a wider bias from front to rear even if it means only being able to run 205 or 215 in the front provided I had a 265 or 275 in the rear. I would not run anything else but NT01 in the R compound department, however I have not tried the other offerings, but I don't really know why I would unless I was given a set to try as I am very happy with my current tire setup. <-all just my opinion from my experience so far.

 

[DDozier]

I have 235/40 17 NT01 in front with zero rubbing issues BUT I am only about an 1" lower than stock height and have -3 camber in front courtesy of CT camber bushings. Coilovers are KW V3 with the 347 spring currently. In comparison DDozier has the exact same wheel/tire setup as me, a slightly harder front spring on Billstein HD, but NO camber bushigs-so about -1.6 IIRC? and I've seen his front liners starting to get erased at the top when we are at the track.

You are correct the max camber I can get at my ride height (-.75") is -1.7 and the tire wants more and that would help with what little tire rub I have. I can also say that the tire only rubs on the driver side so maybe I just need to drop about 45 lbs and my problem would be solved.

NT-01s Rule :biggrin: But I am tempted to try the V710s as I have an old set of 17/8 and 17/9.5 wheels that the 215/40/17 and 275/40/17's would fit on. May have to try them out.

Does anyone have a direct comparison of the V710/NT01/Hoosier R6 that they can share?

Dave

 

[bngl3rt]

Aren't the CT camber bushings basically impossible to get nowadays anyway?

 

[illwillem]

^ no they are still some sets floating around. I Just sold my extra set a few months ago. As far as R888 and Nt01 I have had both multiple times and I will never buy R888's again. They grease out then get stale in about half the events that the Nt01 does. Initial grip is decent but they fall off very quickly where the nt01's can be used right down to the cords with almost no difference in lap time.

 

[Coz]

+1
Yokohama used to be a sponsor of mine and I was getting great prices on the R-888's.
I stop using them because they fall off so fast. I decided it was worth paying more for the NT-01's.
Much better tire and last twice as long as the R-888's.

CT Engineering has the camber bushing.

^ no they are still some sets floating around. I Just sold my extra set a few months ago. As far as R888 and Nt01 I have had both multiple times and I will never buy R888's again. They grease out then get stale in about half the events that the Nt01 does. Initial grip is decent but they fall off very quickly where the nt01's can be used right down to the cords with almost no difference in lap time.

 

[nsxtasy]

I think the NT01 and 888 are very similar, that's what I've been told. In fact I think toyo and nitto are the same company.

I believe that's correct. I've heard some folks speculate that the Nitto NT-01, Toyo R888, and Toyo RA-1 all use the same compound, and that differences lie only in the tread pattern (and possibly the construction), but I don't know whether that's true.

I haven't used the R888, but I've used the other two on my tracked non-NSX car (and the RA-1 on my NSX). They seem to offer similar grip on dry pavement. The RA-1 is better in the wet, thanks to its tread pattern as well as its greater tread depth when new (8/32" vs 6/32"), although true racers are probably shaving either down and nullifying those differences. One disadvantage I've noticed with the NT-01 is that the profile has a much more rounded shoulder; this results in less treadlife (fewer track miles) because the belts start showing along the edges and the tire must get tossed when there is still some tread depth in the rest of the tread. Whereas the RA-1 has a squarer shoulder and there's a good chance you can use up the tread depth all the way down to zero.

 

[stuntman]

The R888 has the roundest profile of the 3 with the RA1 being the most square and the NT01 being right in the middle.

 

[docjohn]

the sad part of the faster nto1 vs the ra1 is that the former 235/40 front is 9mm wider that the latter.

 

[Coz]

I've not had that problem, I wear mind pretty much even across with just a little more wear on the insides due to negative camber because I also do some street driving on them.

One disadvantage I've noticed with the NT-01 is that the profile has a much more rounded shoulder; this results in less treadlife (fewer track miles) because the belts start showing along the edges and the tire must get tossed when there is still some tread depth in the rest of the tread. Whereas the RA-1 has a squarer shoulder and there's a good chance you can use up the tread depth all the way down to zero.

 

[SlipAngle79]

Aren't the CT camber bushings basically impossible to get nowadays anyway?

No, Coz was very helpful as I believe they are one of his sponsors - he placed a call to them after I had not heard back and they called me back in Feb to inform me they were sold out, so I placed an order and paid up front so they could make another "run" of them on there machine. I believe they had 4 sets machined in late March-thats when I got my set in the mail. Also, Hugh at Evasive had a new set in the box for his Yellow 04 that he sold last month - he might still have them. IIRC its not a job for the shade tree mechanic - you do not want to mess up one of the 4 $900 cast aluminum control arms on an NSX so its worth the money to have an experienced race shop do the install IMHO. With all 4 pressed in I believe I can go a little past -4 camber (!). I think CL65captain had just the upper ones pressed in and could still get almost -3 but CT recommended doing all 4 so that's what I had done.

 

[TURBO2GO]

You can get bushings from titanium Dave too. Better ones in fact.

 

[Coz]

Lol...

you can get bushings from titanium dave too. Better ones in fact.

 

[TURBO2GO]

Why is that funny?

 

[Coz]

Because I've had the CT's in now for 2 years with over 100 track sessions and they are working just fine.
I only use the uppers and get -3 camber.

 

[TURBO2GO]

Because I've had the CT's in now for 2 years with over 100 track sessions and they are working just fine.
I only use the uppers and get -3 camber.

I never said there is something wrong with the comptechs. I'm just providing information in case those are not avaialble as mentioned earlier. Dave's replaces the entire rubber bushing with a less compliant one as well.

 

[Coz]

There is no rubber bushing in the camber bushing for the A-Arms (Control Arms), stock or otherwise.
If there was, you could not keep your camber settings stable.

I never said there is something wrong with the comptechs. I'm just providing information in case those are not avaialble as mentioned earlier. Dave's replaces the entire rubber bushing with a less compliant one as well.

 

[illwillem]

Just so the info is out there..

This guy: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/131993-NSX-Ball-Joint-Replacement

Makes his own camber inserts that are adjustable. Unlike the Comptechs where they press in and thats it these have a captive ring that tightens into a chamfer as the ball joint is seats; when you remove the ball joint the pressure is relived and you can turn an adjustment nut that is build into them.

They are actually what I am running on my car currently. He dosn't advertise them and it was a while ago i got mine. They are a good product and worth a shot if you cant get the comp-tech stuff anymore

 

[TURBO2GO]

There is no rubber bushing in the camber bushing for the A-Arms (Control Arms), stock or otherwise.
If there was, you could not keep your camber settings stable.

My bad, the part I got from Dave that allows for more camber is inner front offset bearings. They do remove some rubber for stainless steel bearings that gives you extra negative camber and according to dave, better steering response. So this may be an option if the comptechs are not available.

- - - Updated - - -

Just so the info is out there..

This guy: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/131993-NSX-Ball-Joint-Replacement

Makes his own camber inserts that are adjustable. Unlike the Comptechs where they press in and thats it these have a captive ring that tightens into a chamfer as the ball joint is seats; when you remove the ball joint the pressure is relived and you can turn an adjustment nut that is build into them.

They are actually what I am running on my car currently. He dosn't advertise them and it was a while ago i got mine. They are a good product and worth a shot if you cant get the comp-tech stuff anymore

That sounds pretty cool, do you remember what you paid?