Best track tyre

@NickD I am looking around for some tyres to put on to a second set of wheels to use on a few track days a year in my Clio. I have seen people saying very good things about MRFs. Would they we overkill for a say 3 or 4 trackways a year?
 
@NickD I am looking around for some tyres to put on to a second set of wheels to use on a few track days a year in my Clio. I have seen people saying very good things about MRFs. Would they we overkill for a say 3 or 4 trackways a year?
Most semi slicks are around this price point anyway. I imagine you’d get the whole years worth of track days from 1 set so they work out cheaper than a road tyre or cheaper semi slick.
 
  • Like
Reactions: burrellbloke
I imagine these are a hard compound? Do they require a decent bit of heat before they get sticky?

Out of interest @NickD do you know how much track time the ones you have pictured have had?
 
@NickD I am looking around for some tyres to put on to a second set of wheels to use on a few track days a year in my Clio. I have seen people saying very good things about MRFs. Would they we overkill for a say 3 or 4 trackways a year?
I am not quite sure how to answer your question as having spare wheels is not overkill. It is easy to misunderstand just how much track time is potentially available on a track day. A typical race (Sprint Race) in the UK will be 20 minutes. Some are shorter at 15 minutes and the number of races in a weekend is two to three. So for a typical weekend race meet at clubman level there may be 3 x 20 minute races and a 20 minute qualifying so an hour and 20 minutes at the top end or just 45 at the bottom end. Testing the day before is a different matter. Even on red flagfest trackdays, popular with a certain provider, you would likely get 2and a half hours of available track time which is pretty much double a race meeting. So 3 to 4 trackdays is equivalent to a whole year of racing for many. Other factors are of course, how you drive, when and where and million other questions. The next part of that question is would your road tyres survive? Road tyres are absolutely fine for trackdays if they are managed. All the energy from the engine in traction and then the brakes in slowing (thing just how hot they get) plus the energy on cornering goes through the tyres. But they are not capable of sustaining that level of energy input for very long and so start to overheat and wear rapidly. So, again, is it overkill to have spare wheels and track tyres? You will end up spending the money somewhere through the year, it is just deciding when. And as for choosing the ZTR tyre, it is one of the best out there and so no, I don't think it is overkill at all.
 
I imagine these are a hard compound? Do they require a decent bit of heat before they get sticky?

Out of interest @NickD do you know how much track time the ones you have pictured have had?
They are off our MK3 MX-5 from the 2019 Race of Remembrance, used on the Sunday when it was dry so will have covered around 5.5 hours at race pace at Anglesea (I could be talking bollocks and have come from a Civic Cup car) plus having done some testing at Blyton and also I think used on a test day at Silverstone.
The durability is not because they are particularly hard but well designed. They are however, not a soft tyre, unless you want soft ones. I would not recommend soft ones for track days. The typical warm up time is considered to be two laps of Brands Indy or one of Snetterton.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: LiamP
Nick is the man with the experience with these, but it isn’t just sales patter which he writes.
As an example. I was at full confidence with these within 2 laps of Cadwell, with track temps little above 0 degrees.

Me and my mates, we drive hard. Every tyre we/I have used to date, have been ruined quickly. These MRF’s are the first I’ve used which actually last.
 
  • Like
Reactions: R20BTG