Re: Least expensive Track 15\"ers?
Tirerack has 712s for $59... cheapest I can find the Falkens are $75....
With your growing level of experience Todd, the 712s are not remotely in the same discussion as a track tire. Why bother??
I need the least expensive quality stuff I can find right now...
My street tires are 711s... and I KNOW I can't run on those.... so I gotta get sumthin else.... but money is a BIG obstacle right now.
I ran on my 711's last weekend with not too much of a problem. The tires held up physically and don't show any excessive wear. Only thing was that they started to go away about 20 minutes into a 30 minute session. But it was a very gradual and minimal decrease in grip. Not anything that caught me by surprise. The car just went from pusing a little in 7 to pushing a little more in 7. And that was really the only place I noticed it.
Overall, they performed pretty damn well for a street tire. But then again, I'd imagine we don't have the same track temps you have.
Also keep in mind that I started out the weekend with less than 50% tread depth. I'm sure the fact that there was less tread to 'squirm around' and build up heat helped quite a bit.
I started out the day with 38psi cold in all four tires. The most pressure build up was in the left front. In all it was 44LF, 43RF, 42LR, and 41RR. The pressures remained like that for most of the weekend. The car felt pretty neutral except for that push in 7 and a little bit of push in 5.
So, if you're going out just to have fun and your 711's are at least 50% worn, I'd say just stick with them and have fun. Now if you're under the clock, I'd say go for either Azenis or Victoracers. The only problem I see with running new 712's on track is that you may see excessive heat build up from the tall tread blocks on new tires. IMHO, you'd be better off with worn out 711's instead of new 712's. You may have more initial grip with the 712's but the heat build up may come back to bite you in the ass.
Ok, enough rambling for today...
