Track Questions

N

Nocturnal

Member
Hello,

I currently daily drive my 2004 z4 3.0i (6spd). My only complaint is how numb the EPS is. I'm looking to track my Z4 a handful of times this summer and into the winter. I currently run square on all 4 tires with 225/45 ZR17. Right now the vehicle has Michelin PS4 tires. However, I'm wondering if I should buy a new set of 4 tires for the track. If so, what tires should I go for? I had a friend who took his PS4s and said one track session burned through them and he told me to see what tire is good for the car and durability.

My rotors and pads are also low on the car, so I was looking to see if anyone here has any recommendations for a new set of rotors and pads that'd be good on track and around the city.

Also any tips for tracking the Z4 would be amazing!

Thank you!
 
My guess is your spelling of tires, and use of rotors suggests you're stateside? I know tyrereviews just did a great review of 200trw tyres, so id start there.

However... id do a few days on the mps4s to get a feel for the car before moving to stickier rubber. If you dont slide around, keep an eye on temperatures and pressures, they'll be ok.

Can't help with brake pads, dunno what's available stateside.
 
I'd echo above; don't bother with stickier rubber to start with - a good road tyre like the PS4 in my experience has a nice progressive limit, so you should be able to get a feel for the balance etc at more manageable speeds! My advice would just be to keep a close eye on tyre pressures (keep them around 32psi hot in my experience), and don't do long stints and you should be fine on the PS4's.

In terms of brake pads I'd see what the M3 boys are running - I think I remember you guys get Raybestos ST45s over there(?) - if they do your pattern they are EXTREMELY good for trackdays - they'll be way overkill for your first track outing but they are very good...
 
brillomaster said:
My guess is your spelling of tires, and use of rotors suggests you're stateside? I know tyrereviews just did a great review of 200trw tyres, so id start there.

However... id do a few days on the mps4s to get a feel for the car before moving to stickier rubber. If you dont slide around, keep an eye on temperatures and pressures, they'll be ok.

Can't help with brake pads, dunno what's available stateside.
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Ah yes, I am in California. I have MPS4S on the car right now. A friend of mine told me that for the track I'd likely want to change them for better suited tires and to also preserve the life as I daily drive the car as well.

Ed Doe said:
I'd echo above; don't bother with stickier rubber to start with - a good road tyre like the PS4 in my experience has a nice progressive limit, so you should be able to get a feel for the balance etc at more manageable speeds! My advice would just be to keep a close eye on tyre pressures (keep them around 32psi hot in my experience), and don't do long stints and you should be fine on the PS4's.

In terms of brake pads I'd see what the M3 boys are running - I think I remember you guys get Raybestos ST45s over there(?) - if they do your pattern they are EXTREMELY good for trackdays - they'll be way overkill for your first track outing but they are very good...
Click to expand...
Gotcha, unfortunately our cars don't have an active readout of the tire pressure. Should I just fill before the track day?

Also, any thoughts on buying this: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-brake-kit-zimmermann-textar-epad-34116864058ktfr3#warranty
 
Get a tyre pressure gauge for a few dollars, then you can check and bleed off pressure when the tyres get hot after a session on track. I'd guess in californian sun the pressure will go up by 6-8psi, which will then make the tyres slide around a lot more.

Also those pads look fairly standard, so... great round the city, won't last that long on track. But fine for one or two sessions. No need spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars on track pads and tyres until you know you need them.
 
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yeah as above, get a tyre pressure gauge - I'd have the tyres something around 28psi to start with, do your sighting laps (1-2 laps half pace), come in, check the pressures and adjust to 32psi, then do a faster stint of 3-4 laps, then come in repeat. You'll find they'll stabilise fairly quickly after a few sessions and then you're good to go all day, provided you don't let them cool off too long between stints!

One more thing I would suggest just in terms of prolonging the life of your tyres - if you're running stock camber settings (which I suspect you are) then you're likely to get more knurling of the tyres/rubber as you start to lean harder on the car. Just keep an eye on it to avoid 1) overdriving the tyres, and 2) rinsing the tyres. If needsbe do shorter stints, or leave the tyres to cool down longer between stints if you're pushing harder.

It's not the end of the world, but you'll get a lot more out of your tyres if you're just a little more sympathetic to them :)
 
brillomaster said:
Get a tyre pressure gauge for a few dollars, then you can check and bleed off pressure when the tyres get hot after a session on track. I'd guess in californian sun the pressure will go up by 6-8psi, which will then make the tyres slide around a lot more.

Also those pads look fairly standard, so... great round the city, won't last that long on track. But fine for one or two sessions. No need spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars on track pads and tyres until you know you need them.
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Thanks, I'm looking to buy from fcpeuro. Any recommendations for better brakes then? Sounds like I'll buy the zimmerman rotors but different pads?
 
Ed Doe said:
yeah as above, get a tyre pressure gauge - I'd have the tyres something around 28psi to start with, do your sighting laps (1-2 laps half pace), come in, check the pressures and adjust to 32psi, then do a faster stint of 3-4 laps, then come in repeat. You'll find they'll stabilise fairly quickly after a few sessions and then you're good to go all day, provided you don't let them cool off too long between stints!

One more thing I would suggest just in terms of prolonging the life of your tyres - if you're running stock camber settings (which I suspect you are) then you're likely to get more knurling of the tyres/rubber as you start to lean harder on the car. Just keep an eye on it to avoid 1) overdriving the tyres, and 2) rinsing the tyres. If needsbe do shorter stints, or leave the tyres to cool down longer between stints if you're pushing harder.

It's not the end of the world, but you'll get a lot more out of your tyres if you're just a little more sympathetic to them :)
Click to expand...
Thank you, I shall report back after my first day :D

Any recommendations on rotors and pads? I'll see if FCP Euro has anything.
 
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