I've been using these Bridgestones (RE-11s) for several summers, and they have been fantastic! I just had them switched out for my AS tires a few weeks ago and it's amazing how much better the car handles.

I'm not a track guy, sunny days only, but not a timid driver. I have Continental Extreme Contact on my 02 S. I run 205/50ZR17 on the front and 255/40ZR17 on the rear. This last set has a manufacture date of 4215 and I will probably replace them next spring. Guessing that's not too bad.

This looks like a good thread to kick in this question on. Several of you who've responded here have mentioned what you look for in a tire (while not actually telling me which tire you use, hahaha).

My car is an '03 S, that I'd like to do a couple track days in.

I think the "smart" way for me to approach this is to have a spare set of wheeels / tires that I use for the track.
On the car now are new-ish Michelin Pilot Sport AS/3, 205/50/17 front, 255/40/17 rear. I don't get the sense I'll love these at the track, but they seem to be a good road tire.

I'm sure this is a common thing for others who track their driver, so I'm looking forwarding to hearing how y'all handle this issue What's the right setup (wheel / tire) for me to get as my spare set? I'll remain budget-minded, so please keep that in mind as you respond. For that matter, if I'm off-base about the spare-set, and you think it makes sense to be swapping back-n-forth on the same wheels, I'd love to hear about how y'all do that.

Thanks in Advance!

I've recently had my tires replaced. The old Kumho ones were reasonably fresh when I bought them second hand two years ago, but because of dimensions, I was running comfort tirer in the front and sport tires in the rear. Not ideal on the track with massive understeer as soon as they got warm.

About a month ago I replaced them with Michelin PS2. To lessen understeer even more, I went with 225/45-17 instead of 205/50-17 for the front wheels. That's as wide as you can go on a seven inch wide rim. The rear tires are 255/40-17 as usual.

A few days after getting them on the car I went to a track day and there's a huge difference. I didn't get any lap times, since that's not allowed, but it sure felt faster than before. No tire squeal and I even managed to pass some faster cars.

Do NOT swap back and forth mounting on same set of wheels. Not only will a second set of wheels pay for themselves quickly in two years or less (even if only doing 2 events per year), you'll drive yourself absolutely bonkers w/ constant hassle of making appointments at shops and transporting tires to/from, etc. Each time you mount/dismount a tire you also run risk of destroying the bead...

Depending on your area and who you use, many shops get quite busy around events. Candidly, they're not gonna want to eat up preciou$ shop time doing tire swaps when they can do track inspections & set-ups, o&f changes, brake flushes, etc. A second set of wheels allows you to do swaps in your own driveway in under 1hr w/ floor jack, breaker bar and torque wrench (some anti-seize paste occasionally too). It also enables you to easily self inspect your suspension, brake pads/rotors and perform brake flushes too... saving you even more $$ so you can do more events and become a better driver ;)

So, just buy a set of OEM take-off wheels (or buy new daily wheels and use your existing ones if you prefer). You will have absolutely NO problem finding a full set anywhere between $400-800 (possibly even less). Remember, you want straight and cheap - that's it. Why? They will get marked/damaged and there is no concours judging at DEs. Straight and cheap (of course quality too if not OEM).

As for tires... tons of options but most depend on your driving abilities and budget. Fundamentally understand the main composition difference b/w street & track tires. When street tires get hot, the ENTIRE tire gets hot more or less uniformly. Harken back to h/s physics and old PV=nRT and you quickly see why street tires, when hot, get 'greasy'. Track tires on the other hand are designed so that only the surface making contact w/ pavement gets hot (to promote adhesion) while, for all intents and purposes, the rest of tire stays at a lower more consistent temp (keeping the P & V in check as well). Yes, they too get greasy after enough T but their thresholds for doing so are much different (higher).

There obviously is middle ground in b/w A/S street tires and R compound track tires. Namely the graduated performance ratings from max performance summer to extreme contact summer and streetable track performance ratings. The good news w/ dedicated track tires is you don't have to live w/ a bad decision for long - LOL. Of course the flip side of that coin being you'll replace them sooner than you typically would street tires...

My suggestion would be talk to a seasoned track/DE veteran in your area (a lot of times these guys work at dealers for an easy starting point) & get their assistance picking the right tire for you. Plus they often have a line on someone selling a set of take-off wheels or even complete wheel tire package combination.

Good luck :)

Ho ho ho ...

For Porsches, it's easy ... it's whatever tire Walter Rohrl tests and approves ... which rates an "N" molded into the sidewall.

Perhaps the greatest rally car driver ever, now a Porsche consultant.

As I write, currently running the Millie Miglia in an old 356.

You can find the list at Porsche's website.

Nominated (by me) for absolute COOLEST post in an automotive thread.... ever.
Hahaha


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Thanks for all of the advice, Burg.
Regarding spare take-off wheels: I've been reading about staggered vs square. It seems square is the more common setup, and seems to make sense for me. If that's the way I'm planning, am I looking for (4) rear wheels? or (4) front wheels? What size tire tends to be best for this?

Square set-up is permissible in Boxster Spec where everything must be stock/spec...

4 fronts will be easy to find... meaning you instead will be looking for 4 rears ;)

Staggered is fine too - especially as you get started... but you won't be able to rotate other than side to side (and not in all cases either depending on tire choice).

Good luck :)

Thanks Burg!