200TW HPDE tire selections (with one condition)

[victorofhavoc]

The pricing for the conti is in an image in that link. 200$ a tire for 225/45/17 and 225 ea for a 255/40/17.

That's pre discount, also. Sign up for the sponsorship and about 100$ comes off the total... Not too bad!

 

[Half fast]

I wouldn't go less than 200tw unless you're competing in some TT series that requires it.

These cars aren't designed for that kind of grip. Oiling and cooling brakes become a real challenge. It's just not worth it for track days.

I mostly just want a set of real track tires for the experience. Might only do it once, but I've been doing this stuff for like15 years, have had every gen of GTI in one flavor or another, and aside from a couple sets of the previous version of the Yokohama 048s (032?) on my Mk1/Mk3 like 10 years ago I've always been on street tires.

I definitely have a bit of a problem with temps (but not oil temps, weirdly enough, just water temps), but I haven't really had an issue with brakes getting hot. I was going through rear pads, but I wasn't running full track pads in the rear last year. That might all change if I had slicks or something I guess.

 

[GTIfan99]

I mostly just want a set of real track tires for the experience. Might only do it once, but I've been doing this stuff for like15 years, have had every gen of GTI in one flavor or another, and aside from a couple sets of the previous version of the Yokohama 048s (032?) on my Mk1/Mk3 like 10 years ago I've always been on street tires.

I definitely have a bit of a problem with temps (but not oil temps, weirdly enough, just water temps), but I haven't really had an issue with brakes getting hot. I was going through rear pads, but I wasn't running full track pads in the rear last year. That might all change if I had slicks or something I guess.

I'm sure you know, but real track tires need more spring, will likely need race specific pads. Mo grip, mo problems.

 

[victorofhavoc]

That's totally true, lol. More grip = more heat = more stress = more wear.

However, most of the 100tw tires should be okay to run, mostly for the better heat ranges. The 200tw provide the same grip the 100tw do, they just heat and grease faster. The re71r and yoko a052 will grip just as well as the R888r, but after 3 laps the front are hotter than rear and you have to slow entry. After 3 laps the r888r are warm and rockin. 6 to 7 laps in the 200tw are grease balls and the R888r are starting to push. Staggered setup will help even out temps and you'll get a few more laps out of each before they start to push.

If you're eating through rear pads, TURN OFF YOUR TRACTION CONTROL! It will save you, and it will keep you from cooking the front brakes, but it will kill your rears and mess with your balance when trying to trail brake. Straight ahead brake stabilization has to be turned off before you start taking corners at 50-100 mph entry speed with trail braking! If you go to a heavier rear pad, you'll also generate more heat back there and traction control intervention with xds stuff with be much more violent.

I chased several water temp issues. Issue one was using the rs7 plugs. They kept misfiring at high rpm and causing crazy heat build up which would lead to cylinder shutoff. Stock plugs work great. Issue two was the 034 p34 intake causing high iat (even with reflective tape and shielding). Stock I take works great. Issue three was forgetting to put the air deflectors in the bumper back to force air at the cooling stack (i forget which instructions i followed, but they called for removing those ducts... Don't, that's stupid).

 

[burgerkong]

I'll just leave this right here.....
https://trackdaytire.com/continentalpreorder/

Don't understand why they wouldn't release a 265/35R18 size. Also depending on what the COO is, it may be a Hoosier product branded Continental. Continental private labels the Hoosier H2O wet tires as their own ExtremeContact Wet.

 

[Will_]

I chased several water temp issues. Issue one was using the rs7 plugs. They kept misfiring at high rpm and causing crazy heat build up which would lead to cylinder shutoff. Stock plugs work great. Issue two was the 034 p34 intake causing high iat (even with reflective tape and shielding). Stock I take works great. Issue three was forgetting to put the air deflectors in the bumper back to force air at the cooling stack (i forget which instructions i followed, but they called for removing those ducts... Don't, that's stupid).

Hmm. I have 034 intake but have not done logging to check IATs yet. How much worse was it than stock? It seems like such a similar design not sure how it could be so bad.

Also I definitely removed those deflectors installing a FMIC...oops

I had some cooling issues at the track last weekend. Coolant temp was still pegged at middle but I’ve heard not to trust that.

 

[victorofhavoc]

Hmm. I have 034 intake but have not done logging to check IATs yet. How much worse was it than stock? It seems like such a similar design not sure how it could be so bad.

Also I definitely removed those deflectors installing a FMIC...oops

I had some cooling issues at the track last weekend. Coolant temp was still pegged at middle but I’ve heard not to trust that.

The gauge is accurate once you go past about 220* i believe. Otherwise at 219 it stays at 190. Other than not having something to give you a warning that's its creeping up, I don't really see this as a problem.

The 034 is significantly worse. It's similar to stock and I have no idea why it's so much worse. The oe design does have one area where it looks like it would pocket air and 034 eliminates this pocket. I have no idea why this would effect anything, though, sorry.

Get the ducts back in, grab some tape and start sealing off areas leading into the cooling stack. Those ducts actually reduce drag quite a bit as well because the bumper isn't acting like a parachute with them in.

 

[GTIfan99]

The gauge is accurate once you go past about 220* i believe. Otherwise at 219 it stays at 190. Other than not having something to give you a warning that's its creeping up, I don't really see this as a problem.

The 034 is significantly worse. It's similar to stock and I have no idea why it's so much worse. The oe design does have one area where it looks like it would pocket air and 034 eliminates this pocket. I have no idea why this would effect anything, though, sorry.

Get the ducts back in, grab some tape and start sealing off areas leading into the cooling stack. Those ducts actually reduce drag quite a bit as well because the bumper isn't acting like a parachute with them in.

Do you think it's worth it for stock hardware stg 1 to get under there and try to further seal p the stack?

 

[victorofhavoc]

Do you think it's worth it for stock hardware stg 1 to get under there and try to further seal p the stack?

If you're seeing heat issues, for sure. If you dig into the grm forums you'll find a lot of miata guys that run stock power and spend time sealing everything up to get their water and oil to stick to the 220s and 230-40s.

 

[Will_]

I’ve decided if I choose to keep this car and go off the deep end with track prepping it the first thing I’m going to do is throw in the Mishimoto intercooler+radiator combo then mount an auxiliary oil cooler in front like the Racingline one. That’s about a 2.5 grand commitment I’m not yet willing to make though.

 

[victorofhavoc]

I’ve decided if I choose to keep this car and go off the deep end with track prepping it the first thing I’m going to do is throw in the Mishimoto intercooler+radiator combo then mount an auxiliary oil cooler in front like the Racingline one. That’s about a 2.5 grand commitment I’m not yet willing to make though.

The surface area of the stock radiator isn't awful.

Honestly if you really want the best cooling performance and dig into that deep end, you have to go to a larger louvre with fins that extend at least 3/4",seal off the front end and block all the stupid "pretty" design stuff, cut out the plastic honeycomb, install a couple air separators, build your own air expansion chamber that flows and seals directly to the cooling stack, move the ac condenser to somewhere inside the bumper, locate an oil cooler in an auxiliary cool path in the bumper with its own separate air ducting, build a 3" minimum splitter that includes diffusers that dump into the wheel well, and add some fender venting.

With this, you can run a stage 1 or 2 gti or R for a 4 hr Enduro and you'll be fine.

Larger heat exchangers are really only better if they have a larger surface area, but because they're stacked they also have to flow air well enough. This is tricky. Volume just increases your heat capacity, but surface area is where cooling is done. If you can keep things cool you don't need the big heavy parts in front of the wheel base. If you simply increase cooling volume, you've added weight far forward and you'll run longer on track, but ultimately will suffer the same cooling issues because you can't get the hot air out. If you only run 30 min sessions, then no big deal. I love running test n tunes because I can get several hours on track with only needing to refuel. It really builds skill level, but most streetable cars can't handle more than 45 mins (save for Porsche and lotus...).

 

[Will_]

The surface area of the stock radiator isn't awful.

Honestly if you really want the best cooling performance and dig into that deep end, you have to go to a larger louvre with fins that extend at least 3/4",seal off the front end and block all the stupid "pretty" design stuff, cut out the plastic honeycomb, install a couple air separators, build your own air expansion chamber that flows and seals directly to the cooling stack, move the ac condenser to somewhere inside the bumper, locate an oil cooler in an auxiliary cool path in the bumper with its own separate air ducting, build a 3" minimum splitter that includes diffusers that dump into the wheel well, and add some fender venting.

With this, you can run a stage 1 or 2 gti or R for a 4 hr Enduro and you'll be fine.

Larger heat exchangers are really only better if they have a larger surface area, but because they're stacked they also have to flow air well enough. This is tricky. Volume just increases your heat capacity, but surface area is where cooling is done. If you can keep things cool you don't need the big heavy parts in front of the wheel base. If you simply increase cooling volume, you've added weight far forward and you'll run longer on track, but ultimately will suffer the same cooling issues because you can't get the hot air out. If you only run 30 min sessions, then no big deal. I love running test n tunes because I can get several hours on track with only needing to refuel. It really builds skill level, but most streetable cars can't handle more than 45 mins (save for Porsche and lotus...).

Ok, I’m probably not going to go that far off the deep end lol. I think the extent of my plans are a stage 2 car with an wavetrack LSD that can do 5 20 minute sessions without blinking.

 

[victorofhavoc]

Ok, I’m probably not going to go that far off the deep end lol. I think the extent of my plans are a stage 2 car with an wavetrack LSD that can do 5 20 minute sessions without blinking.

Hey, I was really hoping that's what you meant by deep end, because I haven't seen too many people rip apart their gti/r to do it. They're just still too expensive to treat like a true track car.

Good goals though!

 

[Half fast]

If you're eating through rear pads, TURN OFF YOUR TRACTION CONTROL! It will save you, and it will keep you from cooking the front brakes, but it will kill your rears and mess with your balance when trying to trail brake. Straight ahead brake stabilization has to be turned off before you start taking corners at 50-100 mph entry speed with trail braking! If you go to a heavier rear pad, you'll also generate more heat back there and traction control intervention with xds stuff with be much more violent.

I chased several water temp issues. Issue one was using the rs7 plugs. They kept misfiring at high rpm and causing crazy heat build up which would lead to cylinder shutoff. Stock plugs work great. Issue two was the 034 p34 intake causing high iat (even with reflective tape and shielding). Stock I take works great. Issue three was forgetting to put the air deflectors in the bumper back to force air at the cooling stack (i forget which instructions i followed, but they called for removing those ducts... Don't, that's stupid).

I've got the TC all the way off (did the coding), though I can't remember when I did that to be honest. In any event, I've got better pads and no TC now, so hopefully I'm good.

I have the stock intake and all the deflectors installed, but I did go to RS7 plugs when I went to the IS38. That'd be an easy thing to swap out and see if it makes a difference. I also have a friend hooking me up and installing a new A/C condenser for cheap. The lower half of mine, where most of the air gets in, is pretty mangled and the same guy said it was just packed with bugs when he installed the CSF radiator.

 

[GTIfan99]

I've got the TC all the way off (did the coding), though I can't remember when I did that to be honest. In any event, I've got better pads and no TC now, so hopefully I'm good.

I have the stock intake and all the deflectors installed, but I did go to RS7 plugs when I went to the IS38. That'd be an easy thing to swap out and see if it makes a difference. I also have a friend hooking me up and installing a new A/C condenser for cheap. The lower half of mine, where most of the air gets in, is pretty mangled and the same guy said it was just packed with bugs when he installed the CSF radiator.

What is XDS settings? Did you disable straight ahead braking stabilization?