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Leeky

Going without Reinforced (XL) Sidewalls on track?

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Hey peeps,

Looking to experiment here a little with track day tyres.

Does anyone on here use a non-xl (non reinforced/soft sidewall) tyre for track days? If so, what are you using, what made you choose that particular brand/model and how do you get on with them on track?

Do you ever find that they roll over onto the walls if you go in to tight corners too hard?

Just pondering the move from XL to a soft sidewall tyre to make the car feel less heavy/crashy and more like the softer way the stock Primacies feel (without the abysmal levels of traction).

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I never buy road tyres which are not XL rated.  Once you get used to them, they are fine and the car's suspension remains remarkably comfortable for a sports car.  Primacies are terrible tyres which should not be on such a car.  Yes, I've read all the 'but you can learn better as a beginner on them' yada yada comments but they will catch you out and are downright dangerous in the wet.

You can still easily feel the difference between, say, Goodyear Vector 4Seasons and Michelin Pilot Sport 4 with the former having a softer ride.

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Hmm, why compare all-season tires with lot of thread sypes & soft rubber compound vs UUHP summer tires? Load rating certainly plays too little part versus other differences between these tires in example? You may get XL rated winter tire, and it will feel like crap in summer vs non-XL summer tire. Never concentrate on one singled out parameter and decide on it governing every tire property that matters.

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Cheers guys. Sorry I wasn't very clear in what I’m asking (I modified my original post now to clarify as I originally did waffle on a bit lol)

I’m interested about only tyres that would be suitable for the track. So we’re not talking about winter tyres or all season tyres here as only a summer/UHP tyre would have an appropriate compound for track use.

I understand where you are coming from but its not a case that I need to get used to XL tyres as I have already been running XL walled AD08R’s for nearly 4 years. The primacy’s wont catch me out as I already constantly expect them to kick out as they have naff all grip; so I adjust my driving accordingly. I don't use them for anything other than trackdays where I am planning to intentionally go sideways.

I just wanted to know if anyone on here uses a non-xl tyre for track. If so, what are they using, what made them decide to use that particular brand/model and how do they fair on track with it.

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5 hours ago, maurice said:

AD08R's have very stiff sidewalls that are a lot stiffer than even a PS4 XL. I think if you went to a normal XL tyre you'd notice a difference.

Cheers Maurice. Thats a good point. I don't know why but in my head I had all XL walled tyres as being hard. Its a good point. Instead of going for a non-xl tyre i’ll try another brand thats still XL but softer.

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On 9/28/2020 at 12:12 AM, MartinT said:

I never buy road tyres which are not XL rated.  Once you get used to them, they are fine and the car's suspension remains remarkably comfortable for a sports car.  Primacies are terrible tyres which should not be on such a car.  Yes, I've read all the 'but you can learn better as a beginner on them' yada yada comments but they will catch you out and are downright dangerous in the wet.

You can still easily feel the difference between, say, Goodyear Vector 4Seasons and Michelin Pilot Sport 4 with the former having a softer ride.

Do Michelin Pilot Sport 4 XL have a much stiffer sidewall than primacies (which are not XL)?

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