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I selected Toyo RR 225 45 15s as my track tire. This two groove R-compound appears to be very close in lap times to more aggressive R-compounds while having a longer track life. Exactly what I wanted for a summer of track days. These are mounted on beautiful Volks TE37s – about the only wheel with the barrel clearance necessary to fit over the Wilwood BBK.
Alex at PZ Tuning knew that I was watching over his shoulder as he mounted the Toyo RR's on my new Volks TE37 wheels. The Hunter machine at PZ Tuning grabs the wheel with rubber pads to protect the product from any marks. Phew!
I selected the RR for its reputation of being a sticky tire that also has a long (in the R Compound World) lifespan. Being on a budget that is getting stretched to the breaking point, that's what I needed. Also, I am looking forward to really pushing the car and to do that I knew I wanted two groove R-Compounds on the car.The night before I was taking the Nissan to the track to break it in, at 6:30 p.m., the car was buttoned up and ready to go. The RV and tow dolly was hauled out and the car strapped into place. The format for the day was that Katie and I were instructors for Ontario Time Attack’s High Performance Driving School – with set times for instructors to take their own cars out. It just happened that this mainly occurred during the student class sessions – which happened first thing in the morning. We quickly got our car through tech, got the Volks and RRs mounted, and headed onto the recently redesigned Driver’s Development Track at CTMP.
The car is simply waiting for the wheels to be ready to hit the track. Some essentials for the track – jack, jack stands, basic wrenches, torque wrench, and cordless impact gun.It took three to four laps to get the car warmed up, a couple of more to be sure that it was ready, and then – with the GFB Electronic Boost Gauge set to 12 lbs – with Katie in the passenger seat we went hot. And literally started laughing and high fiving. On the way to the track in the RV Katie had a discussion with me that the car simply was not working. It was not fun. It was not reliable. All of that was forgotten as we could step on the gas and it would simply take off. Exiting the corner … at the apex … even before the apex. The Nismo LSD was literally better than I had even imagined – the car pulled like mad through the corners. After two laps I had to pull off. Katie knew it was to give her a turn behind the wheel – when in actuality it was because I was on such an adrenaline buzz that I had to park. I did not want to make a driving mistake simply because I was too happy! LOL.
I had not changed from the street hood to the vented hood that I use on the track. To keep things cool in the turbocharged engine bay, the hood came off and we limited our track time. I'm in the white helmet riding shotgun; wearing the black helmet is Katie and she's driving.
