Hankook Z211 C50 Tires
12-28-06 | 11:22 PM
#1
Hankook Z211 C50 Tires
I see Hankook is closing these out and they are on sale in 225/50R16 for $110/corner. That's a really good deal for R-compounds. They come in C30 (hard track) C50 (medium track) and C70 (soft autox and track hotlap) compounds. The ones on sale are almost all C50s that I've seen.
Since I do several autocrosses and one or two track days per year, I'm thinking these C50s could work well for both. I'm not looking for maximum AutoX grip, just something that will get me most of the advantage of an R compound.
Although it's a track tire, I'm concerned the Z211 C50 won't take many heat cycles, since I'll probably drive these to/from the autox events.
Has anyone used the Z211s? How long do they hold up? Is there anything I should watch for in buying closeout tire models? (How old is too old?)
Dave
Since I do several autocrosses and one or two track days per year, I'm thinking these C50s could work well for both. I'm not looking for maximum AutoX grip, just something that will get me most of the advantage of an R compound.
Although it's a track tire, I'm concerned the Z211 C50 won't take many heat cycles, since I'll probably drive these to/from the autox events.
Has anyone used the Z211s? How long do they hold up? Is there anything I should watch for in buying closeout tire models? (How old is too old?)
Dave
12-31-06 | 01:51 PM
#3
Well a parallel information source just passed on a lot of good info to me about this exact tire. This guy has been racing the Z211 and Z214 for a while, and his teammate is a long-time Hankook tire guy.
The Z211 is a molded tread tire developed for racing in Korea, where shaving is not permitted. As such, it runs very well with full tread depth (6/32s IIRC) and will not chunk or wear abnormally. The C70 and C90 compounds are ideal for autocrossing, and the C50 and C30 are soft and hard track compounds.
Right now I see mostly C50 on sale, and so that's what I'm going to buy. The C50 is ideal for casual track days, and as an autox tire it won't get max grip (too slow to get warm) but it will last a long time and drive a lot better than the streets. It is grooved enough to allow for careful street driving. He didn't think running them as autoX tires would present any problems at all
For heat cycling, he recommended that I do one session (say, 20min) driven with the middle laps being the most aggressive, but never enough to squeal them. Then the tires should be rotated front to back (LF<->LR, RF<->RR), cooled completely, run for another heat cycle, and cooled completely again. He said that from that point, for casual HPDE driving they will be ready to go, and you can run them on any corner of the car. I didn't ask for his full race tire heat cycle procedure.
Dave
The Z211 is a molded tread tire developed for racing in Korea, where shaving is not permitted. As such, it runs very well with full tread depth (6/32s IIRC) and will not chunk or wear abnormally. The C70 and C90 compounds are ideal for autocrossing, and the C50 and C30 are soft and hard track compounds.
Right now I see mostly C50 on sale, and so that's what I'm going to buy. The C50 is ideal for casual track days, and as an autox tire it won't get max grip (too slow to get warm) but it will last a long time and drive a lot better than the streets. It is grooved enough to allow for careful street driving. He didn't think running them as autoX tires would present any problems at all
For heat cycling, he recommended that I do one session (say, 20min) driven with the middle laps being the most aggressive, but never enough to squeal them. Then the tires should be rotated front to back (LF<->LR, RF<->RR), cooled completely, run for another heat cycle, and cooled completely again. He said that from that point, for casual HPDE driving they will be ready to go, and you can run them on any corner of the car. I didn't ask for his full race tire heat cycle procedure.
Dave
01-24-07 | 02:41 PM
#7
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They had a write-up on these in the August 2005 GRM....you can download it for free off the internet. I recall the verdict being good lateral grip, not so good longitudinal grip. But good tires for the money.
Quicker10u: If you are talking about for street use, these would not apply. Get the RT-615s instead. If you are talking about track/auto-x, they will be significantly faster than the RT-615.
Quicker10u: If you are talking about for street use, these would not apply. Get the RT-615s instead. If you are talking about track/auto-x, they will be significantly faster than the RT-615.
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01-24-07 | 07:12 PM
#9
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From: BC, Canada
They also tested the Z214's.
I've been thinking about getting some of the 225/50/15's for my 15x8 track wheels. I've been doing some looking and came across this on a BMW forum (I think).
The Hankooks will work unshaved. Obviously they are faster if you shave them. As far as heat cycling them, you don't need to have that done by someone else, you can do it at the track - that goes for any tire. Here is some info from USTCC on Hankook tire preparation and care:
Tread Shaving:
The two main circumferential grooves and the tread wear pins on an unshaved tire are molded at approximately 7/32". There are six rows of four tread wear pins around the tire.
All of the wear pins across the tread and around the tire should measure approximately 4/32" on a properly shaved tire, and the surface of the tread should be smooth because rough sharp edges from shaving may induce tread tearing or "graining". If the tread surface is rough, the driver should take a couple of slow laps to scrub off the edges before running hard.
Tire Scuffing:
Hankook Ventus RSS Z211 235/40ZR17 in both the C30 Hard and C50 Medium tread compounds were evaluated during preseason testing, and USTCC selected the C50 Medium compound as the spec tire for the series.
It's very important to scuff the C50 Medium compound tires before running them hard for an entire session. Take a couple of slow laps to gradually bring the tires up to temperature, then run a couple of hard laps, and then take the
tires off the car, and put them in the shade to cool down.
Tire Management:
When running an entire practice or qualifying session on a new set of tires that haven't been previously scuffed, it's still important to follow the scuffing procedure during the session.
Take a couple of slow laps to gradually bring the tires up to temperature, then run a couple of hard laps to set a quick time, then run a slow lap to let the tires cool down, and then run some more hard laps to set a good lap time. It's very important not to run hard for an entire session on a new set of tires. Think of it like breaking in a new engine, or bedding in a new set of brakes.
I've been thinking about getting some of the 225/50/15's for my 15x8 track wheels. I've been doing some looking and came across this on a BMW forum (I think).
The Hankooks will work unshaved. Obviously they are faster if you shave them. As far as heat cycling them, you don't need to have that done by someone else, you can do it at the track - that goes for any tire. Here is some info from USTCC on Hankook tire preparation and care:
Tread Shaving:
The two main circumferential grooves and the tread wear pins on an unshaved tire are molded at approximately 7/32". There are six rows of four tread wear pins around the tire.
All of the wear pins across the tread and around the tire should measure approximately 4/32" on a properly shaved tire, and the surface of the tread should be smooth because rough sharp edges from shaving may induce tread tearing or "graining". If the tread surface is rough, the driver should take a couple of slow laps to scrub off the edges before running hard.
Tire Scuffing:
Hankook Ventus RSS Z211 235/40ZR17 in both the C30 Hard and C50 Medium tread compounds were evaluated during preseason testing, and USTCC selected the C50 Medium compound as the spec tire for the series.
It's very important to scuff the C50 Medium compound tires before running them hard for an entire session. Take a couple of slow laps to gradually bring the tires up to temperature, then run a couple of hard laps, and then take the
tires off the car, and put them in the shade to cool down.
Tire Management:
When running an entire practice or qualifying session on a new set of tires that haven't been previously scuffed, it's still important to follow the scuffing procedure during the session.
Take a couple of slow laps to gradually bring the tires up to temperature, then run a couple of hard laps to set a quick time, then run a slow lap to let the tires cool down, and then run some more hard laps to set a good lap time. It's very important not to run hard for an entire session on a new set of tires. Think of it like breaking in a new engine, or bedding in a new set of brakes.
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