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Best Track Tires for the ND MX-5

This page is for ND owners running HPDE and track days, where the tire has to survive 20-plus minutes of sustained hard laps, not a single 60-second run. If you autocross instead, see autocross tires — the priorities are different, and the fastest autocross tire is often a poor track tire. New to all of this, start at the tires overview.

What track use asks of a tire

Section titled “What track use asks of a tire”

A track session is many consecutive hot laps. That inverts the autocross priorities:

  • Heat tolerance and consistency beat peak grip. A tire that’s hero on lap 1 but greasy by lap 5 will frustrate you all session. You want a predictable grip level lap after lap.
  • Fade is the enemy. As the compound heat-soaks past its window, grip drops and the car starts sliding. The question isn’t how much grip but how long it holds it.
  • Durability is measured in sessions and heat cycles. Track heat is brutal; a set that cycles out fast gets expensive quickly.
  • Chunking and graining appear under sustained combined loads like trail braking while sliding, failure modes you rarely see in autocross.
  • Wet bailout matters. You can’t always pack up when it rains at a track day, so a tire’s wet behavior is a safety consideration, not just a lap-time one.

Per-tire behavior

Section titled “Per-tire behavior”

Price tiers are relative within the ND market: $ budget, $$ mainstream, $$$ premium.

Falken Azenis RT660 / RT660+ — the track-day value pick

Section titled “Falken Azenis RT660 / RT660+ — the track-day value pick”
  • Sizes: 205/50R16, 225/45R16, 245/40R17 · Price: $$
  • Across a session: Your best lap is typically lap 1 or 2; after that it heat-soaks and falls off roughly 0.5–1 second, then settles and holds a consistent lower level for the rest of the session. Predictable, which is what you want when learning a track.
  • Resilience: The durability champion of the mainstream 200TW tires — owners report on the order of 15–20 track sessions before it’s truly done, notably longer than the A052. It also tolerates being driven to the track.
  • Quirk: Prone to center-tread-rib graining under hard combined loading if not heat-cycled in properly; a break-in heat cycle measurably reduces unusual wear. The RT660+ revision improved heat tolerance.
  • Best for: The drive-to-the-track ND owner who wants consistency, longevity, and value over outright peak grip.

Yokohama Advan A052 — fast laps, short life

Section titled “Yokohama Advan A052 — fast laps, short life”
  • Sizes: 205/50R16, 225/45R16, 245/40R17 · Price: $$$
  • Across a session: Very high grip when in its window, but it tends to fade when pushed in sustained hot running — better for short, hard stints than long sessions in heat.
  • Resilience: The weak point for track use. It wears and heat-cycles out fast; street miles kill a set within months. Excellent for qualifying-style short efforts, expensive as a season-long track tire.
  • Best for: Time-attack or short-stint use where a few maximum laps matter more than cost-per-session.

Bridgestone Potenza RE-71RS — great autocross tire, compromised on track

Section titled “Bridgestone Potenza RE-71RS — great autocross tire, compromised on track”
  • Sizes: 205/50R16, 225/45R16, 245/40R17 · Price: $$$
  • Across a session: Phenomenal peak and cold grip (its autocross strength), but it builds heat and falls off during sustained lapping, exactly the behavior you don’t want for a track session.
  • Resilience: Heat-cycles out on a runs basis; sustained track heat consumes it faster than the RT660.
  • Best for: Owners who primarily autocross and do the occasional track day on the same set, not the choice if track is your main use.

Toyo Proxes R888R — the heat-cycle workhorse

Section titled “Toyo Proxes R888R — the heat-cycle workhorse”
  • Sizes: 205/50R16, 225/45R16 · Price: $$$
  • Across a session: A competition-oriented R-compound that’s happiest hot and holds up well across sustained laps. Needs a proper warm-up before it gives its best, unlike the street-biased 200TW tires.
  • Resilience: Built for repeated track heat cycles; the long-haul track-day choice among these.
  • Wet: Near-zero — treat it as a dry-only tire.
  • Best for: Dedicated track-day ND owners who want a tire engineered for sustained heat rather than autocross peak grip.

Nankang AR-1 — budget track option

Section titled “Nankang AR-1 — budget track option”
  • Sizes: 205/50R16, 225/45R16 · Price: $
  • Across a session: Surprisingly heat-tolerant for the price — owners report running a 20–25 minute session in 100°F-plus heat without it going greasy. Grip ceiling is below the premium tires.
  • Best for: Getting into track days without a premium-tire budget.

Reading the warning signs on track

Section titled “Reading the warning signs on track”
  • Graining (a torn, rolled-rubber surface on a tread rib) comes from localized surface overheating under combined load — usually trail braking while the tire is sliding. Smoother inputs and a proper heat cycle reduce it.
  • Greasy / sliding after a few laps means the compound is past its temperature window — back off a few tenths and let it recover, or shorten your stints.
  • Chunking (chunks of tread tearing away) signals a tire being run far past its limit or heat range — back off and reassess pressures and tire choice.

Driving to the track vs. trailering

Section titled “Driving to the track vs. trailering”
  • Drive-to-track favors the RT660 and RT660+: durable, streetable, consistent, and tolerant of the highway miles to and from the event. This is what most ND track-day owners run.
  • Trailered / dedicated opens up the R888R or A052 for more peak or sustained-heat performance, since you’re not spending tread and heat cycles on the commute.
  • Whatever you run, set cold pressures so hot pressures land in the manufacturer’s window — expect a 4–8 psi build on track. See track tire pressures for cold-set targets and using tire temps to dial camber.
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