Thunderbolt event

[TireShoppe]

Joe -- will you have a tire machine at the track?

Yes I will.  I'll be at the bottom of the bridge on the Lightning track.

Joe

[George3]

emayer wrote:

Here's a general question for the gurus- how should we adjust tire pressures given the cooler temps? I left my physics book in the fireplace.....

Eric-

TIRE PRESSURES IN THE RAIN

For both autocross and road racing, increase tire pressures 6-10 psi from what you would normally run in dry conditions. Hydroplaning occurs when a wedge of water develops between the tire and road surface. This wedge can actually lift the tire off the road and eliminate traction. Increasing the pressure "rounds" the profile of the tire by decreasing the deflection of the tire. That's a good thing in the rain. This results in a smaller contact patch- - narrower and shorter. It also helps keep the grooves in the tread open so they can channel the water out from under the tire.

George Busch

[StoogeMoe203]

Darren wrote:

Yeah I just know from experience that the MPSC lasts a whole lot longer than the R888. And if you talk to anyone that races R888's they almost universally hate them -- to the point that next year they are bringing back the RA-1 for Spec Miata and Spec e30! The complaints are mostly the tire wear.

Don't forget Spec 944! I collected a year's worth of data that is now nearly useless. Time to start over with the RA-1.

[George3]

I had both RA-1's and R-888's on my GT3.

I preferred the RA-1's because they last a long time (~ almost 25 heat cycles) and actually developed more grip as they lost their tread.

[Brian Minkin]

I bought the new Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110 to use as rain tires. This is Hankook's Max Performance Summer tire.  The Ventus V12 evo is designed to combine comfort and control in dry and wet road conditions. However like all summer tires, the Ventus V12 evo is not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.  Keeping my fingers crossed that the temps get above 40.  Put about 100 miles on them on the street and I like the ride.

[fasthonda]

hi!

george and i have used the hankook Z212 ultimate high performance summer tire in full tread as rain tires;  they do very well in this venue....   (brian above is talking about their newer tire, which should be even better).

as others have said, higher pressures in the rain is the way to go.  and don't forget to have quiet hands, and quiet feet!  open the wheel and let the car go;  don't pinch it and hold it, let it run!   also, don't forget to 'hunt' for traction all over the track;  there is no such thing as 'a proper line' in the wet;  the line is whereever the most traction is!  this often can be on the 'rim shot' of a corner, or by running straight across the 'normal dry line' to the other side of the turn.  experiment, have fun, and enjoy it!!!!

(i LOVE the rain!    it's tough to beat ReidSpeed in the rain!   LOL!)

todd

ReidSpeed

 

[Brian Minkin]

I ran Thunderbolt in the rain last month before I blew a rear tire.  Old Bridgestone SO2A's and a rear tire separated at the tread.  Learned something about running older tires in the rain with increased pressure. Probably not a good idea. Thunderbolt has some streams that run across the track and turn 1 can be a lake. On street tires I found adequate grip and just had to adjust the line for deep standing water. But it was in the 70's so I am sure these temps will make it more challenging.

[catchacab]

Thanks Brian and Todd! I saw them on tire rack's site and thought that due to the price they might not be a good choice for the track. I will call cj's in the am (the are just a mile away from my office). I forgot I have an extra set of 17s in my garage.

[bobt993]

MPSC's are not good in the rain despite the tread pattern.  I can get them hot, but it takes two laps of very aggressive driving with heavy slip angles.   Not recommended for just learning.

[bobt993]

fasthonda wrote:

hi!

george and i have used the hankook Z212 ultimate high performance summer tire in full tread as rain tires; they do very well in this venue.... (brian above is talking about their newer tire, which should be even better).

as others have said, higher pressures in the rain is the way to go. and don't forget to have quiet hands, and quiet feet! open the wheel and let the car go; don't pinch it and hold it, let it run! also, don't forget to 'hunt' for traction all over the track; there is no such thing as 'a proper line' in the wet; the line is whereever the most traction is! this often can be on the 'rim shot' of a corner, or by running straight across the 'normal dry line' to the other side of the turn. experiment, have fun, and enjoy it!!!!

(i LOVE the rain! it's tough to beat ReidSpeed in the rain! LOL!)

todd

ReidSpeed

Darren and I will be there..........