Its not the speed, but the power laid down by the SC that is important. If it handled that without consantly sliding or spinning then they did a great job.

Andrew

 

Well said!!!

An IIRC, it was your very first time on a track, yeah?

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

ROFLMAO !!!!!

Said even better again!!!

All hail Wildcard

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

Specifically: the 4 shitbox ones I recently replaced with Nankangs

Sometimes I crack myself up...

Cheers,
Hymee.

Edit: OK, OK!! The Yokohama AVS102's had "AA" for traction molded into the sidewalls:

 

Go to bed, you idiot!!

 

Bugger, you quoted me before I edited it

 

That better not be a personal attack!!!

 

I think this is the best indication.

if wildcard couldn't top the NA speed with a SC fitted there is something wrong. he has more power, but similar terminal speed; seems to say he could hold less speed through the corners. dare I say not enough grip

the nankings are probably great value, I'd probably buy a set myself if I didn't get burnt so bad on my last Cheepie's (that weren't that cheep ) I'll swear I'll never by another falken tyre, I've driven on lots of budget tyres over the years but never have I experienced the underperformance of falken ziex!

then again; on the track these ziex's could keep up with the WRX's and S15. I didn't spin out once, so by everyones reasoning they must have grip!

I think I'll try some toyo t1-r's next so I know what a good tyre is to compare the rest to.

 

Yes but you're not comparing apples with apples. This was Wildcard's first time on the track. Corner speed for a beginner is a lot more than just tyre purchase (as I know only too well ) and Choppy was acknowledged by his instructor, Rod ((the fastest at the Nats in an NA car) to be a very quick and talented driver.

My first time there in an NA RX8 I could only manage to get into the high 19's. 3 secs a lap quicker is an awful lot on a short circuit like Wakefield when comparing two beginners.

As for terminal speed on the straight, I also saw 160 (once) on my second time there (the Nats) when I finally managed to get good power down coming off the tricky turn 10 - hoo boy that made turn 1 an, ahem, interesting exercise. Most guys seemed to be more in the high 140's, low 150's for top speed.

Forget the S/C for the moment. I don't reckon tyres with crap grip would allow any beginner to do 1.16 at Wakefield, so Wildcard's point holds good IMHO.

But I still love my PS2's.

 

Tyre discussions tend to become a bit religious. In terms of data, the best I have seen is the work MACCAA and cronullarx8 have done testing various combos at Wakefield (and as well as tyre brand, MACCAA check tyre temps and various pressure settings)

That work has shown the OEM tyres are consistently better (ie faster lap time) than a range of other road tyres. This is also supported by the fact that the two fastest known RX-8 laps at Wakefield (Rick Bates in testing the 8 for the Motor PCOTY in 2003 -- a 1:12:xx; and David Wall in the Rotor Master s/c SP-RX8 at the Nats -- 1:13:02) were on OEM tyres.

Anecdotally, on the track I can attest to the lower grip of the replacement Yoko ES100 245/40's I fitted as replacements, and MACCAA was also disappointed with the Toyo T1-R's he fitted. Both are fine on the road, though.

If I was getting another set of tyres (and I am due soon) I'd be looking at either the 040's in a more commonly available 235/40 size. The alternatives might be the Goodyear EAGLE F1 GS-D3 or the Fulda Exeleros that labrat has fitted. Price would be an important factor for me

 

If you want fast tyres for track

Go semi slicks

Stop wasting time on road tyres - get something quiet

 

Well said.

 

Good point...but....for various reasons as I'm sure you'll appreciate, many of us aren't prepared to shell out for a second set of wheels and tyres, so people have to compromise based on their individual needs. This is just a discussion which reflects that.

 

Tell you what, didn't think we'd manage 150+ posts about Nankangs!

 

well I reckon my stubborn, argumentativeness needs some of the credit in achieving this figure

now back to my pointless point

but with the S/C you can go slower around the corners and make up for it on the straights. To attain the same terminal speed with more power the car had to start accelerating later or start accelerating from a lower speed. If not there is something seriously wrong with that S/C.

 

OK i know you have all been sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for this post

Have decided to risk it Nankangs are now on the front as well and everything is now fine. Handling is good, stearing feel if anything is better with slightly wider tyre and now have 4 new tyres for less than the price of two Bridgestones. Yougotta be happy with that.

 

Oh...Nankangs...that's right...that's the topic

Hope all goes well -- keep us advised

 

Agreed!



This is the point I was making. Beginners usually carry less corner speed and don't get on the gas quite as early.

And there's not much in the way of straights at Wakefield to make up for your slower corner speed. This is why beginners driving a car with the SAME power get caught by more experienced drivers.

Hey - I think we're in agreement about this!

 

Without giving too much away, I would also add that at the time, the biggest gain in power & torque from the SC was below 6000rpm. Above that, the gains over stock were less significant (something that Hymee's engine dyno work will be addressing soon). We were also running a self imposed 8K redline for safety.

Think about what rpm band you drive in around a track and you actually make a correct observation about the SC. Between 5-8000rpm (where I was driving), it wasn't giving me as much of an advantage over stock as you might think. Very nice to drive in traffic and from a standing start, but not a massive increase in whp at the rpm used on the track.

Do they make semi-slick Nankangs? ;-)

 

Please do not ask too much from the Taiwanese Although I don't mind a $200 semi

 

Yes they do...although I think you and I would call them bald.

 

I don't know why, apart from class rules, that if you were going to have a 2nd set of wheels and tyres, why you wouldn't just go for slicks. That is what I did on the SS. What a ride! 5 seconds a lap quicker than the stock (Bridgestone) street tyres.

 

what were the Sslicks like in the wet? I have heard everything from that SS are a death trap to working well in the wet.

 

Somehow, I didn't venture into driving a $50k 300kW car around on a wet track. Dunno why. If it was wet, street wheels would have gone back on.

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

wuss. :D