Brakes, tyres & More
Discussion
Well I'm back from an amazing day at Spa in the V12VR where it performed wonderfully
Front tyres had a little life in them before I started, rears had more, perhaps 3-4,000 miles
But halfway through day, middle of one of the fronts started to delaminate - hard to tell if it was from hitting an apex 'curb' hard and effectively causing a tear, or actual delamination which I believe is a known issue with corsas on track
Anyway, Pirelli were there with trackside support. They didn't stock replacement corsas in my size, let alone with the 'AM' designation, so we went Trofeo R. Rears were identical size, fronts are 245 rather than the 255 standard fit on my car. They tyres are a revelation - cornering grip was simply staggering and it may have been my imagination (would love some feedback from those who understand these things) but traction for lower speed acceleration seemed to improve a little too
Not sure how much life I'll get out of them on the road, they pick up a lot of crap being so sticky, they will be a handful in the wet and over the winter, they are probably more susceptible to degradation in my detached unheated garage but I guess time will tell
Pirelli did me a stunning deal, helped enormously by a good euro rate, which worked out at c. £1,100 for the full set, fitted and balanced
Meanwhile we did notice the front pads looked pretty bare by the end of the day, although no warning light as yet. The car is in for service next week so I'll find out. Any experience of front pad costs with ceramics ? I'm led to believe it could be the thick end of £1k including fitting and VAT ?
Front tyres had a little life in them before I started, rears had more, perhaps 3-4,000 miles
But halfway through day, middle of one of the fronts started to delaminate - hard to tell if it was from hitting an apex 'curb' hard and effectively causing a tear, or actual delamination which I believe is a known issue with corsas on track
Anyway, Pirelli were there with trackside support. They didn't stock replacement corsas in my size, let alone with the 'AM' designation, so we went Trofeo R. Rears were identical size, fronts are 245 rather than the 255 standard fit on my car. They tyres are a revelation - cornering grip was simply staggering and it may have been my imagination (would love some feedback from those who understand these things) but traction for lower speed acceleration seemed to improve a little too
Not sure how much life I'll get out of them on the road, they pick up a lot of crap being so sticky, they will be a handful in the wet and over the winter, they are probably more susceptible to degradation in my detached unheated garage but I guess time will tell
Pirelli did me a stunning deal, helped enormously by a good euro rate, which worked out at c. £1,100 for the full set, fitted and balanced
Meanwhile we did notice the front pads looked pretty bare by the end of the day, although no warning light as yet. The car is in for service next week so I'll find out. Any experience of front pad costs with ceramics ? I'm led to believe it could be the thick end of £1k including fitting and VAT ?
Those are the track tyre of choice on the McLarens, they were an option from new on mine.
They are VERY sticky so will give you a lot of grip and traction.
McL guys seem to love them, apart from when it is wet/cold.
Obviously the stickier they are the shorter they last
I like how they have two tread patterns
Deep with water channels on the inside so you have half a chance of staying on the black stuff in the rain
Then an almost slick surface on the outer edge (the bit doing the gripping in corners)
I suspect the compounds change across the sections as well
I look forward to hearing how you get on with them!
They are VERY sticky so will give you a lot of grip and traction.
McL guys seem to love them, apart from when it is wet/cold.
Obviously the stickier they are the shorter they last
I like how they have two tread patterns
Deep with water channels on the inside so you have half a chance of staying on the black stuff in the rain
Then an almost slick surface on the outer edge (the bit doing the gripping in corners)
I suspect the compounds change across the sections as well
I look forward to hearing how you get on with them!
mikey k said:
Those are the track tyre of choice on the McLarens, they were an option from new on mine.
They are VERY sticky so will give you a lot of grip and traction.
McL guys seem to love them, apart from when it is wet/cold.
Obviously the stickier they are the shorter they last
I like how they have two tread patterns
Deep with water channels on the inside so you have half a chance of staying on the black stuff in the rain
Then an almost slick surface on the outer edge (the bit doing the gripping in corners)
I suspect the compounds change across the sections as well
I look forward to hearing how you get on with them!
The funny thing is that whilst they are understandably deemed a real handful on road in the wet, if I understand correctly, they were actually designed as a wet weather track tyre for a particular race class/type, hence the 2 proper water channels that you mentionThey are VERY sticky so will give you a lot of grip and traction.
McL guys seem to love them, apart from when it is wet/cold.
Obviously the stickier they are the shorter they last
I like how they have two tread patterns
Deep with water channels on the inside so you have half a chance of staying on the black stuff in the rain
Then an almost slick surface on the outer edge (the bit doing the gripping in corners)
I suspect the compounds change across the sections as well
I look forward to hearing how you get on with them!
I have no doubt they won't last long, but if it's say 6k+ road miles, I'd probably replace with the same again. If it's 2-3k road miles, it's too rich for me !
Nobody can answer that question but me as our individual driving styles vary so much in terms of tyre wear, although they are so soft & sticky I suspect even a motorway run down the M6/M1 to London, which has very low impact on tyre wear on the corsas, will put a proper dent in the life of the trofeos. I'm also interested to see on a cold, crisp, dry winters day, whether they are just a little nervy at first or close to unusable....
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