Slicks on a wet track
Discussion
More specifically a damp/drying track with no standing water, what tyres should I use for the best lap times? I was settled on using slicks in these conditions but after a recent trip into the barriers at Oulton I'm not so sure anymore, any advice appreciated, car is a Caterham 7. Can't afford a cut Avon slick so was thinking about a road tyre like Toyo R888, Kumho V70 etc, or should I just persevere with slicks in these conditions?
FlyInMySoup said:
More specifically a damp/drying track with no standing water, what tyres should I use for the best lap times? I was settled on using slicks in these conditions but after a recent trip into the barriers at Oulton I'm not so sure anymore, any advice appreciated, car is a Caterham 7. Can't afford a cut Avon slick so was thinking about a road tyre like Toyo R888, Kumho V70 etc, or should I just persevere with slicks in these conditions?
that's an impossible question to answer...depends on way too many things, like what slicks, how old, how many heat cycles, track temp, track surface, etc etc etc....
at the end of the day, if you can't generate any heat in slicks then they will not work, adding tread helps this by creating 'blocks' that can then move and create some heat (as well as the more obvious channels for water dispersion).
In agreement with Scuffers but so you understand the full concept.
The first and ONLY thing you need to know about a slick is it relies on heat to work. The older they are (the more heat cycles they have been through) the harder they will get, thats why serious competitors take so much care over their use and sell them on when they still have plenty of meat left.
So the point is if its dry when you go out and it starts to drizzle you'll be OK because the tyre will have some heat. The momment rain starts to sit on the surface (you can see tyre lines from the cars infront) pull in and change them... unless your racing of course then you just have deal with it!!
As for alternatives I would suggest Toyo R888 as the best compromise although frankly I think CR500's on a Caterham are brilliant all round if slightly slower!
The first and ONLY thing you need to know about a slick is it relies on heat to work. The older they are (the more heat cycles they have been through) the harder they will get, thats why serious competitors take so much care over their use and sell them on when they still have plenty of meat left.
So the point is if its dry when you go out and it starts to drizzle you'll be OK because the tyre will have some heat. The momment rain starts to sit on the surface (you can see tyre lines from the cars infront) pull in and change them... unless your racing of course then you just have deal with it!!
As for alternatives I would suggest Toyo R888 as the best compromise although frankly I think CR500's on a Caterham are brilliant all round if slightly slower!
FlyInMySoup said:
Thanks for the answers, know what to do now. Helped me make sense of what happened at Oulton as well.
Probably a general comment for any track at this time of year but watch out at about 3 in the afternoon, over the years I have been on the medical team at Oulton I have noticed that in the winter about 3 in the afternoon we can suddenly have a spate of off's and I have a pet theory that the temperature is dropping and the grip goes particularly if you are using slicks where I believe the grip drops off quite dramatically.My guess is that you will have gone off at the exit of Druids, or possibly Lodge. What you have to take into account, is that on any circuit, it becomes more slippery as the circuit dries, and when it is a "damp sheen" the circuit has minimal grip, and no matter what tyres you are using, you will struggle for adhesion at either of the two corners I mentioned. Having said that, Lodge corner has been completely resurfaced, and grip did appear to be a little better when I went round a couple of weeks ago. I would agree with Simon, and definately consider 888's.
HTH
HTH
Nope, neither of those, maybe next time given my record at Oulton, been twice, crashed twice, once six years ago on the exit of Deer leap I'm ashamed to say and this time on the exit of Cascades. Checked my data logger and my entry and exit speeds were a couple of mph faster on the lap before, but I had quite a lot of understeer then so went in slower and was chasing the throttle a little harder through the apex to the exit. It let go very suddenly, speed was 70mph and I spun off to the inside of the corner, backwards into the barrier at 25mph. Is there anywhere you can leave the track at Oulton without hitting something?!
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