A report on 497
Discussion
) robp said:
Good call - I'd also wait till the tarmac heats up a bit as well. Hot tyres and hot tarmac is what you want. Even 'dry' tarmac isn't going to give much grip when it's only a couple of degrees C.
Is that so. Being a learner still (although very well progressed now) I was out for a drive at the weekend before last, it was dry but cold and I had lots more understeer than ever before.
Was going to check the tyre pressures and geo settup was ok this weekend, but I guess it was just a result of the cold tarmac and that whitish dusty surface that it has when cold.
Hmmmmm, must turn the "traction control" settings up a bit at this time of year!!
Greg
robp said:
Good call - I'd also wait till the tarmac heats up a bit as well. Hot tyres and hot tarmac is what you want. Even 'dry' tarmac isn't going to give much grip when it's only a couple of degrees C.
Well you say that but I got all the power down today in 3rd. I quite like these Dunlop Sport Maxx's in the winter.ThatPhilBrettGuy said:
robp said:
Good call - I'd also wait till the tarmac heats up a bit as well. Hot tyres and hot tarmac is what you want. Even 'dry' tarmac isn't going to give much grip when it's only a couple of degrees C.
Well you say that but I got all the power down today in 3rd. I quite like these Dunlop Sport Maxx's in the winter.Basically, a Corsa problem - they need heat, and lots of it. At Donny on Sunday, where it was cold (4-5C) damp and then wet, I was the slowest car on the circuit by a country mile. I simply could not get any heat into the tyres and had no front end grip at all. You could feel the front end going even at low speed with a neutral or trailing throttle - and that was every corner. Dan will be pleased to hear that the GT3 RSs were absolutely stonking in these conditions -don't know what boots they were wearing but they went past me like I was standing still. Quite the reverse in dry, warm conditions.
robp said:
ThatPhilBrettGuy said:
robp said:
Good call - I'd also wait till the tarmac heats up a bit as well. Hot tyres and hot tarmac is what you want. Even 'dry' tarmac isn't going to give much grip when it's only a couple of degrees C.
Well you say that but I got all the power down today in 3rd. I quite like these Dunlop Sport Maxx's in the winter.Basically, a Corsa problem - they need heat, and lots of it. At Donny on Sunday, where it was cold (4-5C) damp and then wet, I was the slowest car on the circuit by a country mile. I simply could not get any heat into the tyres and had no front end grip at all. You could feel the front end going even at low speed with a neutral or trailing throttle - and that was every corner. Dan will be pleased to hear that the GT3 RSs were absolutely stonking in these conditions -don't know what boots they were wearing but they went past me like I was standing still. Quite the reverse in dry, warm conditions.
I'm not fussed to be honest
With regards to boots, they'd be Michellin Pilot Sport Cups, Pirelli Corsas(!) or Toyo R888s most likely.
Corsa's come with a warning not to drive in cold weather.
Tyres have two types of grip, mechanical where the rubber 'digs in' into the surface of the road, and chemical where a chemical bond is made between the rubber and the surface.
As things cool down the chemical bonding becomes less relevant, and so you are then left with pure mechanical grip. Mechanical grip comes from the degree to which a tyre is distorted at high frequencies - in other words the degree to which it hits small stones and unevenness in the road surface, and you need "high frequency, high hysteresis" type of action.
Corsa's need heat in order for the compound to offer this effect, and when they are cold they have a much lower hysteresis and hence much less grip.
To help this tyre manufacturers add silica to counteract this effect, but the Corsa's have bugger all of this. The PZero Nero has more, and the Nero M&S has the most, but they have higher tread patterns and so are less good on track.
J
Tyres have two types of grip, mechanical where the rubber 'digs in' into the surface of the road, and chemical where a chemical bond is made between the rubber and the surface.
As things cool down the chemical bonding becomes less relevant, and so you are then left with pure mechanical grip. Mechanical grip comes from the degree to which a tyre is distorted at high frequencies - in other words the degree to which it hits small stones and unevenness in the road surface, and you need "high frequency, high hysteresis" type of action.
Corsa's need heat in order for the compound to offer this effect, and when they are cold they have a much lower hysteresis and hence much less grip.
To help this tyre manufacturers add silica to counteract this effect, but the Corsa's have bugger all of this. The PZero Nero has more, and the Nero M&S has the most, but they have higher tread patterns and so are less good on track.
J
chillidog said:
ThatPhilBrettGuy said:
Well you say that but I got all the power down today in 3rd. I quite like these Dunlop Sport Maxx's in the winter.
Ah, you said you were going to report back on what you were wearing these days
. What made you choose them?
--
Richard
Why did I choose them? Erm, well I didn't actually! I was doing a charity track day abroad and I'd pre-ordered some of the usuals. I burn the tyres I had on to a crisp knowing I'd got another set waiting. Smoke up to the German tyre fitter and ask for the tyres....
"Sorry, ve don't have any of them."
Me "So how am I going to get home then?"
"Er, ve have these Dunlops...."
Bonus was I didn't have to pay for them, so I thought I'd give them a go.
ThatPhilBrettGuy said:
chillidog said:
ThatPhilBrettGuy said:
Well you say that but I got all the power down today in 3rd. I quite like these Dunlop Sport Maxx's in the winter.
Ah, you said you were going to report back on what you were wearing these days
. What made you choose them?
--
Richard
Why did I choose them? Erm, well I didn't actually! I was doing a charity track day abroad and I'd pre-ordered some of the usuals. I burn the tyres I had on to a crisp knowing I'd got another set waiting. Smoke up to the German tyre fitter and ask for the tyres....
"Sorry, ve don't have any of them."
Me "So how am I going to get home then?"
"Er, ve have these Dunlops...."
Bonus was I didn't have to pay for them, so I thought I'd give them a go.
I was hoping for a more scientific answer but thanks anyway!
I guess at this time of year on the road, and not on the track, almost anything will be better than the Corsas.
--
Richard
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