Mixing tyres for sprinting

[bstark]

I recently bought a set of used soft A032R's on Weller Steels from Clive Dabinett, a club member, to use for sprinting. I was after the wheels, so the tyres were a bonus.

 

Thing is, the pair I put on the front are significantly more worn than the others (I'm guessing these were Clive's original rears! ) and, I have discovered today, have less grip than my old A021R's.

 

You can see on my VBox trace that I now have significantly more traction, and I have less oversteer on track leading to faster exit speeds, but my entry speed is reduced and I'm braking earlier as well. This agrees with how the car felt (which is a relief )

 

So... I need new tyres - but I'm thinking that, being of limited means, as I really only need two fronts, is it a sensible option to replace the fronts with A048R's (I don't think you can get 032's now?) and leave the 032's on the back? Anyone tried anything like this? Only concern is that the 48's may have another level of grip altogether.

 

Bob Stark

Supersprinter

[Nifty]

Bob,

 

I used to run on 032Rs and was told that they are not particularly good for sprinting since they don't warm up fast enough.

 

This last time out at Curborough I ran on Rob Grigsby's Kumhos and they seemed to have far more grip straight off the line.

Rob did then set FTD in my car so something must be right

 

I would consider keeping the 032Rs for trackdays and perhaps migrating to a set of Kumhos for sprinting.

 

 

 

Editted to say that my personal belief is that 032Rs offer more grip in the dry than 048Rs but fair less well once the rain starts coming down ... that said, they still surprise with how much grip they have considering the tread pattern.

 

 

 

Keep off the straight and narrow 😬

 

Edited by - Nifty on 1 Jun 2008 09:43:32

[bstark]

Thanks Nifty - I'm running an Ital axle with Quaife ATB, so I'm nervous about going too sticky. The rear 032's are definitely better than the 021's in corners - I just need the fronts to make a similar difference to gain about a second at Lydden I reckon.

 

Bob Stark

Supersprinter

[Jason Plato]

if your still using 32R's tyhen they must be very old by now and hence very hard. the 32R's in supersoft were a great tyre back in 2004 taking me round curbuggar in less than a minute.

 

Mixing hard, worn, second hand tyres is not realy going to get you good times is it ? . I should know I'm using knackered old slicks to race on

 

If your going to buy tyres get some R888's and have done with it as a good allround tyre. Soft on the front , medium on the rear. Or buy some kumhos but they wont last long at all on track or road in soft and they only stat life with half the tread 😬

 

 

 

 

 

 

here is C7 TOP

Taffia rear gunner

 

[bstark]

Dave - my heart says you're right, of course, it's just that my head has at least some interest in my wallet 🙆🏻

 

I can only really compare my experience with new A021R's, and with the secondhand 32's I was half a second quicker at Lydden. The rears felt pretty good, but the fronts are buggered hence my thought process.

 

Do you reckon the R888's should be a HUGE improvement over the 21R's - like several seconds on a sprint lasting about 85 seconds? In which case my heart might just have the final say

 

Bob Stark

Supersprinter

[Shaun_E]

Bob - see my for sale post here if you are interested in a pair of soft R888s.

 

Yellow SL #32 - member of Drowned Rat Racing

[bstark]

D'oh! Too late

 

Bob Stark

Supersprinter