*The FL5 Track Junkie Thread*

[Rexpelagi]

Day 2 update - I don't think the track was ever as crisp today as it was yesterday morning - I found a few tenths in a corner here or there but the surface gave it all away net-wise in subsequent corners. I also kept running into issues I couldn't really control (cars flying off in front of me, someone doing something unexpected, etc), so that complicated things too.

Based on all that, I unfortunately wasn't able to capitalize on the morning session (which is the only one where you can set a fast time), and I got bumped by the Elantra N by ~0.16s and I'm still on my time from yesterday (the video above).

Weather looks questionable tomorrow but if it stays dry I'll try again tomorrow morning!

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[Rexpelagi]

Day 3 update: it stayed dry but it seemed like the surface continued to get slower, as most people either slowed down or ran similar times this morning (unless there was easy time to find or setup changes were made, etc).

I was .7 off my best, and the Elantra N also ran .4 off his best, so while we both beat the old record he'll get this one with the 1:38.6 vs. my 1:38.7.

I also ran out of front tire after all the running today which likely didn't help (inside shoulder in the picture below has cords showing in one small spot) - these were new for RAtl, and due to the tuning work we were doing they really didn't have many fliers on them before this event, so wear continues to be disappointing (although better than CMP now that camber is lower).

I have a fairly short turn-around for Mid-Ohio and I'm not planning any major changes so we'll see what I can do there.

 

[BigBird]

Day 3 update: it stayed dry but it seemed like the surface continued to get slower, as most people either slowed down or ran similar times this morning (unless there was easy time to find or setup changes were made, etc).

I was .7 off my best, and the Elantra N also ran .4 off his best, so while we both beat the old record he'll get this one with the 1:38.6 vs. my 1:38.7.

I also ran out of front tire after all the running today which likely didn't help (inside shoulder in the picture below has cords showing in one small spot) - these were new for RAtl, and due to the tuning work we were doing they really didn't have many fliers on them before this event, so wear continues to be disappointing (although better than CMP now that camber is lower).

I have a fairly short turn-around for Mid-Ohio and I'm not planning any major changes so we'll see what I can do there.

Wow! A tenth.. great driving !!!

Are you using a staggered setup still?

 

[Rexpelagi]

Wow! A tenth.. great driving !!!

Are you using a staggered setup still?

Thanks! We both had more time that we couldn't find but from talking with the driver he gives a ton of credit to the differential so that thing must be pretty magical - I'm definitely finding the weak points of the factory differential in the Type R with the added power.

I am still running the 285 on 11" / 255 on 9.5" stagger, with 1/8" rear toe out, the 16kg/mm rear springs, and +10psi in the back - still not totally happy with it although it is better like this than it has been previously so the adjustments seem to be at least working directionally. I did try something that I thought might be pretty radical for this morning but before I give people really dumb ideas I want to get a better chance to evaluate before I share that one lol (although at the very least it didn't seem to make it ).

I haven't gone up in the rear bar again yet since doing the rear stagger as I wanted to make sure I do things incrementally and RAtl is such a different track than Gingerman/CMP it wouldn't have been a good test, but I may try that next as I'll probably need rotation at Mid-Ohio too.

 

[sackofcheese]

Day 3 update: it stayed dry but it seemed like the surface continued to get slower, as most people either slowed down or ran similar times this morning (unless there was easy time to find or setup changes were made, etc).

I was .7 off my best, and the Elantra N also ran .4 off his best, so while we both beat the old record he'll get this one with the 1:38.6 vs. my 1:38.7.

I also ran out of front tire after all the running today which likely didn't help (inside shoulder in the picture below has cords showing in one small spot) - these were new for RAtl, and due to the tuning work we were doing they really didn't have many fliers on them before this event, so wear continues to be disappointing (although better than CMP now that camber is lower).

I have a fairly short turn-around for Mid-Ohio and I'm not planning any major changes so we'll see what I can do there.

Are you going to try the Vitours? I haven't tracked on mine yet, but they're somewhat okay for a local autocross. They need a little bit of heat to work, but my TT buddies have loved them so far.

 

[J1Avs]

Are you going to try the Vitours? I haven't tracked on mine yet, but they're somewhat okay for a local autocross. They need a little bit of heat to work, but my TT buddies have loved them so far.

Vitour was hot garbage on FWD for me. Immediately dropped 2.0 seconds off it going back to A052. It was also slower than Supercar3 and Maxxis VR2 which I ran with less power than I had with the Vitours. I literally went from 1.3 seconds off PB (which was done with less power on A052) on the Vitour to PBing by 0.7 seconds on the A052. That delta is outrageous, and I really have trouble believing half a degree of camber, or a psi or 2 is going to pull 2 seconds.

There's a chance I had a bad batch -- but if QC is that bad, it's another red flag, and I don't see Vitour lining up to send me 2025 date coded tires to prove it was that.

I also found the wear up front to be suboptimal after just 4 sessions, and it fell off a cliff harder than any other 200TW I have driven before.

My two cents, after 6 years, A052 is still the GOAT. If you have the skill to nail it first lap or 2 in competition, there's nothing better.

 

[Rexpelagi]

Are you going to try the Vitours? I haven't tracked on mine yet, but they're somewhat okay for a local autocross. They need a little bit of heat to work, but my TT buddies have loved them so far.

I'm still not convinced on the performance of that tire. 2 of the top competitors in my class at Gingerman bailed on them mid-event and went to A052s or RE-71RSs and dropped ~2s and ~1s respectively in worse conditions. One of them said the Vitours seemed ok elsewhere so not sure if it was a surface issue but it wasn't encouraging. I also don't like that they only seem to work hot/dry - the 71RS works everywhere, and since I can only bring one set of competition tires this is a big benefit.

 

[ctechauto]

Same experience from others in our Cayman track group. Vittours arent living up to the hype. Wanted to try them vs my favorite forever tire A052 but not after that feedback from our group

 

[J1Avs]

I'm still not convinced on the performance of that tire. 2 of the top competitors in my class at Gingerman bailed on them mid-event and went to A052s or RE-71RSs and dropped ~2s and ~1s respectively in worse conditions. One of them said the Vitours seemed ok elsewhere so not sure if it was a surface issue but it wasn't encouraging. I also don't like that they only seem to work hot/dry - the 71RS works everywhere, and since I can only bring one set of competition tires this is a big benefit.

Very glad to hear this -- helps confirm I'm not the crazy one. EVEN if I realigned the car just for them, I can't see them worth it to MAYBE run similar pace with no better wear, window, or feedback.

 

[yeaitsahonda]

Thanks! We both had more time that we couldn't find but from talking with the driver he gives a ton of credit to the differential so that thing must be pretty magical - I'm definitely finding the weak points of the factory differential in the Type R with the added power.

I am still running the 285 on 11" / 255 on 9.5" stagger, with 1/8" rear toe out, the 16kg/mm rear springs, and +10psi in the back - still not totally happy with it although it is better like this than it has been previously so the adjustments seem to be at least working directionally. I did try something that I thought might be pretty radical for this morning but before I give people really dumb ideas I want to get a better chance to evaluate before I share that one lol (although at the very least it didn't seem to make it ).

I haven't gone up in the rear bar again yet since doing the rear stagger as I wanted to make sure I do things incrementally and RAtl is such a different track than Gingerman/CMP it wouldn't have been a good test, but I may try that next as I'll probably need rotation at Mid-Ohio too.

If all of that doesn't make it rotate we're gonna need to get you some hamsters to put in the rear wheels!

 

[yeaitsahonda]

Vitour was hot garbage on FWD for me. Immediately dropped 2.0 seconds off it going back to A052. It was also slower than Supercar3 and Maxxis VR2 which I ran with less power than I had with the Vitours. I literally went from 1.3 seconds off PB (which was done with less power on A052) on the Vitour to PBing by 0.7 seconds on the A052. That delta is outrageous, and I really have trouble believing half a degree of camber, or a psi or 2 is going to pull 2 seconds.

There's a chance I had a bad batch -- but if QC is that bad, it's another red flag, and I don't see Vitour lining up to send me 2025 date coded tires to prove it was that.

I also found the wear up front to be suboptimal after just 4 sessions, and it fell off a cliff harder than any other 200TW I have driven before.

My two cents, after 6 years, A052 is still the GOAT. If you have the skill to nail it first lap or 2 in competition, there's nothing better.

How long are the A052s lasting you? Are they fast until they cord or do they heat cycle out first?

 

[BigBird]

I would think a052 need a lot of camber, but I guess Having run -3.7 and the amount of excess inner tire wear (3/32 difference on new tires from outside to inside in 4k miles), that would work well

I had to go down to ~-2.7 as this is my daily. Compromises, plus I'm slow these days.

 

[sackofcheese]

Vitour was hot garbage on FWD for me. Immediately dropped 2.0 seconds off it going back to A052. It was also slower than Supercar3 and Maxxis VR2 which I ran with less power than I had with the Vitours. I literally went from 1.3 seconds off PB (which was done with less power on A052) on the Vitour to PBing by 0.7 seconds on the A052. That delta is outrageous, and I really have trouble believing half a degree of camber, or a psi or 2 is going to pull 2 seconds.

There's a chance I had a bad batch -- but if QC is that bad, it's another red flag, and I don't see Vitour lining up to send me 2025 date coded tires to prove it was that.

I also found the wear up front to be suboptimal after just 4 sessions, and it fell off a cliff harder than any other 200TW I have driven before.

My two cents, after 6 years, A052 is still the GOAT. If you have the skill to nail it first lap or 2 in competition, there's nothing better.

I'm still not convinced on the performance of that tire. 2 of the top competitors in my class at Gingerman bailed on them mid-event and went to A052s or RE-71RSs and dropped ~2s and ~1s respectively in worse conditions. One of them said the Vitours seemed ok elsewhere so not sure if it was a surface issue but it wasn't encouraging. I also don't like that they only seem to work hot/dry - the 71RS works everywhere, and since I can only bring one set of competition tires this is a big benefit.

They definitely do not work in the wet or damp and cold. I found that out the fun way at the Cam Challenge in St. Louis this year. I'm not a good enough driver to nail it on my first flyer so the A052s don't work for me in that scenario. I've ran the stones on another car, they just didn't last as long as I would have hoped. The GRM hot lapping testing this February made me drink the Kool-aid, since it seems like these will hold pace for a few laps. Plus, they seem to be holding up to wear a bit longer, that's a big plus for me since I am tire limited to one set a year by my Minister of Finance. Hopefully they last longer for me than they did you. I am getting 50-50 feedback that they're great or hot garbage between my friends that have driven on them. However the 71RS is always a safe bet.

 

[J1Avs]

How long are the A052s lasting you? Are they fast until they cord or do they heat cycle out first?

I had a third hand set last like 13 sessions, and were pretty beat when I got them. 50-50 HPDE vs TT sessions. I have no complaints thus far.

Corded before they cycled out. I set a PB on one of the last sessions on them

 

[J1Avs]

They definitely do not work in the wet or damp and cold. I found that out the fun way at the Cam Challenge in St. Louis this year. I'm not a good enough driver to nail it on my first flyer so the A052s don't work for me in that scenario. I've ran the stones on another car, they just didn't last as long as I would have hoped. The GRM hot lapping testing this February made me drink the Kool-aid, since it seems like these will hold pace for a few laps. Plus, they seem to be holding up to wear a bit longer, that's a big plus for me since I am tire limited to one set a year by my Minister of Finance. Hopefully they last longer for me than they did you. I am getting 50-50 feedback that they're great or hot garbage between my friends that have driven on them. However the 71RS is always a safe bet.

They also didn't work in the dry + warm for me either .

It was honestly so bad that I was convinced something was wrong with the car, and was ready to pull the PWR intercooler off, because I was blaming it over the tires. Swapped the tires for good measure before I rage swapped by stock intercooler back on in the paddock. Ran the session, came back in, got out of the car, and shouted "F*** that Tire!*** to my friends in the paddock, because I immediately PB'd on the old and roasted A0's.

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