Sunday, September 14, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
plus / minus 1"
225 Dunlops mounted versus unmounted. 7" wheel. I might be better off by using the 215/40-17, although the 235/40 has been proven to be fast. Just does not look right. I wish Hankook or BFG made a shorter tire.
Monday, April 7, 2014
SD Tour
2014 San Diego SCCA Solo Championship Tour was in town the weekend of April 4-6.
B-Street opened the event with drying conditions in the first heat. I am the first driver (maybe I need to rethink this) and have a low number so I am the 6th car out on course Saturday morning. The course was basically dry for third runs and I land in second place behind my co-driver after day one with the Yokohama shod S2K just a tenth back.
Progress front swaybar set to 4/5. Konis full soft rear and full stiff front on this fast momentum course. Again I was impressed with the 225/45-16 Dunlop ZII tires - 33psi F, 28psi R.
Good dry conditions for day two and my first two runs are brisk and clean but I had minor issues in the bottom corner. I nailed my final run but still not enough to catch the Honda. My co-driver slipped to third.
San Diego Tour RESULTS
B-Street opened the event with drying conditions in the first heat. I am the first driver (maybe I need to rethink this) and have a low number so I am the 6th car out on course Saturday morning. The course was basically dry for third runs and I land in second place behind my co-driver after day one with the Yokohama shod S2K just a tenth back.
Progress front swaybar set to 4/5. Konis full soft rear and full stiff front on this fast momentum course. Again I was impressed with the 225/45-16 Dunlop ZII tires - 33psi F, 28psi R.
Good dry conditions for day two and my first two runs are brisk and clean but I had minor issues in the bottom corner. I nailed my final run but still not enough to catch the Honda. My co-driver slipped to third.
San Diego Tour RESULTS
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
No Pinch
I finally had the opportunity to autox on the 205/45-16 Toyo R1R. I had
Dunlops on the front and mounted the Toyos only on the rear. My reason
being that the 23.3" tall Toyo will offer better gearing and more
longitudinal grip. Unfortunately, this tire test was a miserable failure; all I got was a loose delayed squishy
car that was nearly undriveable in transitions. However, with a wider
wheel I believe this tire would be more than acceptable - Toyos need a wide wheel to support the soft sidewall - pinching is not suggested.
No, I did not make any setup changes and the car may have performed differently with Toyos on all four corners, but honestly I don't think that would work well either, especially with the required 7" wheel width limitation. The handling was so bad I doubt they would be useful for rain duty.
In other news, I am extremely pleased with the 225/45-16 Dunlop ZII tires. Compared to the Rivals, these Dunlops are much more precise and direct. I can immediately tell what the car is doing and thus I feel like I can drive more confidently and quicker. The car also feels more willing to rotate on the Dunlops and the braking feels fine. The gearing advantage is noticeable and still allows 60 mph in second gear.
Video from the March 16th autocross.
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No, I did not make any setup changes and the car may have performed differently with Toyos on all four corners, but honestly I don't think that would work well either, especially with the required 7" wheel width limitation. The handling was so bad I doubt they would be useful for rain duty.
In other news, I am extremely pleased with the 225/45-16 Dunlop ZII tires. Compared to the Rivals, these Dunlops are much more precise and direct. I can immediately tell what the car is doing and thus I feel like I can drive more confidently and quicker. The car also feels more willing to rotate on the Dunlops and the braking feels fine. The gearing advantage is noticeable and still allows 60 mph in second gear.
Video from the March 16th autocross.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Toyo R1R
23 1/8" tall and 37.6 lbs.
205/45-16 Toyo R1R on 16x7 +50 Sport Edition F7 wheels from the TireRack.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Dunlop ZII
My first chance to drive Dunlops on a car that I actually own. 225/45-16 on the cheezy looking silver wheels. Started with higher air pressures 35F/32R and worked my way down to 30F/27R. The tires got quite warm during my four run heat and I did not have water to try to cool them down. Got a little greasy on my last couple of runs but nothing serious. More predictable, sharper, and precise than my previous BFG Rivals.
The TireTail worked okay, but I only carried two wheels on it because I am worried about side loads on the hitch receiver. I plan to use the factory bumper mounted tie-down hook with a turnbuckle (or similar) to eliminate any sideways rocking.
Local B-Street competition is mostly comprised of leftover RTR cars from last year with a few oddballs or novices in the mix. Nationally, a large diverse class could easily take a year or two to develop.
February 16th Autox Results
The TireTail worked okay, but I only carried two wheels on it because I am worried about side loads on the hitch receiver. I plan to use the factory bumper mounted tie-down hook with a turnbuckle (or similar) to eliminate any sideways rocking.
Local B-Street competition is mostly comprised of leftover RTR cars from last year with a few oddballs or novices in the mix. Nationally, a large diverse class could easily take a year or two to develop.
February 16th Autox Results
Friday, February 7, 2014
Sweet Sixteen
CS1 Sport Edition brand wheels sold by the TireRack look good and are the correct size. 17.5 lbs. per wheel and over 41 lbs. total including the Dunlop DII tires.
Tire size is 225/45-16 and stand 23 3/4" tall mounted on the 7" wide wheels. Offset is +53.
As per the SCCA rules for B-Strret, the +/-1" allowance makes this shorter wheel combination a good way to lower the gearing and reduce the center of gravity. A full inch shorter than my current 17" Rivals, second gear should top out at 60 mph.
Some of you may be asking why I don't just use the 215/40-17 Dunlop, which has a nearly identical O.D. of 23.8" and fits my existing lightweight Kosei wheels. The 215 size is proven and I actually have seat time on this specific size and it does work well. An extra 10mm of width and a cheaper price are my primary reasons for the 16" tires, however I also plan to use the Toyos in a 205/45-16 size so the smaller wheels were already on my shopping list.
But wait... The current R1R Toyos are 140 TW and will not be legal in 2015. Correct, and I will cross that bridge when the time comes. In the meantime, I need to find the combination that makes my car as fast as possible and try to prove the MSR's competitiveness in B-Street.
Tire size is 225/45-16 and stand 23 3/4" tall mounted on the 7" wide wheels. Offset is +53.
As per the SCCA rules for B-Strret, the +/-1" allowance makes this shorter wheel combination a good way to lower the gearing and reduce the center of gravity. A full inch shorter than my current 17" Rivals, second gear should top out at 60 mph.
Some of you may be asking why I don't just use the 215/40-17 Dunlop, which has a nearly identical O.D. of 23.8" and fits my existing lightweight Kosei wheels. The 215 size is proven and I actually have seat time on this specific size and it does work well. An extra 10mm of width and a cheaper price are my primary reasons for the 16" tires, however I also plan to use the Toyos in a 205/45-16 size so the smaller wheels were already on my shopping list.
But wait... The current R1R Toyos are 140 TW and will not be legal in 2015. Correct, and I will cross that bridge when the time comes. In the meantime, I need to find the combination that makes my car as fast as possible and try to prove the MSR's competitiveness in B-Street.
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