Lap Time Thread

[Fabman]

Fab,
The advice I am stating on mixing tires, tread patterns, brands, compounds is based on the idea that 80% of the folks on here are doing events, HPDEs, and Time Trials and not racing W2W as you do , or as I used to do. I still find using different tires, even the same brands, are a calculated risk for many drivers and especially those new or with few years of experience. You are a National Champion, mine was 20 years ago, my concern for tire mismatching is actually based on selling 3000 + Performance Cars, and Instructing , more than the 42 years of track or racing experience. The information I leave is not based on super talents like yourself, but for the average Trackrat, and I offer not because I know it all , but more from observation and episodes. I can't count the number of accidents customers have called me on when driving in cool weather , often with two different tires, or those who had an accident at the track , with similar situations. Hanging with various Tire Manufacturers over the years , seeing compounding changes on a single tire within one year, and listening to their advice , I became a strong advocate to alert folks to the dangers of mixing up rubber. Instructing I have been on some spooky rides with folks with tires that were not the same brand, and I have seen my share of off tracks and even accidents. I can remember racing at Mid Ohio and winning my Class by a large margin and then discussing the set up with Bobby Archer since I was running a completely different tire pressure set up than everyone else. He went on to explain his pressures and how they varied side to side, and that taught me a ton 20 years ago. He also showed me a book with tire pressures for a zillion of the tracks he had run and that is part of the reason , even today , we have Tire Gurus like Blacksheep 1, because it is an arcane Art and few are really adept at it. I ask questions, still ,after all these years because 2-10 examples often give me a better consensus of what might work based on different tracks and skill levels. Skill level is the key , because all the guys I happen to know running 3Rs are HPDE drivers and out to have fun, so I welcomed Flyhalf's advice to see how close it might be to what info I had gotten from others. His answer was similar , but as someone talented like he is, I will likely run the tires at a lower hot temp than I got from others.

So, for folks like you, who are on a different level than the majority of folks on here, me included, I still think understanding the tires on their car is enough of a challenge than mixing brands or compounds/tread design. This can be quite dangerous for many and that is from my unique experience over the years selling hot machines, even setting many of them up for track events ( we had a Motorsports Division ), and also running at 20+ tracks. The episodes I saw or heard about, along with my friends in the Tire business have been the reason I caution so many about this possible problematic set up.

I hope this conveys, better , what I was trying to express to the majority of the members on our site.

Agreed, mixing tires on street cars with dot carcasses is a bad idea, on or off track.
I’m coming from a racing perspective, using tires with the same carcass but slightly softer compound on the cold side of the car….a.very different situation. I guess I should include a disclaimer on my posts:
“The information in this post is intended for racing purposes only and not to be applied to non competition vehicles at any time”.

lol.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

I agree, my recommendations and actual practice when racing W2W was often different from even my Time Trial set -ups and pressures.

So many on here drive to the track or are mainly just out having a riot doing track events, I just wanted to offer a word of caution.

 

[Fabman]

I agree, my recommendations and actual practice when racing W2W was often different from even my Time Trial set -ups and pressures.

So many on here drive to the track or are mainly just out having a riot doing track events, I just wanted to offer a word of caution.

Yeah, I forget that sometimes....ok, all the time.

 

[Fabman]

There it is....signature updated.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Lol, might as well add, " This stunt is being done by a Professional Driver , do not attempt to pass me as I own the entire track." " If in doubt, please try!"

 

[Fabman]

Lol, might as well add, " This stunt is being done by a Professional Driver , do not attempt to pass me as I own the entire track." " If in doubt, please try!"

I don't actually own the race track, but you're welcome to use any part that I'm not currently on....

 

[Bill Pemberton]

I know, just a little tongue in cheek of your long term, clever , Entry Fee disclosure.

 

[navseng]

Yo! I only have a couple sessions on 3R’s, and you know that in my case the driver is still the biggest variable… But I found the 3R’s to be quicker than the 3s by a good margin. For me they were 0.5 sec faster than 350R-spec Cup2’s. Not like A7’s but maybe pretty close to R7’s…I haven’t tried HoHo’s) on the Shelby so I couldn’t say.

In any case, I have a set of 3R’s with just 2 sessions on them bagged up for the spring. Let’s plan a trip to VIR!

In my case at 4 different local tracks that I feel pretty confident at, I see 2-4 seconds. So 3 sec is pretty accurate for a 2 min lap from my experience as well as other drivers I trust.. Most laps that I have only gone 2 sec faster is because they are 3-4 days old. First day / session or two they are very fast.

 

[o-man]

In any case, I have a set of 3R’s with just 2 sessions on them bagged up for the spring. Let’s plan a trip to VIR!

Why wait until spring?! Three events consecutively in February. One of which is full one day and grand the next

 

[Vettel-ish]

Year/Make/Model/Trim: 2011 GT 5.0
Track/Course: Blackhawk Farms
Best Lap Time: 1.20.03
Tire: 305/680/R19 - pirelli DHL slicks
Suspension: Tons of cortex bits, Watts, JRi coils
Brakes: 6pist Brembos, GLOC 12 on all 4
Took another 2 secs out of my time SOOOOOO close to teens.

Just checked and its TMO fastest! Hell yeah! Worked all year on that time.

 

[Duane Black]

Roebling Road Raceway
1:19.130 via Harrys Lap Timer
Michelin SM9+ Take off slicks on 18x10 wheels
Boss 302 suspension
2013 V6 Mustang w/automatic

 

[Bill Pemberton]

....Back to Black , on the Highway to Hell , you definitely rock ! Really good time and I turned off the volume and just watched and you look like you are flying!

 

[Nbjeeptj]

Roebling Road NASA TT 1/14/23 1:22.372
Car setup as TT3 (439 rwhp, 3868lbs)
Brake pads Hawk DTC 70 front 60 in rear
Tires 305 federal 595/RS/pro
MCS coil overs
Aero = wing and splitter

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Good time and solid HP numbers ----- much better than mine , but assume yours is not still stock?

 

[Nbjeeptj]

Good time and solid HP numbers ----- much better than mine , but assume yours is not still stock?

Just headers and a tune.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Those are good numbers for just those two minor mods.

 

[67GTA]

AutoClub Speedway Roval: 1:48.001
(standing water in the playground)

P1 in NASA TT3!!

2014 Mustang GT, Cortex/Penske coilovers, 315/30-18 Hoosier A7’s

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Solid, fast, and smooth run ...........congrats on the win, TT3 is a tough Class in most parts of the US of A.

 

[Vettel-ish]

Congratulations! That track has it all.

 

[67GTA]

Solid, fast, and smooth run ...........congrats on the win, TT3 is a tough Class in most parts of the US of A.

Thank you Bill! We had 6 cars in class this weekend - the rain and some mechanical issues kept a couple of our usuals out. Hoosier’s 2023 contingency program is back to 2 free tires for P1 in any TT class with 5 starters, so this win came with some benefits!