Those of you still following from the old page may recall some occasional discussion of tire performance (pretty much every post).  Following much consternation with some bargain tires I’d stuck on the front of the MR2, I finally found a decent set of street tires (Sumitomo HTR 200s).  Then after further consternation, I put a more substantial anti-roll bar on the front of the car and learned how to drive.  Since then I’ve managed to place in the top 2-5 cars in my class pretty consistently.  Unfortunately, a trend developed pretty quickly of being the fastest car “on street tires” in my class, as opposed to just the fastest car period. 

 

I hate having to rationalize less-than-optimal results.  “I drove the quickest of anyone on street tires”.  Ok, and you’ve also got the hottest girlfriend…of all those with moustaches.   Yeah, It’s not pretty, nor is it becoming of a proper sportsman to make excuses like that. So in lieu of further excuses, I present to you:  Results.

 

-1^st in class

-Fastest adjusted time in class

-Fastest raw time in class

-Fastest non-pro stock class time

 

Having collected a spare set of wheels, and wrapped them in Kumho V-710 rubber; I put in my first autocross runs ever on R-compound tires this past Sunday.  The experience proved eye-opening…neck wrenching, tendon stretching, and possibly socket popping.  If grip is your question, these things are THE answer.  I don’t care what you’ve done to your suspension; these will make more of a difference.  I literally had to recalibrate my brain with regard to what my car might actually be capable of on an autocross course.  My first run of the day, the one on the video clip, ended up one point six (1.6) seconds slower than my quickest run of the day.  Even then, posting an outright time 19^th quickest (out of 69 drivers), I could tell I hadn’t gotten close to plumbing the depths of grip available, particularly on the rear.  For some perspective, at the last event, my raw time (on a similar course) was only good for 39^th. 

 

Goal for next event:

 

Find the limit, and use accordingly.