Dunlop SP Super Sport Race tires are on!
05-06-2004, 07:27 PM
#1
Drifting
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Dunlop SP Super Sport Race tires are on!
Here are a few pictures of the tires on the car. Very interesting sizing. They are indeed about a 285 for the rears even though they are 265's on the side walls. These were compared to a Pirelli 285/645/18 and Hoosier 285/30/18 04 tires.
The fronts are listed as 235/40/18 and are just about 1/4 inch narrower on the section width than a 245/645/18 Pirelli or a 245/35/18 Hoosier 04. It is a good thing I have 8.5 and 10 street wheels!
Further investigation into the tread compund found the Following. Using compund tester (can't remmeber the name of it off hand which is embarassing) we found that the Dunlop Race tire was measuring a 71. The Hooiser 04 tire was measuring a 77 and a hoosier 03 tire was measuring a 75. All new tires were tested. Those compound softness numbers are NOT to be confused with tire tread wear rating as published by the manufacturer.
These tires have a great look to them (the pictures so not do justice as I am poor photographer). I will be reporting on there performance after this weekends performance driving scholl where I can run them on the skid pad, pitch and catch, accident avoidance, and mini auto-x.
Here are the pictures.
Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
The fronts are listed as 235/40/18 and are just about 1/4 inch narrower on the section width than a 245/645/18 Pirelli or a 245/35/18 Hoosier 04. It is a good thing I have 8.5 and 10 street wheels!
Further investigation into the tread compund found the Following. Using compund tester (can't remmeber the name of it off hand which is embarassing) we found that the Dunlop Race tire was measuring a 71. The Hooiser 04 tire was measuring a 77 and a hoosier 03 tire was measuring a 75. All new tires were tested. Those compound softness numbers are NOT to be confused with tire tread wear rating as published by the manufacturer.
These tires have a great look to them (the pictures so not do justice as I am poor photographer). I will be reporting on there performance after this weekends performance driving scholl where I can run them on the skid pad, pitch and catch, accident avoidance, and mini auto-x.
Here are the pictures.
Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
05-07-2004, 12:14 AM
#2
Three Wheelin'
Kary,
Good luck this weekend. They look great! Can't wait to here your opinion as I have been thinking about these for CR practice sessions & DE use. Have fun!
Good luck this weekend. They look great! Can't wait to here your opinion as I have been thinking about these for CR practice sessions & DE use. Have fun!
05-08-2004, 12:30 AM
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Just took out the Dunlops for a small back roads effort. Very nice handling characteristics. Seem very predictable. I need more testing to find the optimal pressures so tomorrow at the performance driving school I run them through their paces more. Good so far! Will report tomorrow night with more details.
05-09-2004, 01:16 AM
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Well, I was impressed with these tires. I included a picture of a slide I was in which was very predictable both in this exercise as well as the "Pitch and Catch" and mini-auto-x. The tires felt much like hoosiers but did seem to be slightly grippier. I was able to turn in nicely yet orient the car at will depending upon the situation. In the pitch and catch these tires did require a bit more speed to break loose given their compound and my car set-up but I did not need to adjust my sway bar settings to change the car characteristic for this tire.
The tread depth is about the same as Toyo's (about 6 or 7) and I did feel that there was some tread flexing going on; however, as the day continued they seemed to get better in terms of the tread feel. Clearly these were new tires so initially they needed to be "broken in".
Tire wear was very good given what I was doing with them. You could tell they were not longer new but the tread depth seemed to be the same given my relative measurement from the start of the day.
The tire look on the car is aggressive in person and the wet traction was decent. We had exercises where the water truck made the area wet. This provided a nice opportunity to try them out in the wet. Stuck nicely and at times too much stick as the objective of the exercise was to slide more easily. Just needed to add a bit more speed to accomplish the objective in the wet.
Tire pressures were around 36F and 40R hot. I need to test some other combinations before feeling that this is optimal. It was a fairly hot day today (high 80's) so tires did heat up quickly given the high friction exercises we were running.
I still need to try these out on a big track but after using them today I would definitely try them on a big track both in the dry and in the wet.
There were a number of people (instructors) that were interested in these tires today given that the Hoosier 04 tires are having so many issues in 18" sizes. These tires are still not widely available although I understand they are available on tirerack.com. The compound test did show that these were slightly softer than Hoosiers and also beware that the Dunlop sizes are a bit larger than printed. I do not think I could have fit a 245 and 285 as Dunlop specifies since the 235/265 were of almost equivalent widths of Hoosier and Pirelli slicks.
Those are my first impressions, any questions?
Slide
The tread depth is about the same as Toyo's (about 6 or 7) and I did feel that there was some tread flexing going on; however, as the day continued they seemed to get better in terms of the tread feel. Clearly these were new tires so initially they needed to be "broken in".
Tire wear was very good given what I was doing with them. You could tell they were not longer new but the tread depth seemed to be the same given my relative measurement from the start of the day.
The tire look on the car is aggressive in person and the wet traction was decent. We had exercises where the water truck made the area wet. This provided a nice opportunity to try them out in the wet. Stuck nicely and at times too much stick as the objective of the exercise was to slide more easily. Just needed to add a bit more speed to accomplish the objective in the wet.
Tire pressures were around 36F and 40R hot. I need to test some other combinations before feeling that this is optimal. It was a fairly hot day today (high 80's) so tires did heat up quickly given the high friction exercises we were running.
I still need to try these out on a big track but after using them today I would definitely try them on a big track both in the dry and in the wet.
There were a number of people (instructors) that were interested in these tires today given that the Hoosier 04 tires are having so many issues in 18" sizes. These tires are still not widely available although I understand they are available on tirerack.com. The compound test did show that these were slightly softer than Hoosiers and also beware that the Dunlop sizes are a bit larger than printed. I do not think I could have fit a 245 and 285 as Dunlop specifies since the 235/265 were of almost equivalent widths of Hoosier and Pirelli slicks.
Those are my first impressions, any questions?
Slide
05-09-2004, 03:12 AM
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Thanks for the review. I had them in my mind to try them as rains due to their design, but I guess I could try them on the dry too to see how they perform. For sure the latest reports on the S04's are not encouraging so that is an interesting option to consider.
Please do keep us posted when you get them on the track.
Please do keep us posted when you get them on the track.
05-09-2004, 11:22 AM
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Kary, very nice looking tires - and wheels! Am I reading the rotation arrow wrong, or is it pointing toward the rear of the car in pic 1?
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05-09-2004, 01:17 PM
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Terry, No, you are correct. After I put them on and took the pictures I realized I needed to change sides on the rear. Very good catch on your part from the pictures, well done!
05-09-2004, 02:03 PM
#9
Kary:
FWIW, I mounted 255s and 285s with no problem on my narrow-bodied 993 RS. My fenders have been aggressively rolled, but it certainly is do-able. Haven't tried the tires yet--am saving them for rains. I am going to stick with Hoosiers for drys after the current panic subsides. I recall similar problems with the old-series 285s a couple of years ago, and Hoosier seemed to find a fix fairly quickly.
Lee in D.C.
FWIW, I mounted 255s and 285s with no problem on my narrow-bodied 993 RS. My fenders have been aggressively rolled, but it certainly is do-able. Haven't tried the tires yet--am saving them for rains. I am going to stick with Hoosiers for drys after the current panic subsides. I recall similar problems with the old-series 285s a couple of years ago, and Hoosier seemed to find a fix fairly quickly.
Lee in D.C.
05-09-2004, 02:30 PM
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Lee,
I agree that 255's and 285's might fit, it all depends upon the wheel size and offset. I have aggressively rolled all fenders as well. I would not have put anything bigger than the Dunlop 265 on my 10" rear nor more than the Dunlop 235 on my 8.5" front. The front may take a 245 on an 8.5" wheel, but that would be pushing the limits of the recommendations. The 285 recommends an 11" wheel. So the size, in my mind is also limited by the wheel size to get proper performance out of the tire.
I agree that 255's and 285's might fit, it all depends upon the wheel size and offset. I have aggressively rolled all fenders as well. I would not have put anything bigger than the Dunlop 265 on my 10" rear nor more than the Dunlop 235 on my 8.5" front. The front may take a 245 on an 8.5" wheel, but that would be pushing the limits of the recommendations. The 285 recommends an 11" wheel. So the size, in my mind is also limited by the wheel size to get proper performance out of the tire.
05-10-2004, 12:59 AM
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kary,
how quickly do these tires heat up (in an autox situation)? specifically as related to MPSC's and Kumho V700's?
also what is wrong with the new hoosier 04 tires?
Cheers
Boris
how quickly do these tires heat up (in an autox situation)? specifically as related to MPSC's and Kumho V700's?
also what is wrong with the new hoosier 04 tires?
Cheers
Boris
05-10-2004, 01:05 AM
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Boris,
Regarding the Hoosiers, check out the racing forum and I thought there was a thread here in the 993 forum as well.
Regarding the heat, I noticed that these began to heat up after about 1 lap of auto-x style driving. I was not as diligent about checking pressures as I should have been because I was instructing and did not have time, but I was impressed with the grip initially and as they heated up. The auto-x track I ran them on was not a full size San Diego auto-x, about less than half actually but after two laps they seemed to come on nicely. My suspension is stiff so the tires work very hard which may put a bit more heat in them sooner. your mileage may vary!
Regarding the Hoosiers, check out the racing forum and I thought there was a thread here in the 993 forum as well.
Regarding the heat, I noticed that these began to heat up after about 1 lap of auto-x style driving. I was not as diligent about checking pressures as I should have been because I was instructing and did not have time, but I was impressed with the grip initially and as they heated up. The auto-x track I ran them on was not a full size San Diego auto-x, about less than half actually but after two laps they seemed to come on nicely. My suspension is stiff so the tires work very hard which may put a bit more heat in them sooner. your mileage may vary!
