CRex

In the middle of this gung-ho atmosphere in Asia, everything's measured in the superlative. DE Cup is no exception. There'll be a bunch of Fiats running P Zero full slicks in our upcoming event--mind you these are street 458's with limited camber and stock suspension running 255/650-19 and 305/690-19 Pirelli yellow hard compounds--same as what's run in the Ferrari Challenge series.

Setting aside the issue of driver skill (I know that like ignoring the elephant in the room but humor me for now), what benefits can be expected from full slicks? I've been running R6s with a fair degree of confidence and am within 1 sec of pro-driven 458s (also running similar R6s) on a 1:48 lap. Should I expect to be left in the dust by these "cheater" tires?

I think it's ridic to run slicks on anything less than 3 degrees camber and race suspension. Then again I've never owned a full race car to know much about them. Those who know the subject, can you pls share your thoughts?

• Safety (different wheel sizes from OEM)
• Handling feel (thinner sidewalls and lighter carcass)
• Longevity (the weather here's like S. Fla in the summer...)
• Absolute lap speed (determines where I'm gonna set my over/under...)

No thread is complete without some picture. Bet you haven't seen slicks on Blinged-out rims like these before. This is the land where PRC dudes grocery-shop with LV bags... don't shoot the messenger, I'm just reporting the strange phenomena in this mad place

mooty

lol, don't you know it's chinese tradition to waste?
some drink louis XIII by the bottle, sure you can afford it, but what a waste.
LV diaper bags as you have mentioned.
slick on DE cup? i am surprised they don't have diamond enhanced wheels with slicks on their way to pick up their kids from the "leave no child behind" private school....

oh well....

tcsracing1

with sticky tires the suspension can really begin to feel soft when under load.

thus slicks will really make an inferior suspension feel like sponge....

the geometry of the suspension under heavy load becomes counter productive.

Slicks really do command a proper suspension set up....

utkinpol

well, if whole purpose was to find a most expensive tire ever on a most expensive car.

if your car is set to proper amount of camber - try those slicks, why not. what can be better than a first hand experience, anyway. my syspension has #600/#700 springs which is OK for DOT r-comps, to make it work well with slicks i would need to go with #900/#1100 springs - close to how cup cars get setup.

read this, it has a bit of intro level info for hoosier setup:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...t-1495833.html

On Pole

I run the same tires on my car. The rears are taller than I would like, but work just fine. They are faster than a R6 and wear about the same.

TRAKCAR

Great post :thumsup:
Already being the best driver of the field is should not matter if your car is ill equiped.

Even with wrong setup and the car feeling like crap you will go a couple or 3 seconds faster then R6. You will be magically transformed into a much faster driver. Just toss them at the end of each day replace with new ones and enjoy

If you still can't keep up buy a 4.0 or GT2RS. If that is not enough, only THEN add full CUP suspension. if still not enough change everything to Carbon Fibre, strip everything off.
If you are still getting passed, hire a pro driver to do it for you. Now you are WINNING!

Make sure your helmet matches your overall and car colors and design ;-) You don't want to look like a chump.

CRex

Guys, I knew I'd take flak for it... which is why I asked you not to shoot the messenger in my original post. I'm sticking to my hooters and just figuring out how badly I'll be beaten by folks I used to run neck-and-neck with. Take a deep breath, and laugh at how crazy this part of the world is!

Well you mustn't have heard of the orange Bentleys goin round town with exactly that type of running gear. Be careful what you wish for!!

Right on bro. I have to find a way to catch up to folks like these and you get to sit there and laugh at my predicament. Life's not fair.

Two points Reter... 1: Slicks automatically make the driver a stud. That's fact. 2: Haven't you heard of that PRC dude who bought a Zonda R but doesn't know how to drive it himself? Well to solve his problem he bought a driver (he calls him "minion") to drive that thing round the track on his behalf. ****, I didn't even get to interview for that job!

And just to get Reter even more worked up, apparently this stack is going on an LP570-4 Gallardo for the same event. You see what I'm dealing with? The stud factor is at an all-time high over here. There, I deserve a myself!!

TRAKCAR

I'm cool, this is me as a baby.

TRAKCAR

OK, not really I'm trying to go to my happy place in my mind (Sebring) and breathing in and out in a paper bag right now.

CRex

Thanks for the serious answer to my question. The other guys apparently just can't hang with true studs like Mr. Ferrari and Lambo over here

Exactly. Which is why I wonder if there's real laptime savings. If anything, the suspension mispairing probably creates more of a safety issue in my mind--my question in the first place...

CRex

Okay, now you're part of the stud crowd. Welcome

Sarcasm aside, guess I'll report on my observations after the event. I suspect one maybe two guys at the event will be able to extract performance out of these slicks "more" than the others, and there'll be some interesting laptimes coming out of a street car. Then again, it's kinda like burning Rembrandts just to stay warm...

NJ-GT

I just ran the DH compound last weekend, still need to analyze data. They are supposed to be good for 12 HC, I only get 8HC out of A6 which is what I run for fast lap times.

If you want fast lap times, run the Pirelli DSS slick, but they are good for 2 fast HC 2 slow HC, and cannot be run in hot conditions (90 degrees + track temperatures). For warm tracks and fast laps, run the DS (4HC as well). For longevity and fast laps, run the DM compound, you can get 8HC out of them. For maximum longevity run the DH, you can get 12 HC out of them.

The DSS and DS compound fade on grip if you're running long sessions (25 minutes or longer). DM and DH are stable.

The DH here is U.S. is cheaper than the MPSC for my car, as I'm forced to run 19" wheels. The A6 is cheaper than the DH, but given longevity (still to be proven) the DH is still cheaper, plus the A6 fades on grip after 2 laps in cold weather, and not even a lap on warm weather.

DH don't seem to have the grip of A6, but I will confirm once I can compare data.

For DE, it is silly to run slicks, DOT-R like A6/R6/R1/V710, street compatible DOT-R like the R888, RA1, A048. DE ain't racing, so any car equipped with a tire faster than a full street long lasting tire is just wasting $$$.

Now, if you're racing (club racing, autoX, time trials), run what your class allows you to run, and sandbagging only works is your competition is weak.

TRAKCAR

No, When I ran slicks it hid mistakes better and right or wrong suspension whatever, you will be much faster. 1-3 seconds or so per minute depending on track design. Really.

Some more then others but they will all go faster then with lesser tires.

ROFLMAO!!
Love the analogy!

Nick Wong

I would just run what you have. You're already down on aero and power right off the bat, and if you're driving Zhuhai you will definitely be at a disadvantage. I don't know if it's worth the effort to "compete" with bottomless pockets of cash.

15 years ago HK'ers weren't even using R compounds except for me and a couple of others. 10 years ago they had barely heard of Hoosier R compounds. Now they're using slicks like they drink VSOP. Crazy.

aussie jimmy

i once sold a btl of remy martin xo( i work in liquor) to a group of young men of asian descent (over 18yo legal drinking age here) and they asked for plastic cups, then proceeded to drink it in the street. out of plastic cups.