I went to my first autocross with the Potenza’s, FG2’s and Hotchkis bars this morning. I’ll try to capture what felt like a blur while impressions are still fresh. This was a no points event, and I hadn’t been to one of these since August 14, so my goal was more about evaluation of new components and seat time than pure competition. My times did get better as I got used to the differences and altered my inputs. The times were 55.538, 54.415, 53.159, shaving off a little more than a second each run.
Overall, these three components are a very good combination, but with 11/32nds of tread depth the tires are not competitive in this class. I’ll post my finish (or a link to it) once published. I expect to be at or near the bottom. My best was about a second slower than Kilr Cad’s on bald F1’s and something around 4 seconds slower than best in class (an STi). Most of the others in this class (we all run street legal tires) had tread depths that were closer to 3/32nds.
Bottom-line though, I could point the car where I wanted it to go and that’s where it went. It floats less and steers more precisely. Exiting corners and rolling on the power produced the expected oversteer, but it was easily corrected without drama. Corner entry is something to behold. Understeer is greatly reduced. (In fact I think this is where I lost the most time, I could’ve driven those entries faster.) Body lean in corners is still there but not as pronounced and the suspension is staying under it much better. Slalom response is much better, too. The car stays poised and is less liable to start oscillating the weight.
Well, it’s getting late so I’ll spare you more minutia, but if anyone has questions fire away. I haven’t had the opportunity to test the Potenza’s in the rain yet. When I do I’ll let y’all know how they do.
Overall, these three components are a very good combination, but with 11/32nds of tread depth the tires are not competitive in this class. I’ll post my finish (or a link to it) once published. I expect to be at or near the bottom. My best was about a second slower than Kilr Cad’s on bald F1’s and something around 4 seconds slower than best in class (an STi). Most of the others in this class (we all run street legal tires) had tread depths that were closer to 3/32nds.
Bottom-line though, I could point the car where I wanted it to go and that’s where it went. It floats less and steers more precisely. Exiting corners and rolling on the power produced the expected oversteer, but it was easily corrected without drama. Corner entry is something to behold. Understeer is greatly reduced. (In fact I think this is where I lost the most time, I could’ve driven those entries faster.) Body lean in corners is still there but not as pronounced and the suspension is staying under it much better. Slalom response is much better, too. The car stays poised and is less liable to start oscillating the weight.
Well, it’s getting late so I’ll spare you more minutia, but if anyone has questions fire away. I haven’t had the opportunity to test the Potenza’s in the rain yet. When I do I’ll let y’all know how they do.
