c5 oem runflats are HORRIBLE!
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
c5 oem runflats are HORRIBLE!
went to the autocross today for the first time in my vette. the handling was OK in the turns, but i just couldnt give it barely any gas without roasting the tires. what peices of junk. cant wait to get my new tires. i was thinking about keeping these tires to trash in autocross, but now im having second thoughts. i heard you can lower the pressure in them to get a little better performance. anyone know how much this helps? it cant be too much better. im currently running them at 32 psi all around.
#3
Melting Slicks
Member Since: Sep 2004
Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania
Posts: 2,533
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
went to the autocross today for the first time in my vette. the handling was OK in the turns, but i just couldnt give it barely any gas without roasting the tires. what peices of junk. cant wait to get my new tires. i was thinking about keeping these tires to trash in autocross, but now im having second thoughts. i heard you can lower the pressure in them to get a little better performance. anyone know how much this helps? it cant be too much better. im currently running them at 32 psi all around.
Frank Gonzalez
#4
Team Owner
Member Since: Sep 2003
Location: Raleigh / Rolesville NC
Posts: 43,084
Likes: 0
Received 25 Likes
on
25 Posts
tires should be within 2 years old. That saying drop the pressure to 28 psi and beat the crap out of them.
Tread life and "stickieness" are a direct opposite or contradiction.
The stickier the tire, the shorter the life. The Toyo 888 or the RA1s are a great compramise tire for street use, AND auto-x or track days
Last edited by AU N EGL; 09-14-2009 at 10:42 AM.
#6
Race Director
I think a lot of drivers have unrealistic expectations about low-speed driving in a vette. At full throttle in 1st or 2nd gear, you have 1000-3000ft-lbs of torque being applied to the rear tires. I'm sure your tires are crap, but you will need to develop very disciplined throttle control to manage your car on ANY tire.
I see a lot of former BMW drivers blaming the tires/handling/setup for what boils down to being used to driving a car with no torque.
I see a lot of former BMW drivers blaming the tires/handling/setup for what boils down to being used to driving a car with no torque.
#7
Tech Contributor
Member Since: Oct 1999
Location: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
Posts: 40,134
Received 8,962 Likes
on
5,348 Posts
I think a lot of drivers have unrealistic expectations about low-speed driving in a vette. At full throttle in 1st or 2nd gear, you have 1000-3000ft-lbs of torque being applied to the rear tires. I'm sure your tires are crap, but you will need to develop very disciplined throttle control to manage your car on ANY tire.
I see a lot of former BMW drivers blaming the tires/handling/setup for what boils down to being used to driving a car with no torque.
I see a lot of former BMW drivers blaming the tires/handling/setup for what boils down to being used to driving a car with no torque.
The biggest problem I ran into with the C5 was the transmission ratios. It is just not geared well for a tight autocross. Low gear is too low and 2nd gear is too high. If you are in low gear you will have trouble coming off the corners due to the torque that Dave mentioned. Couple that with very old rubber and you can have an interesting day.
Bill
#9
Le Mans Master
HTH, and have a good one,
Mike
#10
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
my throttle control got a lot better after my first run where i figured out how much i could give it. i just wasnt very pleased with the fact that i couldnt barely give it any throttle :P. anyways next time ill drop the pressure to 28 and see if they do any better. btw i did keep it in first the whole time. its was a pretty slow track so top speed was probably about 30mph. i probably should have kept it in second. i am fully confident that it would have still smoked em in 2nd. then i would have had more precise throttle control too. oh well. live and learn.
#12
Team Owner
If the EMT's are new, why not keep them for street use and use the new Z06 wheels for some sticky tires like RA1's, R888, Nitto NT05, or even the Kumho ASX ?? Any of these will provide much more traction and are considered a "street tire" as opposed to a "race only" or "competition" tire. You can bolt them on, drive to the event and back, and you will have serious traction compared to the EMT's.
With only trying autocross for the first time, sticky tires should not really be your first priority. Seat time is the best way to figure out how the car handles and how you can improve as a driver. Once you improve your skills and understand how the car works, then you can move on to mods that are allowed in your class.
Before buying wheels and tires, check the rules carefully to make sure that the wheel and tire sizes you want will be legal for your class. If you go too big, you can wind up in some type of a modified class.
With only trying autocross for the first time, sticky tires should not really be your first priority. Seat time is the best way to figure out how the car handles and how you can improve as a driver. Once you improve your skills and understand how the car works, then you can move on to mods that are allowed in your class.
Before buying wheels and tires, check the rules carefully to make sure that the wheel and tire sizes you want will be legal for your class. If you go too big, you can wind up in some type of a modified class.
#13
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
you must be kidding right? those wagon wheels are horrible looking! anyways i agree with your statement about priority and i think the number 1 thing i need to learn right now is better car control. for that the emts will do their job. later on ill start tracking the sticky tires.