Shortly earlier than midday on Could 24, the IndyCars subject was forming up in three-wide rows across the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, anticipating the beginning of the a hundred and tenth working of the Biggest Spectacle in Racing.
The one factor connecting these automobiles to the fabled circuit, with its legendary “yard of bricks,” had been Firestone tires–as has been the case for over twenty years. In …
Tire Specs
After every week’s price of off-and-on rain, monitor check day dawned cloudy with ambients within the mid-70s. As standard, we spent a session on some scrubs to scrub the monitor floor–however raindrops appeared on our windshield as we completed. Then we noticed the lightning.
The Central Texas spring climate may be very laborious to foretell, and the forecast after we loaded up had been useless flawed: A rogue storm had instantly modified path, and the outer bands had been now hitting the monitor.
A fast look on the radar app confirmed mild rain for a few hours. Hmm, what to do? We had been already on the monitor with a automobile and a stack of tires. When life offers you lemons, you make lemonade. Let’s do moist testing.
Splish Splash
We spent the subsequent couple of hours going via our standard check process, however this time on a completely soaked Harris Hill Raceway. There was little standing water, however the moist floor meant utilizing the total rain line to keep away from the slicker polished dry line.
Consistency of lap instances would endure, however the variance in grip of every tire within the moist was giant sufficient to indicate clear traits. So we softened the dampers, turned the soundness management again on and went to work.
The Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 within the moist is a cheat code. Whereas that tire needs a mushy strategy with each enter, the moist grip is unsurpassed. It’s particularly spectacular on the corners of the friction circle whereas multitasking between longitudinal and lateral asks–so your path braking and corner-exit power-up. Additional, the breakaway may be very progressive, providing numerous warning and recovering rapidly.
The Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 V2 had an analogous really feel to it however with a bit much less general grip. It was additionally much less adept at mixed asks, requiring a extra stepwise strategy to nook entry and exit: Brake to a bit slower pace, launch early after which carve the flip; on exit, wait longer to squeeze on the facility.
Against this, the Vitour Tempesta Enzo V-02R was merely not good within the moist–except we slowed manner down. Most notably, the breakaway attribute was fairly sudden and restoration sluggish. Staying anyplace close to the restrict the place grip adjustments consistently was an enormous problem, and we hit the soundness management nanny usually. It is a tire that can get you dwelling at a diminished tempo in a storm however wouldn’t be a sensible choice for monitoring in inclement climate.
A be aware on the ultimate bracket session of the Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02: By this level, lively precipitation had diminished in comparison with the constant mild rain of the sooner spherical. So the minor time enchancment was not a shock.
Moist Monitor Testing
The Solar Will Come Out Tomorrow
We returned the subsequent day to a very dry monitor underneath full solar, with temps within the mid-70s and climbing to the low 80s throughout our work. Good.
We once more bolted on some scrubs to scrub the monitor floor, noting how inexperienced all the pieces was from all the current precipitation. Total lap instances had been greater than a second off optimum circumstances.
Mounting up the Continentals first, we observed keen steering however with a softer, much less responsive feeling than the Tremendous 200 scrubs we had simply run. Lap instances had been pretty constant as we dialed in our expectations. Grip limits had been introduced by audible suggestions, and restoration on the restrict was fast–except we went too far over. Then there’d be an extended pause as pace was scrubbed off and lap time slipped away. That’s precisely what occurred on Lap 2.
The Firestone Indy 500 V2 was subsequent–simply as its namesake race started formations laps at Indiana’s Speedway. Within the moist, its traits had been just like the Continental however with a bit much less grip. Audible suggestions at and over the restrict was rather more pronounced, although. The tire heat-soaked a bit after a few laps however held agency thereafter. With exact driving, consistency was fairly good–although lap instances had been a couple of second off the ExtremeContact Sport 02.
Subsequent up was the Vitour Enzo V-02R, which had probably the most aggressive steering response when pushed. As we constructed load, it pulled us additional into the flip. To some extent, this inspired overdriving, from which restoration was sluggish–as with the Continental. But when we coloured fastidiously throughout the traces, it was each bit as fast as that tire. Ultimately it heat-soaked and have become loud and sloppy. For full classes, intermittent cooldown laps could be suggested.
Dry Monitor Testing
The Closing Countdown
{Photograph} by Andy Hollis
Every of those tires has its place available in the market. The Firehawk Indy 500 V2 is a transparent enchancment over its predecessor, providing robust efficiency in all circumstances for a modest worth. Based mostly on recognized relative efficiency of the management tires, the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 V2 picked up not less than a full second in dry tempo. The web will preserve suggesting this one for a few years to come back.
The Vitour Tempesta Enzo V-02R is the price-performance king for a fair-weather sports activities automobile that sees occasional monitor time or cone dodging. And it does so with a nice road expertise. Get monetary savings, go quick, benefit from the trip.
And if you happen to’re prepared to pay its worth, the Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 can present superior efficiency throughout all circumstances. It’s finest within the moist, robust within the dry and has wonderful road manners.
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