I’m penning this operating on airport bacon-egg-and-cheese, 4 hours of sleep on a red-eye, and sufficient fuel station espresso to legally qualify as a efficiency enhancer. My face nonetheless smells like sunscreen and tire smoke, and I’m fairly certain I’ve sunburned one arm greater than the different.
I simply flew throughout the nation for one thing I couldn’t say no to: the possibility to thrash on S197 Mustangs at Sonoma Raceway, courtesy of the Skip Barber Racing Faculty and BFGoodrich, which introduced its latest ultra-high-performance summer season tire to the celebration, the g-Force Phenom T/A.
Media launches are normally press kits, PowerPoints and pastries. However this wasn’t that. Not right here. They put us behind the wheel and mentioned, “Go see what it may possibly do.”
And I did.
The Sonoma Setup
Sonoma Raceway is a type of bucket-list tracks that punches method above its weight. It’s obtained elevation, blind crests, camber adjustments and simply sufficient runoff to make you second-guess your life decisions. Nestled in wine nation, it appears like racing by way of a postcard–till you’re midway by way of Flip 6 questioning if that late braking level was really a horrible concept.
The crew from Skip Barber had a fleet of Mustangs prepped and able to go. Each was strapped with the brand new BFGoodrich g-Pressure Phenom T/A, a 380-treadwear summer season efficiency tire aimed squarely on the tuner market fanatic who nonetheless desires to tear by way of a canyon or autocross on the weekend. We’re informed that greater than 50 sizes are presently supplied, with rim diameters from 16 to twenty inches.
On paper, the Phenom guarantees higher dry grip, improved moist efficiency and a extra linked driving really feel. Cool. However paper doesn’t really feel g-loads or hear tires scream. That’s what I used to be there for. I had an off weekend as my LS-powered RX-7 was nonetheless in items.
The Classroom–Kinda
Earlier than we hit the monitor, the Skip Barber instructors ran us by way of some high-performance driving principle–stuff about weight switch, imaginative and prescient and braking zones. I used to be attempting to hear, however my mind was already lapping the course.
We ran a mixture of autocross drills, lead-follows and open laps, every time pushing tougher, braking later, turning sharper. The tires by no means flinched. They bit into the pavement like that they had one thing to show.
On the autocross course, for a non-competition tire, the Phenom UHPs felt razor sharp. Flip-in was rapid. It didn’t really feel like I used to be ready for grip–I simply had it. Slide the automotive round? Certain. However it was all predictable. Managed chaos, with simply sufficient edge to make it enjoyable.
The Actual Take a look at
However the true check got here throughout sizzling laps. Sonoma doesn’t hand out forgiveness. You earn each inch. The floor was heat, the tires had been sizzling, and my proper foot was getting cocky.
I went in sizzling into Flip 10, a quick right-hander that punishes hesitation. Tires held. I pushed tougher. They held once more. No drama. Simply grip. I may really feel the automotive speaking by way of the seat, by way of the wheel, by way of the tires. That “linked” feeling BFGoodrich was bragging about? It’s actual.
No tire squeal symphony. No understeer refrain. Simply clean, assured suggestions, the sort that makes you’re feeling like a hero–till you bear in mind you’ve nonetheless obtained a staff of instructors at every flip learning your each transfer.
The largest takeaway is the tire’s predictability. Throughout the skidpad and moist monitor classes, I may rapidly get the automotive to restrict–hear it and really feel it. There was no inconsistency. You get a lot suggestions by way of the slight squeal of the tire and the steering wheel. I by no means had any “Oh crap!” moments when driving.
Sturdy preliminary chunk, too–sharp and responsive as quickly as you get on the brakes. It feels rapid and communicative. Good, stable suggestions when path braking, too, permitting you to easily switch weight. And even after repeated braking zones, grip remained excessive.
The Wrap-Up
By the tip of the day, my physique was sore and I couldn’t cease smiling. I hadn’t simply pushed a brand new tire, I had lived with it for a day. I gave it warmth, stress, g’s and punishment. And the Phenom took all of it in stride.
No, it’s not a devoted monitor tire. However that’s not the purpose. It’s an actual avenue tire with actual chops. The form of rubber you possibly can each day with out compromise–particularly within the moist–however nonetheless belief when the roads get twisty or the monitor calls your identify.
And truthfully? That’s the dream for many people.
Closing Ideas From Seat 15D
So right here I’m, again on the airport, sore in locations I didn’t know may very well be sore, ready for my connecting flight and rewatching monitor footage on my cellphone like some form of debrief-addicted lunatic.
Would I’m going again and do it once more? In a heartbeat. The combo of a legendary monitor, badass instructors and tires that punch method above their value level? That’s a weekend I’d join twice.
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