Might a brand new low-buck tire be the silver bullet that so many people search? Might it ship tempo and laps however at a reduced charge? And will the brand new Armstrong Blu Trac Race ship all the things on that want record?
First, although, a small actuality examine. GRM is likely one of the few unbiased shops left doing instrumented tire testing in a managed atmosphere with managed variables, and people tire tests take an distinctive quantity of assets: For even a fundamental two-tire check, determine a minimal of two separate journeys to the observe and a full day on the check automotive.
And that’s assuming the climate and observe keep constant, the automotive doesn’t break, and the tires behave as anticipated. If any variables change, we pack up, go dwelling and check out one other day.
Provided that logistical complexity, we will’t absolutely check each new tire in the marketplace. As a substitute, we pattern much more tires in much more diverse situations, continually evaluating new contenders for an official check carried out to our requirements.
These journeys are extra just like the “testing” regular racers do–throwing some new tires on the automotive one observe weekend and seeing how they really feel, maybe with a lap time comparability to their final occasion. However they’re not scientific, so we usually don’t publish their outcomes.
One of the best ways to see the complete record of tires we’re truly sampling is to catch us in particular person at an occasion. In any other case, tires we check usually fall into two classes: candidates for an official full check and candidates for the recycling pile.
Typically, although, a brand new tire lands squarely in between these extremes: a tire that, whereas not a top-shelf contender, might fill a niche out there and be the correct alternative for some folks. And a type of tires is the prototype Armstrong Blu Trac Race we sampled from Tire Streets.
Marketed as an Endurance 200, in idea this tire would compete towards tires just like the Hankook Ventus R-S4 or Falken Azenis RT-615K+–tires that, whereas not fairly as quick because the Tremendous 200s you’ll discover topping time trials podiums, can ship constant laps all day lengthy and put on like iron. Bonus factors for being extra moderately priced than Tremendous 200s, too.
We put in a set of 205/50R15 Blu Tracs on a buddy’s Lemons-prepped Corolla, then visited the Florida International Rally & Motorsport Park, our official check observe, for an open observe day.
Usually this automotive runs on the 195/60R14 Falken Azenis RT-615K+ tire, a preferred, inexpensive alternative for funds endurance racing. Our mission wasn’t to check lap instances however reasonably to see if Armstrong had constructed a observe tire in any respect–we’ve been burned earlier than by fragile avenue tires dressed up as observe tires and had no thought what to count on.
And, effectively, the Armstrongs exceeded our (admittedly low) expectations. They don’t like to be overdriven and overheated, however they held up nice over a number of periods in 90-degree warmth, and so they’re predictable and straightforward to drive.
After all, there’s a catch, and that’s general tempo. Based on our butt dyno and our stopwatch, the broader Armstrongs have been just a few tenths slower than the automotive’s regular lap instances on the narrower Falkens–though, as we wrote earlier, we hate to check laps from completely different days and completely different setups. (The automotive’s aero had additionally been improved since its final journey to the FIRM, that means the actual tempo differential might be even greater.)
So, if these tires appear to run slower than a mid-pack customary bearer, why are we writing about them? Three causes: worth, avenue manners and wet-weather efficiency. At $124 every in our measurement, they’re $44 a set inexpensive than the Falkens, that are already the least costly Excessive Efficiency Summer season tires obtainable from Tire Rack.
The Armstrong Blu Trac Race tires are additionally a lot quieter on the road. They appear to higher deal with standing water as effectively.
In the event you’re on a good funds and searching for a track-capable avenue tire, this simply could be value a glance–so long as you’re okay with leaving time on the desk.
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Looks like a good candidate for somebody much less centered on lap instances and extra centered on turning extra laps.
Tirestreets have any information on how they examine to the Accelera 651 Sports activities in addition they distribute and are additionally endurance 200s?
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