Every tire test we conduct represents but a single data point, and though we try to minimize variables in our comparison process, there will always be the chance that different results will be obtained with different weather, venue, driver, vehicle and setup. So what do we do? Test again.
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Excellent article as always. As a numbers nerd I would love to see durometer testing before during and after as well as pyrometer results. Have a great track season.
Curious why you pay no attention to Hankook Z214. I've used them for years. Good tire with slightly less peak grip than R7, but flatter torque curve good for half a dozen more HC's. Would love to see how you compare them to others in this test.
^ Agree with the performance assessment. I tried a set of Z214 in the medium compound, 205/50R15. However, at about 14 HC (20 minute sessions), one of them failed with an internal tread belt separation during a session. I exited early before anything catastrophic happened (it was hard to miss...), but that scared me off. I can understand defects and imperfections in something as highly consumable as a track tire, but that kind of failure is unacceptable as a safety hazard.
Performance-wise, they just aren't up there with the current crop.
I'd love to see some numbers for full 20-45 minute duration sprint race sessions.
Am I the only person put off by how GRM recycles their "+" content? This article was first published in Feb (approx 120 days ago) and as far as I can tell, just extended themselves another 180 days by rebooting an old article as new. Total bait and switch for clicks imo. Bummer.
In reply to Driving4fun :
Hey, thank you for the heads-up! The paywall for that article should have been 180 days from its born-on date. Somehow it reset and we're looking into that. It's back to 180 days from its born-on date.
Thanks for fixing, J.A. And FWIW we're looking back through other articles to make sure their expiration dates are accurate, too.
Driving4fun, I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't now plead with you to spend the $3/month (or get a print subscription) to support our small, family-run business. Reader support (and our small, passionate staff) is the reason we're able to post all of these articles, and the reason we're still testing tires when so many of our competitors have disappeared or resorted to nothing but rehashed press releases.
To use my mother's old metaphor: You're welcome to hang around our coffee shop for as long as you'd like without drinking, and it's great to see new faces here, but the people buying coffee are the ones paying to keep the doors open.
....and while you're subscribing to the magazine, add a subscription to Classic Motorsports, too. That way you get more pictures!!
What rim are you running on the 245s?
MCoupeLTW said:Curious why you pay no attention to Hankook Z214. I've used them for years. Good tire with slightly less peak grip than R7, but flatter torque curve good for half a dozen more HC's. Would love to see how you compare them to others in this test.
Good suggestion...certainly one to consider for the future.
This particular test started out with a notice that GY had a new compound they wanted us to sample. Combine that with the desire to explore the physical sizing discrepancy we noticed last time (GY & Hoosier = fat boys, Yoko = normal), and we had our contenders. Testing logistics dictate a max of three candidates for best back-to-back comparisons. So that became the slate.
We are privvy to one other new r-comp in the dev stage, so perhaps when that one arrives we can add Hankook to the mix.
The other thing to note is that not all manufacturers want us to test their products and are therefore unwilling to furnish product for evaluation.
Torbjorn_Linderson said:What rim are you running on the 245s?
Says right there on the first page of the story...paragraph 5 
Ideas for future tests, run the tires for a typical 30-40 minute sprint race length to measure drop off and consistency.
mhulbrock said:Ideas for future tests, run the tires for a typical 30-40 minute sprint race length to measure drop off and consistency.
The trends show up already in our current shorter sessions. Beyond that, things like ambient temp changes, track evolution, how hard you push consistently, driver fatigue, and other traffic play a much larger role in the data. So that data would not be A-B-C comparable between tires, only useful within the single tire. So something like this would entail a second full day of testing, and to do it right, a second fresh set of each tire...properly heat cycled...which is another day's work.
That's a big ask.
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