Tires and Traction

[Im Rondo]

In another thread I stated that I'm not getting good traction at take off. It was recommended that I look at my tires.

Basically I spin the right tire or both depending on pavement or direction I'm turning and light up the traction control light in first through second gear. It can be controlled by me I know this but I'm would like to get more power to the ground from a start.

I'm modded with a Malone stage II tune, DSG tune and DPF delete so there is some extra power there. Suspension was replaced with FK coils with adjustable dampening.

My current tires are Goodyear Eagle GT's 225/45/18 I thought this was a good all around tire.

Should I be looking at different tires or other suspension components as well?

Or is it my fat ass (245 lbs,) that is causing the right tire to not get traction in a straight line?

[rootrider]

why 225/45? .. curious


the Eagle GT is a fairly good tire. Tire Rack calls it an 'ultra high performance all season' tire.. which is what you want, though most other newer tires in this category perform better.

Here's their tests for the Eagle GT and Eagle GT Assymetric.. comparing with other top tires in the class:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=113
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=165


Note that Bridgestone and Continental have tires that rate higher pretty consistently.



Either way, it's always possible to overdrive tires. I have overdriven my Star Specs (my track tires).. it's just something that you have to learn to control. Tires can only do so much, especially when you have so much torque. So yeah.. you might not quite have the best tires you can have, but you'll probably also need to work on controlling your throttle, turn in, when you apply throttle, etc. They teach you to be smooth on track for a good reason

[LoganB]

+1, or AWD Swap.

[Im Rondo]

225/40/18 a little typo or brain fart.

Don't think I haven't thought about AWD.

My neighbor in the business complex was showing me some wrecked golf R's with DSG's in German salvage yards being parted out.

[rootrider]

do you actually run the all seasons year round in Texas? I know you get a lot of rain at times, freezing rain, etc., but it seems like some stickier summer tires might be a good option for you, at least for part of the year (or just work on being nicer to your tires. It's definitely possible to while still maintaining performance )

[Im Rondo]

Asphalt here is hot 7 months out of the year. We do have the occasional ice storm / freezing rain.

I do have an additional set of 18' wheels so I would just need the tires.

What tire would recommend?

Alot of my customers with Porsches run the Michelin Pilot Sport. Pretty sure it's what the factory puts on the car. They only get about 10,000 miles from them.

What are your thoughts on all my weight being on one side of the car?

[rootrider]

yeah.. factory installed summer/performance tires are installed because they aren't too aggressive, and they can get a good deal on them when buying in bulk. Note that real performance or other factors like longevity are less of a factor there

my favorite for daily driving, with the possibility of rain, are the Dunlop Direzza Z1 'Star Spec' tires. There are rumors of an updated version of this tire come next year, but it's really amazing how well these heat up, how sticky they are, how good the turn in is, and how well they manage in the rain. I dailied them from in around February and March last year here in the PNW . They don't have the longest tread life, but they last a lot longer than most other tires in their category, and they last even longer on the track.

Their big negative is that they are not the most quiet tire in their class.


The better option is probably a Bridgestone Potenza RE-11, but they are definitely more expensive. They make great performance tires though.

Look at 225/40/18 tires on Tire Rack.. filter down to only the "Extreme Performance Summer" tires.

A lot of people do like the Hankook Ventus R-S3 now.. but the complaint with them is that their feel isn't very good.

The Kumho Ecsta XS is a bit of a better dry weather tire, but is worse in the rain.


In the end.. the only top tires worth considering for all around performance are the Star Specs and RE-11's... and the latter tires are too expensive for my taste.


If you do go with some Extreme Performance summer tires you'll be amazed at the difference between those and the Ultra High Performance All Season tires. I'm on my second set of Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires.. which I love, but they are nothing compared to the Star Specs when it comes to real grip.

[Im Rondo]

Thanks for the good info. I appreciate it.

Would also like to say I enjoy watching your videos on the track. Wish I lived near one one's you run on. It would be fun to follow you around for a while.

[Aonarch]

Get the Whiteline bushing kit. Improves off the line traction.

ECSTuning sells it.

[rootrider]

Would also like to say I enjoy watching your videos on the track. Wish I lived near one one's you run on. It would be fun to follow you around for a while.

thanks
the car has been really fun on track.. handles wonderfully. But I'm ready to move on to something faster

[BsickPassat]

limited slip differential for the DSG

http://www.peloquins.com/products_02E2W.html

transfers power from the wheel that slips to the wheel that grips

[CRJSW]

My Nitto Invos are pretty nice, I was at the 1/4 mile yesterday and we got drizzled out but ended up showing my A$$ around town and they held up great! I swear the Malone tune is adaptive, or maybe my foot doesn't like to get into it all the time.

Ohhh yeah Joel my friend opened up his R32 on me the other day in the right gears. It was the same result as when the Mazda Speed3 opened up on me, I lost horribly lol but its all good fun. But I see you have M3 now

[rootrider]

yeah... check my sig for what I've done to the M3 so far. It has a lot of parts and work ready to be installed next weekend as well, ready for track time a week later