Given
77%
while driving a
Ford Mustang gt
(/45 R17) on
track
for 0
spirited miles
Completed 2 days of 24 Hours Of Lemons in the US up in Thompson's CT. Track is a 1.7 mile on course with some tight turns and a few long areas to stretch the legs out. The car, bone stock 1989 ford Mustang. First impression was that they look great. They are said to be a "Cheater slick". On friday we tested with some worn out falkens, and just before the end of testing we sent a driver out to warm up and cure the new V730s for 10-12 hrs before the race. This was my first time trying to apply some tire curing methods (which i think helped for this kind of tire). The next day saturday, a couple drivers went out and ran on the tire, bled off the couple extra psi over 38psi. I skipped one driver change during the hottest portion and my driver expressed some over-steer/skating feeling. Looking at the tires are the end of the day they have a bit of blistering on the center rib on one inside edge. Not all the way around but just a little bit. The PSI was over 41 psi, so i think the blistering was from that. After that driver another hoed in for the day and the tire temp and pressure leveled off at 38. Day time temps were about 86*F with a clear sunny day.
Day two of lemons, Rotated the front to rears, my tire growth was about 10psi from 29psi cold to 38-39 hot VS, what i thought might be about 7psi the previous day. The Tires did great all day, the outside temps about 86*F again with some clear and some cloud cover, but hot and humid. The tires performed well, although we added the swaybar in the rear to loosen the mustang up. The loose factor lended itself to some more wheel spin for a loose feel. I think this helped cause the tires to heat up more. My drivers would express a "greasy" feeling. When i got in the car at the last stint after a hot long day, i could feel the tires give way when really hustling and aggressively driving the car. When they felt off, i would scale back a bit to try to let the tires cool. This seemed to help the tires cool a bit so I could go and a attack for a few laps. With that said, i never ran a full slick all day, but i suspect that these V730 "Cheater slicks" act just like a true slick. When you get them real hot they will get greasy, but if you scale back a bit they will come back and you can attack again. For two 8 hrs of racin on a hot day, i think they performed well. They do not "talk" to you. Very low audible tone. Gotta drive by the seat of your pants to feel what they are doing. But all my drivers expressed that they could feel when the tires were saying. The mustang weighs in at 2750 with 175 lbs driver and half a tank. Big heavy car with a big v8 engine up front. A couple of my less experienced drivers locked up the brakes and flat spotted the tires. I think we were able to round out the tires while spinning the tires. Tear wear looks fantastic again for what seems to be a soft 200 TW tire and after 16 hrs of racing I suspected more wear. Will see if they last a whole other race weekend. If they do, i think they are a great, cheap, 200TW "Cheater slick".
PS. A few showers showed up while i drove. I had never driven the mustang in just damp conditions. so the oil and drops of rain made for no confidence. But thats is not to say of the V730 can perform well in the rain. It is rated A for weather (I believe) with some deep grooves for water shedding. Not sure if the tire is made with silica for enhanced water/pavement adherence. So i can not at this time suggest that they are good in the wet condition.