Forgot to update

The track day was on Aug 31st, and the weather was just about perfect. So I did end up going to the event, using the backwards RT660's

I put the freshest tires on the LH side of the car.

I had a MASSIVE pull to the right. Like...if I let go of my steering wheel, it would take off pretty hard to the right. Not sure why....probably because of the wear pattern or difference in rear tread depths.

It was super annoying to drive to the track in a car with no cup holders whose steering wheel I had to have a death grip on, and would swerve violently over any bumps. I spilled my coffee every damn where. God dammit.

At the track, the car consistently went 2 seconds faster than the last event. However, there was a huge difference in weather. In July, it was almost 90F. On Aug 31, it was like 75F.

The car did feel more gripped up, but the difference between gripped up and irrecoverable understeer or spinning out of control was razor thin. So I never got comfortable.

2 seconds faster than July is still pretty slow, and about 3 seconds slower than what I was doing in 2022 with the exact same setup lol.

I couldn't run my shocks anywhere near my usual almost full stiff "track" setting or it would just feel like ice skates. My fastest lap was at the gummy soft setting I drove the car in on. I guess it needed weight transfer to get the tires to do anything.

So...it needs tires. I think these are heat cycled out. Or I need to learn how to drive. Idk.

TLDR?
Lap times at Gingerman
2022 - 1:43.3 with ease (I think I snuck in a 1:41 at some point, but hard to confirm)

2023 - 1:44.xx with ease

Jul 2024 - 1:48.xx to 1:47.xx with massive struggle

Aug 2024 (backwards tires) - 1:46.xx with cunning and struggle

 

thanks for reporting back. Same set of tires from 2022 to 2024?

You'll probably immediately return to 2022 laptimes or faster with a set of new CRS / RE71RS / v730 if running in similar weather. Here's a "short" list of tires you can consider exploring. I think this was prepped around circa 2022 - it has the RE71RS but still has the CR-1 (instead of CRS).

A tire that I actually liked as a street/track tire with excellent wet performance was the Toyo RA1, but they're quite pricy (although similar price with RE71RS and CRS).

 

Thanks for the info bud!

And I have 1 more event I might get to this year. I'll try to kill these Falkens off there. New tires next at the start of next year for sure though. Last track days for the year are typically in October. After that, the car will just sit around until next spring.