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Slicks At Spa

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fatcat

fatcat

Posted
Posted

around 21-22psi when hot, so start at around 17psi. Do you have a dry sump?

Enjoy.

regards

Nigel

 

P.S. don't drive on the pit wall

Kevsta

Kevsta

Posted
Posted

I do not have any experience but believe that they do not let go progressively because as the grip goes you loose rather a lot of grip (plus there are no tread blocks to move around on thus they are less flexible). Slicks are also constructed to be slicks with the way the contact patch works (I'm not 100% sure how but something to do with keeping a better patch on the ground or something).

 

Sorry the above is a bit fluffy and be careful in them, I suggest you try the limits of adhesion at lower speeds in say second gear before trying high speed heroics.

fatcat

fatcat

Posted
Posted

slicks tend to be a little less progressive than road tyres but the greater problem is beacuse they have more grip you will be going faster when they let go so you need to be quick to catch it. At Spa, the fast double left-hander Pouhon(sp?) has lots of hard run-off so its a good place to experiment. Do not "experiment" at Blanchimont or Eau Rouge !

 

Edited to add the first half of Pouhon is pretty safe but avoid over-cooking it on the exit of the second half.

 

P.S. what is a lawn dart ?

 

Edited by - fatcat on 16 Aug 2007 13:17:54

F355GTS

F355GTS

Posted
Posted
TBH I've found slicks to be friendly than road tyres on track with more progressive break away but that's just my personal experience..

 

+1 *thumbup*

 

 

Mark

fatcat

fatcat

Posted
Posted

never had much of a problem spinning up or sliding a CSR on 10" rears but then that's probably down to my "clunking fist" approach to driving 😬

 

Irrespective, I'm sure you'll all have great fun, just hope it stays dry for you.

A10ROX

A10ROX

Posted
Posted

Avon slicks are crossply and require a different setup to radials (for ultimate performance)

Have you/Do you intend changing the rear ears?

 

A10ROX:OK, its an R500 without the magnesium bits sump etc and only 205bhp!

JACK FLASH

JACK FLASH

Posted
Posted

I can' t give exact numbers for tyre pressure or setup for a Caterham on Francorchamps (Spa), but I know the circuit quite well with other cars.

 

A long time ago ... we always started with 1,5 bar, but this was for heavier cars, so 17psi sounds reasonable for a Caterham. If you do not know the circuit, the only save and "cost efficient" way is slowly and gradually building up the pace and adjusting the setup during the day.

 

Perhaps it sound stupid but my tricks to find a good setup were :

 

- the stability of the car when you' re braking from flat out for the bus stop chicane,

- the response of the car during the slower curves after the double left hander.

 

If the car didn' t feel right in these 2 parts, I would never look for the limit in the scary parts like Eau Rouge and Blanchimont. Also for a Caterham I wouldn' t advice running too low or too stiff. I haven' t driven on the circuit for more than 5 years, but there used to be some very bumpy parts and you can easily loose with a jumpy car.

 

Last remark, the correct name for the circuit is in fact Francorchamps. For the promotion of the circuit they use the name of the nearby town Spa, but not everyone approves with this. Have a lot of fun next week, one time when my Twin Cam beauty is ready for it, I' ll do some "touring" on Francorchamps.

moosetestbestanden

moosetestbestanden

Posted
Posted

I've been running them over the last 3 track weekends. I've found them to be very progressive and even forgiving, *PROVIDED* they are up to temperature and the clag's been scrubbed off. When cold they've always felt unpredictable. I doubt that that's unusual but FWIW, please be advised..

 

I started on about 17 lbs front and rear and have found good success dropping the fronts a bit, depending on feel on a given day. At high track temps (mine are 2nd hand and have quite a few heat cycles in 'em) the back end feels loose. Lower pressure seems to have helped in this circumstance, somewhat, as well.

 

Good luck and enjoy *smokin*

 

-------

Chris

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Slipper man

Slipper man

Posted
Posted

I have always found slicks much more friendly than 'normal' (i.e. not 48R type road tyres that are pretty much slicks) tyres. It was explained to me that treads cause instability and make the tyres less predictable, which made sense to me.

 

It is certainly true that cross ply slicks need less camber (Michelin do radials, which is very convenient), but slow girlies like Aves probably won't notice the difference 😬 During Le Sept I had my car on cross ply settings while running radials. It was slower than I expected (until I realised what I had done) but was perfectly predictable

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