Alternative Tire Supplier for Pirelli Slicks

Their prices are higher than wood and so why would you use them? Plus woodman ships them stupidly fast, like I call today and have them tomorrow to Florida. The 360 rears are $550 at bobs at $571 at this place

 

F355 Challenge drivers do you all use this setup:

Front slick tyre - Pirelli 235/645x18
Rear slick tyre - Pirelli 295/670x18

 

F355 Challenge Spec from 1995:

Front slick tire - Pirelli 245/645x18
Rear slick tire - Pirelli 305/645x18

I am not running a rear wing, would this be a better setup?

 

That's what I'm running, with a rear wing and front splitter.

 

Rob,

Thank! Getting my second set of Challenge rims ready for something extra grippy. I noticed most of the Challenge F355 cars all had some type unique exhaust setup? Not sure it makes that big a deal running a secondary cat bypass or no cats at all?

Nice meeting you by the way at COTA. Will you be doing the PCA Club Race at COTA?

 

With regards to exhaust, the factory system will eventually fail and it is less expensive and more reliable to fabricate a new one versus putting back in the factory system. In the process, one or both sets of cats end up being eliminated.

I was one of the few cars at COTA still on the factory system but I was also running with an exhaust leak due to cracks in the main headers. Before Daytona my entire system will be replaced with Fabspeed headers and the elimination of the cats. Custom heat shields will also be fabricated as opposed to the integrated heat shields of the factory headers. I don't expect much to change power wise but the system will be more reliable and it will also be much lighter. We need to run a minimum weight of 3100 lbs with driver, so I will add ballast if necessary.

I will not make the PCA race at COTA this year. I ran it last year and my poor little 911 got hit twice by some really bone headed drivers, kind of leaving a bad taste in my mouth for the event.

 

One thing I noticed at COTA was with a passanger I lost 5 mph on the top speed from Turn 11 to 12 down the straight? I was also trying a different Air Filter (Tubi) vs. BMC which I ran last year and seem to like. I can only manage 135 if I get T11 just right. Both are good but, can't seem to find any solid parts that build more power onto the F355.

Yea, I remember your 911 in the tech area that weekend.

 

If I had to guess, your slower speed on the back straight was more related to your exit of T11 versus a hp/weight issue. I bet the balance of the car was thrown off, had slower exit speed, and thus much slower terminal velocity into T12.

I'll need to double check my data but I think I was hitting 145mph back there with my stock engine and exhaust. Good corner exit and late braking will get you there. I was braking MUCH later than the other 355s. I'm not usually a late brake kind of guy style wise, but entering a slow 2nd gear turn off of a long straight is the perfect time to employ that technique, trailing off the brakes down to the apex.

We've never attempted to get hp out of the engine. It's against the rules of the CCR and thus never even considered it. My understanding is that there is hp to be gained by increasing the fuel pressure and air-intake together, but nothing I have first hand experience with.

 

I guess I am looking in the wrong area. I don't want to go beyond what the CCR rules allow, I want to aim towards being competitave with a car that complies. Just looking to see why I don't go as fast as 145mph down the back straight?

Your correct in the direction of advice for T11 but, I still have stock brakes for T12, I have not mounted the F355 Challenge Brakes due to additional parts needed; drilled rotors/top hats/stud bolts, nuts etc... getting there. I noticed my ABS never kicked in at T12 which tells me I did not stop hard enought?

Could it be all those emission items on the engine? I will be using Racing Fuel this time, if that makes a difference then Shell V93 pump gas?

I attached an output from Race Studio showing the speed/rpm at COTA from my 2.49.21 lap time I did last year. Open for comments, etc...
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I checked my data and my top speed was lower than I remembered, only topping out at 137 mph, so not much of a difference from you. But where I see a big difference is in the VMin speed of Turn 11. You are down at 27 mph while I am cornering at 37 mph. As a result my lap times were 2:34.x, about 15 seconds quicker. The fact that our max speed was so close seems to say your engine is pretty strong!! (Also worth noting that I had an exhaust leak and may have been down on power. I was being pulled by the other 355s in class)

The key to lower lap time is in the corners, learning how to carry more speed. Forget about searching for hp, focus on your driving first. Then learn how to feel the car - learn how to describe what the car is doing on corner entry, mid corner, and corner exit. Once you can do this you can then work on suspension set-up to balance the car. A balanced car will increase your confidence and therefore your speed. Working with a good coach will greatly accelerate the learning curve on all these fronts.

I don't engage the ABS unless I make a mistake. Try to threshold brake without the ABS as that will make your stops more consistent and easier to release brake pressure. Releasing the pedal is actually a more important skill than the initial application. Again, it comes down to the managing the car's balance.

And be patient. It's taken me a dozen years to get here and I still have a ton to learn!

 

Driving Coach Ross Bentley sends out a weekly email every Tuesday and sent something today that is exactly what I was trying to say, but said much better:
.........................
Something I see way too often is a driver wanting to make set-up changes to his car before he's driving anywhere near the limits of the car …….

Drive the car with the mindset that you're trying to find its weakness - understeer or oversteer on entry, mid-corner, or at exit; instability while braking; inability to put the power down; "lazy" turn-in; etc.

If you get out of your car after a session and you honestly don't know what the car needs to make it faster, then you know that you need to focus on your driving, first. Keep pushing, keep working at driving faster (in a strategic way) until your car tells you it has a weakness somewhere in its handling. Then, and only then, you can start making adjustments to the car's setup.
................................

You can (and should) subscribe to his weekly newsletter here: http://speedsecretsweekly.com/

 

My session from the Forza Tifosi Challenge Track Day @ Circuit of the Americas.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JGWVGlVL14]Ferrari 355F1 Berlinetta (Forza Tifosi Challenge) - YouTube[/ame]

 

This is good to know and yes my turns do need to pick up speed and that is where I will focus when I return. Getting on the throttle sooner and finding the right gear to be in to maximize torque/speed in the turns. Ok, I will leave the current suspension alone for now.

Well being patient is hard as we all want to go fast? I know, be patient...

 

I posted a reply to a similar thread not too long ago, and basically this is what I stated:

If I were you, I would visit this website: John Berget Racing Tires or call them directly.

They have VERY, VERY good "used" tires (Michellin, Dunlop Yokohama, Hoosier etc...) and sometimes, some tires that have only one heat or one qualification session on them. As far as cost is concerned, they are about 60 to 75% less than the new ones.

I buy tires from them for practice sessions or private driving events. I been really happy. and this option can really save you guys quite a lot of money

To give you an idea, a complete set of Pirelli from my 430 Challenge did cost me $600.00 and shipping ground comes up to about $200.00 . The tires I received (twice in a row now) were almost new.

Let me know how it goes for you, and I hope this will help a few of you guys.

Alan

 

+1

There is so little to be gained from performance enhancement on these highly developed engines as compared to or with improved driver performance. Find the limits is the key.

Jakermc gets pretty close but Onofrio in similar cars to ours is another level on the same day.

 

BTW, no Pirrelli 430 Challenge tires available at the moment. Another example of Supply Chain mismanagement on out of production vehicles.