http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=237038 The excuse was "vicious turn, cold tires" I'm not sure about the heat in street tires. Do street tires work mush better when hot?
"Street" tires on an Enzo are not typical all weather tires and yes, these as well virtually all performance tires work better when hot. Put another way, cold tires do not work well in corners. Rob in Potomac
I agree... but as to how *much* better is dependent on the compound of the tire as well as the actual heat level... each compound will have an optimal operating temperature range, and below or above that range grip is lost.
Actually, it was another person's relating an excuse. The tires on the standard Enzo are not "R-rated" competition tires. Therefore, the UTQGS temperature, traction and treadwear rating is going to be within a range that allows proper operation over a wide range of temperatures and conditions. The OEM tires on the Enzo are rated A in temperature, AA in traction and above 140 in treadwear (IIRC). This indicates that there will not be any significant performance advantage when at operating temperature (140-180 degrees F) over ambient. Besides, the car was photographed driving vigorously before the off. Simple answer is the tires had nothing to do with it. The driver ran out of talent. Period.
Hi That's what I thought. When we built P 4/5 we added a lot of tire and went with PS2's. I found the new set up much better and much less need for traction control. Turn in was a lot better. Some had to do with about 400lbs less weight, better balanced downforce and more of it, about 2X vs Enzo, but I've never really noticed a big difference even on the track between moderately warmed up tires and really warmed up tires. (I'm not a great driver or anything but have kept my cars between the lines for 500K miles) Best
Jim, if I may... There are two very related but separate concepts here, methinks. 1. Heat *in* the tires. As used in the racing context, racing tires will stick better when they get hot (up to a limit, natch). Hence, as we all have heard, Felipe won't be as fast leaving the pits with new tires than Lewis flying down the front straight with tires up to temp (even with Ferrari using tire warmers). 2. Tire performance in cold weather. Modern performance rubber, whether R-compound or not, are designed to work well in relatively warm weather. Which is why any Max/Ultra/High performance "summer" tires will suck when it's below 50 degrees outside, *whether or not there is snow or ice* on the ground. Now, they'll work, obviously, but they will have much less grip than when the ambient temps are in the 70's or 80's. Most of us who live above the Mason Dixon line will have experienced this - taking the toy out for a run in December before the snow hits but temps are below freezing... yowza. Now, I dunno what the actual conditions were when the Enzo crash happened, but since the guys in the photos are wearing jackets and sweaters, I'm presuming it's at least a bit chilly, even in March. The intertubes tell us that tomorrow will have a high of 44 degrees with a chance of snow, and I'm too lazy to find out what the weather has been for the past few days, but it's still doesn't seem like ideal temps for performance rubber, even non r-compound stuff, at the track. vty, --Dennis
I would agree that the comment about cold tires was probably an ill-informed comment. Just the same, blaming the driver without knowing what acutally happened is likely just as ill-informed.
I have blamed the crashes of many of my radio controlled airplanes on random radio interference...at least in my own mind. This has often been the only factor that allowed me to go back and build yet another one. Now, I will say this - I have definately noticed that REALLY cold tires on cold days on the Testarossa (metric old XWXs) can create some pretty spectacular front wheel lockups that I would not have gotten if they were warmer. Complete with streaming white smoke visible to all including the driver that I just locked them up, F1 style. You just have to learn to expect it, and certainly the effect is not as drastic as a racing slick.
+1 Traction changes to slipping at a precise moment and every tire will experience this. The conditions (tire heat for example ) definitely impacts when this will occur. Without knowing the dynamics of the situation any guess about what caused this is just that - a guess.
In my experience, after seeing more than a few incidents at track days, the first couple of sessions in the morning can be dicey. As the chief instructor for the outfit I go with says, "tires are cold, track is cold, brain is cold". A lot of guys simply forget (especially if it's not raining and is otherwise a nice day) that you need to be a bit more ginger with the throttle until things heat up and settle in. From what I have seen, these early offs or accidents invariably occur on corner exit, rather than entry.
