[LIS]

First off- I know it's my fault...

Had my first track day in the SS 1LE at PittRace, which has a very abrasive surface, and managed to cord 3 of 4 brand new SC3r tires. The 2 on the passenger side were both corded on the inside, and the drivers side front corded on the outside edge.

Alignment is set up with -3f/-2r camber, but going to have it checked and dialed back to -2.7/-1.7 to see if that helps with the inside edge problem.

In the meantime, I need to make the next set of tires last for 3 more weekends. Considering either the Conti ECF (200TW) or the Conti EC Sport 02 (340TW).

Thoughts? I know it'll be slower, but I don't care!

[Christian1LE]

I would check your toe settings first. With toe my front tires will last around 600 track miles. With 0 toe I get 1200.

[BoilerUP]

The ECF won't be nearly as quick as SC3Rs but you'll have to work to kill them. I've got 7 days and 30+ sessions (over half of which were 30min long) on a set of ECFs on my ATS-V between NCM, Gingerman and Putnam and they've still got life in them. Probably heat cycle them out before cording them. They turn on quick, have decent pace, and are quite consistent over long sessions on sunny 90F days. I ran mine at -2.0 front camber and they did fine though I suspected they could use more, and I ran them after having Vorshlag plates installed at -3.0 and they performed even better. I think -2.5 to -3.0 front may be their sweet spot and I found 35psi hot to work great.

Shameless plug: use code FlynVIP at TrackDayTire for Buy 3 Get 1 Free Conti ECFs.

[N Camarolina]

The fact that you corded the outside of one of the front tires with -3 Camber, while cording the inside of the other makes me also suspect a toe problem.

Christian, when you run zero front toe, does it make it noticeable difference in handling or straight-line tracking (relative to the factory suggested toe setting for track driving) when doing laps?

[Christian1LE]

Originally Posted by N Camarolina

The fact that you corded the outside of one of the front tires with -3 Camber, while cording the inside of the other makes me also suspect a toe problem.

Christian, when you run zero front toe, does it make it noticeable difference in handling or straight-line tracking (relative to the factory suggested toe setting for track driving) when doing laps?

It does wiggle a bit down the straights with 0 toe all around, was weird at first but I got used to it after 1 session. I'm running very slight toe in the rear now and toe out up front. But I liked 0 toe as well, the car turns well with either setting. What I've found though is that even if I were to set everything to 0 toe it will change after a few sessions anyways. I actually had to re-do my alignment this past weekend at VIR because I kept knocking the rear toe out of alignment coming out of oak tree. If the car is sliding sideways and you hit that outside curb it changes my toe alignment in the rear left wheel by about 2mm.

I still have to lift the car up and figure out what is actually moving since I have a BMR toe rod.

[khcoaching]

Originally Posted by BoilerUP

The ECF won't be nearly as quick as SC3Rs but you'll have to work to kill them. I've got 7 days and 30+ sessions (over half of which were 30min long) on a set of ECFs on my ATS-V between NCM, Gingerman and Putnam and they've still got life in them. Probably heat cycle them out before cording them. They turn on quick, have decent pace, and are quite consistent over long sessions on sunny 90F days. I ran mine at -2.0 front camber and they did fine though I suspected they could use more, and I ran them after having Vorshlag plates installed at -3.0 and they performed even better. I think -2.5 to -3.0 front may be their sweet spot and I found 35psi hot to work great.

Shameless plug: use code FlynVIP at TrackDayTire for Buy 3 Get 1 Free Conti ECFs.

The ECF is a great tire for lot of laps as well as the RS4, they wear like iron. That said, the ECF is much quicker.

[LIS]

Thanks for all of the feedback! Assuming I get the alignment to zero (or near zero) toe, it sounds like the ECF will survive my planned events.

Is there any value in going with a UHP street tire just to be sure of the lifespan? I understand that both BMW and Mercedes use the Conti EC Sport at their driving schools so they shouldn't be too terrible...

[BoilerUP]

I'd choose an Endurance 200 every day and twice on Sunday compared to a 300tw+ if I was doing HPDE with any kind of regularity or sincerity.

[ponyboy96]

Toe out - better high speed stability, turn in is a bit slower, greater inside tire wear
0 toe - high speed wobble, neutral turn in, less wear
Toe in - some high speed wobble, very quick and responsive turn in, greater outside tire wear

That’s been my experience with a different Motorsport, but I’m sure it applies here. Tire wear wasn’t an issue in the other sport, but stability was the biggest issue. I would just run factory spec on toe, make sure nothing is broken (check your bushings and arms for bends) and set the alignment for best tire wear.

[LIS]

Went ahead and ordered the ECF. I'll have the alignment checked/corrected when the tires are mounted next week.

Thanks again for the help!

[joelster]

Have you done any autocross races with the STC crew? I know there's a bunch of them with SS 1LE's. At the last race there were 4 of them there all running in F-Street.

[LIS]

No, I haven't autocrossed in a long time- used to run regularly with DC Region at Fedex field.

[L78toLT1]

Why not stick with the oem Supercar3's? While I don't have any personal experience with the SC3r's, I'm pretty sure you would get considerably more track miles with the SC3's vs SC3r's.