Thread: Skippy Prototype Car ('05-'07): New Skippy Car Components Survey #2 of 8: TIRES
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Old 10-02-2006
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Gerardo Gerardo is offline
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Re: New Skippy Car Components Survey #2 of 8: TIRES

Quote:
Originally Posted by dalyduo
Perhaps we can get the definitive word from some of our estimed instructors but I was given the impression that a full range of BFG products were tested and the G-Force Sport in its current configuration best serves the R/T 2000. Can anyone turn on the lights for us about how much if any specific work was done with BFG in developing the G-Force Sport for the R/T?
Pat,
Along with other testers, I did some early testing of the line of BFGoodrich products. Here's a short summary. Keep in mind, I am not a tire engineer, so these are driver comments in the order that I drove them over a period of several months.

Traction T/A - Super fun to drive, but tread durability was slightly behind the g-Force Sport. Tire squirm gave the car rotation of historic proportions; some drivers loved it, some thought it was a bit much. Rain performance was superior.

g-Force T/A KDW - Everyone loved the tread pattern design for its looks. But did it match the R/T 2000 chassis? Not as well as the g-Force Sport. Rain performance was good, but below the Traction T/A and the g-Force Sport. The KDW was somewhat less durable than the g-Force Sport, and about the same durability as the g-Force T/A KD. In my opinion, it was less fun to drive than the Traction T/A and g-Force Sport. It would go over the edge similar to the old Michelin slick tire.

g-Force T/A KD - BFGoodrich markets this tire as their premiere street tire. I have seen it put to very good use in amateur autocross events on larger sports cars like the Corvette. However, it didn't match the R/T 2000 chassis as well as the g-Force Sport or the Traction T/A. Rain performance was behind all the other tires we tested, largely because the tread depth is shallow to enhance dry performance. Dry traction was similar to the g-Force T/A KDW, especially when it went over the edge. Durability was less than the g-Force Sport, and about the same as the g-Force T/A KDW.

g-Force Sport - Best matches the R/T 2000 chassis. When we finally got these tires in for testing, we were instantly happy. Durability was excellent. They were softer than the old Michelin Pilot XGT H4, and the V4 we used to use, and nearly as durable as those Michelin's despite the softer compound. Lap times are indeed faster, but we would need to do a back-to-back test with tires that are no longer in production to really know. Rain performance was better than all but the Traction T/A, but close enough to the Traction T/A that testers were happy.

Many thanks to BFGoodrich and our Marketing staff for helping us find this great product line.
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