Z/28 Is Nothing Without Trofeo R Tires! (SARCASM)

[Zfatuated]

Gonna make some heads explode. Oh well, be sure to have someone nearby to clean up your mess.

On the Chevrolet Camaro, Do The Tires Make The Car?

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...g_skidpad.html

[toehead93]

Did you read it all? "Mounting the Z/28's wheels and tires to a Camaro 1LE did not allow the 1LE to meet or exceed the performance of the stock Z/28. In fact, in half of our tests, the 1LE fitted with Z/28 tires failed to outperform the Z/28 fitted with 1LE tires, much less the stock Z/28. Tires, then, are not the be-all, end-all of handling."

Nothing I wouldn't expect there, what else do people think are giving the extra grip? The suspension upgrades and shocks are for balance not grip but tires are obviously are. As soon as the Z/28 came out I thought I want those tires on my car to increase grip but I need tread life too. The Z/28 is about balance, control, power, grip, brakes...which it exceeds in every category.

[Moreno1]

What I find interesting is that the 1le stopped quicker than the z/28 when both were on trofeos. I would guess this would have to do with brake bias, or possibly not enough heat in the CCMs

Originally Posted by toehead93

The suspension upgrades and shocks are for balance not grip but tires are obviously are.

I'd say sway bars and spring rates are for balance, amongst other things

Tires determine ultimate grip, damper and suspensions job is to maximize the grip available from the tires.

[LuSe4]

Great article.
The Z28 is obviously an amazing car, but it also shows how incredible the 1LE is.

[90503]

Originally Posted by toehead93

Did you read it all? "Mounting the Z/28's wheels and tires to a Camaro 1LE did not allow the 1LE to meet or exceed the performance of the stock Z/28. In fact, in half of our tests, the 1LE fitted with Z/28 tires failed to outperform the Z/28 fitted with 1LE tires, much less the stock Z/28. Tires, then, are not the be-all, end-all of handling."

Nothing I wouldn't expect there, what else do people think are giving the extra grip? The suspension upgrades and shocks are for balance not grip but tires are obviously are. As soon as the Z/28 came out I thought I want those tires on my car to increase grip but I need tread life too. The Z/28 is about balance, control, power, grip, brakes...which it exceeds in every category.

I'm sure he read it all....

....I think the article de-bunked the argument about "just add the same Z/28 tires to the __________, and it will be faster than the Z/28"....

Those who believed the tires were all that made the Z/28 as good a performer as it is, will be the ones whose "heads explode"....

[Zfatuated]

Originally Posted by toehead93

Did you read it all?

Just to clarify my position (as the original poster), I've always ridiculed the "it's only the tires" posters.

It's never just "one" thing, outstanding performance is always the result of superb engineering addressing the package, not one single part.

You don't just "put those tires on all the other cars in the test to make it fair!".

Whiners and know-nothing nattering nay-bobs may begin to gain a clue if more articles like this come out.

[Zfatuated]

Originally Posted by 90503

I'm sure he read it all....

....I think the article de-bunked the argument about "just add the same Z/28 tires to the __________, and it will be faster than the Z/28"....

Those who believed the tires were all that made the Z/28 as good a performer as it is, will be the ones whose "heads explode"....

[2cnd chance]

Originally Posted by toehead93

Did you read it all? "Mounting the Z/28's wheels and tires to a Camaro 1LE did not allow the 1LE to meet or exceed the performance of the stock Z/28. In fact, in half of our tests, the 1LE fitted with Z/28 tires failed to outperform the Z/28 fitted with 1LE tires, much less the stock Z/28. Tires, then, are not the be-all, end-all of handling."

Nothing I wouldn't expect there, what else do people think are giving the extra grip? The suspension upgrades and shocks are for balance not grip but tires are obviously are. As soon as the Z/28 came out I thought I want those tires on my car to increase grip but I need tread life too. The Z/28 is about balance, control, power, grip, brakes...which it exceeds in every category.

He's being sarcastic due to so many people griping about the tires (along with many of us)

[toehead93]

Originally Posted by Justin Moreno

I'd say sway bars and spring rates are for balance, amongst other things

Tires determine ultimate grip, damper and suspensions job is to maximize the grip available from the tires.

yes, that is what I was trying to convey.

[2cnd chance]

It would have been nice to see how the tires affected the 1LE on a road course.

[Sven59]

The other thing is that the cars were tuned to the tire setup. You are going from a square to staggered and staggered to square. This is why they didn't run the ZL1 with the Z/28 setup.

[Mikamaro]

Good stuff! but why is the z/28 with Goodyear faster in 0-60 and quarter miles? is it because of less Tire rolling resistance perhaps?

[serpent]

I'll reserve judgement when they slap on these tires to a ZR1/ACR, hell maybe even a GT3. They did improve the grip if you read the article. Also the tire difference is pretty significant when you see both of the tires side by side.

I've seen these tires on a 2009 911 Carrera S, the car was passing everything at Sonoma, laptimes where 1:56/1:55 (sonoma full course), and the driver admitted he isnt that great either. For reference my buddy in his base brembo 5.0 with eibach r2 and decent tires was running 2:05s. (nasa track days suck with too many cars in the field).

Either way the z28 is impressive, for the money I'd stick with a 1LE and add mods, KW3

[serpent]

Originally Posted by Mikamaro

Good stuff! but why is the z/28 with Goodyear faster in 0-60 and quarter miles? friction coefficient perhaps?

the Good year setup has thinner tires, when compared to the trofeo tires (305 all around).
I bet the setup would be killer if it had trofeo rears and just skinnies in the front. Look at the pics on that link by the op, the goodyear is a thinner and taller tire.