05-12-2017, 01:05 AM | #1 |
Drives: 2014 Z/28 Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 412
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Nitto track day update
I did my first track day of the year today, also the first on Nitto NT01s. First, a couple of street impressions. (All of this is compared to Trofeo Rs.)
The negative:The Nittos are quite a bit louder, transmitting a fair amount of tire noise to the interior. I find this easy to fix with a combination of radio volume and exhaust. The positive: the tendency of the front to dart around with Trofeos is all but eliminated with Nittos. On to the track. I wasn't sure what to do with tire pressures so I started with 32 cold in the front and 31 in the rears for the first session and the car felt terrible. I was concerned that I had made a bad choice. It was squirmy and had a lot of understeer, especially in the fast turn that is part of the oval track at Milwaukee. (I also learned that these tires need a few laps to build heat and it will cost me some time buffing out pylon marks from the front end due to a little "agricultural racing" that happened when the tires were still cold and I pushed a little too hard.) We put a pyrometer on the tires after the first session and it was clear that they all had too much pressure. I dropped them by 2 psi each for the second session and it was amazing the difference. Understeer was significantly reduced, and the car felt much more planted. I was turning times on a relatively cold track that equaled my best from last season (fastest of 1:17 and consistently in the low 1:18s.) However, there is still a difference in feel from the Pirellis. The Pirellis have a sharper feel at turn in, which I like, but less forward grip off of corners. The Nittos were great for coming off of corners and I could get on it very early without wheelspin. (I even had a corner worker come and tell me I was lifting the inside front tire on one corner.) Nittos also performed well under braking. One negative: The Nittos felt less sharp on turn in and I wonder if it isn't due to a more rounded outside shoulder. This is my biggest complaint and requires a slightly different driving style, which I was getting used to more by the third session. I am not sure I got the pressure perfect yet either, but will keep playing with that next time. The tires still looked great after three sessions and seemed to wear evenly, which I hope means that my additional negative camber is paying off. Lap times were basically equal to the Trofeo's on a day that was less than ideal for grip so given the price difference, and as long as they last longer, I would consider another set. |
05-12-2017, 03:36 AM | #2 |
Drives: '21 ZLE A10 Join Date: May 2012
Location: Mechanicsville, VA
Posts: 6,812
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nice review! I haven't tried anything other than Trofeos on track. Reviews like this are great news when tire purchase becomes necessary. I keep finding good used Trofeos for decent prices and have 6 left before considering something else.
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'21 ZLE A10 Wild Cherry PDR 2:00.78 VIR Full 10.68@131.69 1.68 60'
'17 ZL1 A10 Mosaic Black PDR/Nav 2:03.08 VIR Full 11.003@129.2 1.75 (sold) '15 Z/28 #325 Black a/c & stereo. 2:10.1 VIR Full (sold) '12 ZL1 A6 Black 10.52@131 1.55 60' 2:13 VIR Full (sold) Last edited by Stephen12ZL1; 05-12-2017 at 08:03 AM. |
05-12-2017, 06:02 AM | #3 |
Raging Bull Reborn
Drives: '09 CGM Z063LZ '15 RH Z/28 #0631 Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Broken Arrow OK
Posts: 765
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I'm thinking of doing an auto cross with my Corvette Club between OKC and Tulsa, is the consensus that the Trofeo-R's ought to be at 30 to 31 psi after heated up; it will be a warm track as we'll see 80F tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing how well the Z rolls over the Vettes; as none of them to my knowledge are running a 3.90 differential; so I ought to have a advantage at acceleration out of the hole. There will be C6 and C7 Z06's
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Toy 1 '15 RH Z/28 w/AC & Radio S/N 0631 Toy 2 '09 CGM Z06 3LZ My DD: '17 Ford Mustang GT Her DD: '14 F150 Ecoboost 3.5 |
05-12-2017, 08:05 AM | #4 | |
Drives: '21 ZLE A10 Join Date: May 2012
Location: Mechanicsville, VA
Posts: 6,812
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Quote:
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'21 ZLE A10 Wild Cherry PDR 2:00.78 VIR Full 10.68@131.69 1.68 60'
'17 ZL1 A10 Mosaic Black PDR/Nav 2:03.08 VIR Full 11.003@129.2 1.75 (sold) '15 Z/28 #325 Black a/c & stereo. 2:10.1 VIR Full (sold) '12 ZL1 A6 Black 10.52@131 1.55 60' 2:13 VIR Full (sold) |
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