Originally Posted by
ercwhtsd
Interesting, I would be curious as to why a spec tire for USGT would kill it locally for your track. A $26 set of tires vs. a potentially $40 set and everyone knows what everyone is running.
Are folks having issues with handling, tire wear, slower lap times, or all of the above so to speak? Could it be that the track is an "open odorless compound" track and the resulting "chemical soup" is playing a role?
As far as softening the tire, LG1, SXT Tire Cleaner or Buggy Grip 2, have been the favorite to use here locally. Be mindful however, to soft of a tire will lead to extremely fast tire wear.
The reason the spec tire isn't working at our local track is that there isn't a lot of grip outside the racing line. It has been this way for years. The HPI X-Patterns did seem to have more mechanical grip, which at least allowed cars with a bad setup some control.
There could be any number of reasons why traction isn't consistent...
- Facility allows any traction compound for onroad (Paragon black can & SXT 3.0 are the most common)
- Facility is multi-use, but onroad only gets 1 day a week (4 days offroad with jumps, 1 day oval, 1 day onroad)
- Layouts for onroad change week to week (we have to build up a groove with only a few hours of practice before racing starts)
Basically we are running a temporary circuit week to week (on carpet) and the consistency of the USGT spec tire isn't close to the X-Pattern
at this particular facility. This is having a direct factor in turn-outs. Why run a cheaper tire if you are struggling for grip each week or having to go to extreme lengths to eek out a little consistency from the tire.
I'm glad that the new spec tire works for most facilities. The cost of the HPI X-Patterns (and keeping up with the latest 21.5 motor) drove me away from USGT. The performance of the new tire at our track is preventing me from getting back in.
I race at the same track as waltss2k, and it would be nice to offer simple tips (translated:cheap/free) to get more mechanical grip out of the USGT spec tires.
FYI: I race VTA at this track and the setups that work at our track aren't radically different than what works at other tracks.