Silverstone 17th December

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Gouki

Active Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2009
Messages
62
Location
Canterbury
Car
SL55 AMG
A wet / greasy track day and a few AMGs present including a 2 x C63 coupes and an A45 in metallic green. Anyone from here?

The Ferrari FF owner did not have a great morning.
 
Crashed at Club on the sighting laps apparently! Not great.

Weathers too inconsistent for me to take the AMG out on track at this time of year.
 
A friend of mine was there. Said he hit pretty hard.
 

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A wet / greasy track day and a few AMGs present including a 2 x C63 coupes and an A45 in metallic green. Anyone from here?

The Ferrari FF owner did not have a great morning.

Hey - Yeah I was there with my C63 (white one) & my mate had the one black.

The track was a little hairy but it was decent fun!

I was behind the FF about 20 seconds after he hit the wall... Rumour has it he didn't have track insurance...

What were you driving there mate?

Thinking about Doddington sometime in the spring.
 
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What a moron. Why would you not have track insurance on a car worth that much.
 
F1AMG said:
Hey - Yeah I was there with my C63 (white one) & my mate had the one black. The track was a little hairy but it was decent fun! I was behind the FF about 20 seconds after he hit the wall... Rumour has it he didn't have track insurance... What were you driving there mate? Thinking about Doddington sometime in the spring.

My friend an I attended in my 2003 grey BMW M3, you and your mate were holding us up :) it looked as though you both were struggling in the corners and were unable to put the power down on the straights. The M3 wasn't that much slower on the straights, even with the large power deficit.

I was running Michelin pilot super sports, the same tyres I run on my SL55. For occasional track work and all round durability they are great. They are about to be superseded in January by Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, they would probably help you in colder/track conditions.

The M3 is completely stripped out, half cage, Recaro Profi SPGs, CSL brakes and suspension. So possibly about 200kg lighter than your AMG machines.

Just to reiterate the conditions were treacherous, on the sighting lap, my friend was driving the 'torque monster' that is the M3, a low rpm prod of the throttle required some opposite lock from him, with traction control on.
 
haha I'm not surprised mate the conditions were terrible and it was the first track day for us so i'll use that excuse while I can ;)

Like you said putting the power down at any point resulted in the backend going for a walk about! Also seeing the FF in the wall at the start didn't inspire confidence to start power it into the corners..

However your M3 was rapid mate, i'd would have looked to have a look at it.

What are your thoughts on the super sports currently in the market for a new set of tyres and not really loving the feel of the conti 5p's, have you tried both?

Also any other track days recommendations? Looking at Rockingham potentially when it drys up towards the spring!

My friend an I attended in my 2003 grey BMW M3, you and your mate were holding us up :) it looked as though you both were struggling in the corners and were unable to put the power down on the straights. The M3 wasn't that much slower on the straights, even with the large power deficit.

I was running Michelin pilot super sports, the same tyres I run on my SL55. For occasional track work and all round durability they are great. They are about to be superseded in January by Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, they would probably help you in colder/track conditions.

The M3 is completely stripped out, half cage, Recaro Profi SPGs, CSL brakes and suspension. So possibly about 200kg lighter than your AMG machines.

Just to reiterate the conditions were treacherous, on the sighting lap, my friend was driving the 'torque monster' that is the M3, a low rpm prod of the throttle required some opposite lock from him, with traction control on.
 
The Michelin Pilot Sport 4S you mentioned look really good. I'm going to throw on a set on the back and see how they are.

Any recommendations of where to source them from currently about £233 a corner from what I can see?
 
F1AMG said:
The Michelin Pilot Sport 4S you mentioned look really good. I'm going to throw on a set on the back and see how they are. Any recommendations of where to source them from currently about £233 a corner from what I can see?

I don't think you can get the '4S' variety yet, if you have found a supplier please post a link. You're probably referring to the 4.

Just wait a little longer if possible, but if you can't go for the super sports.

I'd start with somewhere like Bedford autodrome, massive run off areas and the 6.2AMGs always seem to perform well there. I haven't attended Rockingham, only Silverstone, Bedford Snetterton, Lydden, Spa, Snetterton, Brands GP and Nurburgring (in the SL).

I'll book in Rockingham shortly but the wall does scare me a little! The Ferrari hitting the wall was a reality check for most there, he had 4wd and massive traction, but cold tyres and patchy tarmac and that could happen to anyone.
 
Also to add I've got conti 5ps on the rear of the C32 and they are not as good as the super sports (limited on tyre choice due to 17" rim) the 6 is probably more of an equivalent and I've heard good things about them. So I'm even less surprised about your traction issues in the cold.
 
I don't think you can get the '4S' variety yet, if you have found a supplier please post a link. You're probably referring to the 4.

Just wait a little longer if possible, but if you can't go for the super sports.

I'd start with somewhere like Bedford autodrome, massive run off areas and the 6.2AMGs always seem to perform well there. I haven't attended Rockingham, only Silverstone, Bedford Snetterton, Lydden, Spa, Snetterton, Brands GP and Nurburgring (in the SL).

I'll book in Rockingham shortly but the wall does scare me a little! The Ferrari hitting the wall was a reality check for most there, he had 4wd and massive traction, but cold tyres and patchy tarmac and that could happen to anyone.

Bedford autodrome looks ideal and they have something in March which looks like a good possibility, thanks for the recommendation!

Also this is where to find the 4S mate:
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S 255/30 ZR19 (91Y) XL with rim protection ridge (FSL) - tyres-guru.co.uk

Was looking for 265's myself put I can't seems to find anyway, I'll keep looking but may need to go with 255's as it getting quite urgent!
 
Thank you for the link, I've not seen that site before. I've usually used camskill/oponeo in the past.

I'm after 285/35/19 and 255/40/19, but like you I'm willing to upsize or downsize to try these out.
 
Picking up a set of MPS4s rears on Monday as I've eaten the inside shoulders of my P Zero Nero GTs in 6000 miles of mainly TC off road driving.

Not done a track day in this yet, but have a couple of quick questions if I may:

Firstly, the how long is a piece of string question: Under "normal" track driving (ie. not power sliding it around at the lock stops), what sort of life would I be taking out of a street tyre? Are they generally happy to be driven to a track, lapped, and then driven home? Do you get many track days to a set of new boots?

Fuel - thirsty car. How are you tanking up?

Cheers!
 
Firstly, the how long is a piece of string question: Under "normal" track driving (ie. not power sliding it around at the lock stops), what sort of life would I be taking out of a street tyre? Are they generally happy to be driven to a track, lapped, and then driven home? Do you get many track days to a set of new boots?

Fuel - thirsty car. How are you tanking up?

Depends on your driving style, I wouldn't expect more than 3 days from a set of tyres.

If you've not tracked the C63 before then you need to be a bit cautious, the C63 is a big heavy car and the tyres you've fitted are not really track tyres. They will overheat quickly in relatively few laps and then start to go "off" at which point you'll have little grip and the tyres are very soft so easy to damage.

I would make sure you keep an eye on tyre pressures all day and adjust throughout the day.
 
alexpez said:
Picking up a set of MPS4s rears on Monday as I've eaten the inside shoulders of my P Zero Nero GTs in 6000 miles of mainly TC off road driving. Not done a track day in this yet, but have a couple of quick questions if I may: Firstly, the how long is a piece of string question: Under "normal" track driving (ie. not power sliding it around at the lock stops), what sort of life would I be taking out of a street tyre? Are they generally happy to be driven to a track, lapped, and then driven home? Do you get many track days to a set of new boots? Fuel - thirsty car. How are you tanking up? Cheers!

The PS4s are an evolution of the supersport with improved heat management across the tyre. I know this sounds crazy, but on a mixture of wet or dry trackdays I wouldn't be surprised if you got over 10 days worth plus normal driving. To stop overheating tyre pressures are key, keep dropping the pressures throughout the day as the tyres get warmer to reach target pressures when warm. Forget about the P Zero Nero, the PS4s is also related to the cup 2 tyre and will do fine with heat management, the nylon used allows less distortion and an even contact patch across the tyre.

Fuel, just buy the fuel from the circuit.

The tyres will be suitable to be driven to track and then home, but worth taking a spare wheel just in case.

I'm not sure whether the poster above me has run supersports at length on a track car, he is generally talking about road tyres.
 
Cheers guys.

What are you guys using to check and alter tyre pressures? I've got an IR thermometer so can check surface temps (but not carcass-need a probe type pyrometer?) across the tyre pretty quickly, presume I don't want to see centre higher than inside and outside?

Done a fair bit of track driving (inc racing) and used to test simulators (even got 10 laps on the Merc F1 factory sim a few years ago), but ashamed to say that I've never turned a wrench in anger myself.
 
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A friend has helped me with an IR thermometer in the past, but more interested in brake disc and pad temperatures the tyre temperatures.

You'll feel and hear when the tyre temperatures are getting too high. Slowly start at book pressure values, as you get some temperature into the tyres then come back into the pitlane and check the pressures, then let some air out until your run the pressures warm as per OE spec. This is what I've done in the past, and is by no means professional advice.
 

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