New slicks - where to buy and which brand?

Think you may be missing a trick here. If you are going round a circuit at 80+ average, how can you ignore aero? Even the odd sprint I do, I notice the difference in high speed turn in that a decent front air dam makes. Everybody will prob laugh, but I run a front spoiler on autocross, and its not for looks..

 

Erm, I have been a little quiet on the thread re the output as dont really know what it will do because the turbo is still pretty new. Wont know until it has been mapped but the yanks are reporting 450+ ATW on this turbo....

Could strip gears, dunno. Will just have to wait and see. Cross that bridge...

I think you are maybe right with that tyre/wheel setup. I am already thinking ahead and may go to 9" wide custom wheels but I need the bodywork to allow that. There is a guy local to me who builds single seaters and knows a thing or two, so was going to pay him a visit and talk over some things with aero and the wheel/tyre size I need can be accomodated then.

But until that point, I need a baseline. No point in putting the completion of the car back another year on 'what if's'. The wheels are bought already and will be run. Pretty much just stayed with 15's because I think they look 'right' on a mk1! The car will probably be well off the pace to begin with, and then the development can start.

Thats when the fun starts right?!!!

Tbh, lets not be under any illusions. It is a 1983 hatchback shaped like a brick. Its not F1. I cant just go and slap on mega mega wide wheels, the clearance in the arches is just not there and I dont just want to slap on a set of berg arches, it has to still look like a golf.

If you ask any of my mates, they will all thell you I am a 'competitive' person but at the end of the day, its a bit of fun. I like the way that it still looks like a golf!

Not ignoring aero, well I am, at this stage at least, but I cant go back now. If it had been from the start, maybe aero but I am not an aerodynamasist.

Anyway, its got a bloody duckbill spoiler. That is bound to do something....

 

Jon, As you know from driving Knockhill, there is not really any high speed turns.

All heavy braking for Dufus and hairpin. Clarks (or whatever they call it now, carlube I think) is probably the highest speed turn and will be very top of 3rd or low revs in 4th for me.

Not going to make much difference at Knockhill. Need mechanical grip, hence tyre choice being important.

But like you said, so many variables....

We will see.

 

Somebody was selling a duckbill spoiler lookalike, but it was an inch or two longer. Would prob be an ideal bolt on for you. IMO its worth doing, even at knockhill. Agree 15's on a mk1 are 'right'

 

Also, not sure Berg arches will give any clearance advantage. I have a new set sitting here, destined for a mk1 on 8*13's, one day. Agree with the 'just do it' philosophy. I'm sure all of us would like to here how you get on.

 

I think your being very sensible (apart with the 400+ BHP bit )
Maybe you can wind the boost down a bit until you get the basics sorted, and start cranking it up and seeing how the reliability goes?

I am not too sure how easy it would be to accommodate 16 inch wheels neatly on a mk1 golf and keep the chassis low... But Mike would be able to answer from experience.
NichBish' is fitting some big wheels to his golf. Although he seems to be selling lots of his 17's right now, so maybe that has changed?

To be honest, I don't think your going to have problems with your brakes. Those look pretty impressive for an 800kg car, to say the least! There is a massive stop at knockhill isn't there, but a good straight to cool them down after... I guess that helps too.

If the front tyres are getting wasted, you can always try and back off a bit
Or could you not try some kind of software to progressively bring 400 bhp on tap? Or does that count as traction control? Which is usually banned.
Like you say - Cross that bridge when it comes to it.

 

I know what my pulsar is like with 280/320. Straights barely exist,. there always seems to be another corner in your face. Hope you have sized your turbo correctly, I know I havent. Nothing, nothing, nothing, and we r off.....lose quite a bit of ground out of chicanes/slow corners. New technique is get your foot in the bucket early, way earlier than a NA car. Helps a bit. A 2wd will try and torque steer as it comes on boost, no doubt
Seriously, get started on a lower boost and that will help not breaking anything initially, but it be a handfull alright, by the sound of it

 

Just going to stick with the duck bill I have and see how I get on. It is fixed and will not flex, so might help a little.

16's could be an option later, will see. Yeah, brakes should be good.

Plans in place for ecu mapping and traction control is allowed.

Yes, a bit of thought has gone into the turbo and spool.

Seriously guys, I have actually thought a little about this, including the low boost traction thing!

Can we just keep this on the tyres?

 

Ha. Yeah sorry. Everyone likes to have an input

 

Haha, sorry - I dont mean to sound ungrateful for any of the advice or anything but its just that you know how these things go O/T!

A lot going on just now with work and car and just want to buy some slicks!

Start getting me thinking about things like aero and the like, overload

 

Right back to the Rubber.

Opinions on 15's vs 16's on a mk1 with different tyres and widths. All my experience with mk1's are with road legal cut slicks. Dunlop DO1J's and VW CUP Pirelli control race tyres

I always preferred the feel of 16's on a track mk1 over 15's. To me it felt more shore footed, planted and balanced in the corners. Also felt well on the brakes, i have no idea why but it did.

On my Mk1 i ran 8x16's et 25 with various tyre combos 225/45/16's on the front and 205/40/16's on the rear and it was fairly low front arches cut out and plastic covers bonded on. On the rear she had new metal arches fitted and spaced out 10mm. It did touch the inners arches on full lock tho. I did try a 245/50/15 road legal slick, but it was too much, way over tyred especially for a 1.8 16v on 45s with 172bhp I have seen MK1's run 17's in the VW Cup many years ago but wouldn’t recommend this, Stuart Bliss's mk1 i think.

Some people run 16's on the front of a mk1 and 15's on the rear due to arch issues and handling benefits. Chris's Mk1 used to run this combo in the VW cup back in 2004. I was the benefactor of all the spare cut slicks which went to good use. I tried out 16/15 rim split combo and found it to work well. On the MK3 i run 17's front and 16's rear when using wets. It allows the back end to be slightly softer with the added side walls and generates more grip.

Here is a couple of photos of the MK1. Not many people have seen her as she has been in storage since 2006



225's on the front at the britcar 24hr



205's on the front at curby 2006, photo was in one of the rabbit magazines.



225's on the front outside my old house



Ah brings back happy memories My names still on the docs but a friend keeps her in a lock up and uses it occasionally.

 

Smart, looks very straight. Notice no cage? Would feel a lot safer with one in, but obviously heavier. 16's give a bigger footprint, assuming you are running bigger diameter, but I would question the benefit over 15's.
Bigger brakes, yes, and that's the only reason that would do it for me. Is there actually a benefit? Or is it looks, personal preference?

 

Ha, got some 16's with Yoko A006T moulded slicks for sale, if anybody needs them.............

 

Thought i'd give my two pence worth.

Tyres is the biggest issue i have too. I have been struggling for years now. Its only a problem because we are putting silly power down. there is no tyre out there that will work for a 15" wheel. Dunlop use to make a 225/580/15 but dont any more and the reeves bought up the last of them. They have now swapped to 16's. (210 width).

No manufactures will make them any more as there is not enough of a demand for them now all the modern cars run much bigger wheels. Pirelli use to make a 225/595/15 but stopped them long ago. I have a brand new set off these slick and two wets that i planned to use before i decided to give up on the 15. I new that I would never be able to get a constant supply of tyres so set-up would be impossible with no constant tyre.


These are the Pirelli's that i was going to use. Never mind

16" wheel option will only take you upto a 210 width really so not worth it in my opinion when you can get a decent avon 205/580/15. Its only the fronts that's the issue as any wider on the back and it will make it even harder to get heat into them.

i hate 17's on a mk1 but its performance over looks for me and that why i decided to swap for 17" wheels. that and the fact that i have over 50 wheels with fresh and used slick and wets!!!!! Jumping up to this size gives me the constant platform of the same tyre to set the car up over a long duration. Granted 17" look crap but you have to get over it. I have been reworking my racer for this season and i'm much happier knowing i'm going into the season with a solid tyre/wheel package. whats the point in building high spec racing car and then compromising it on the MOST important thing, Tyres!


The BTCC wheel / tyre /brake package. (235/610/17)

Obviously these wheels wont work on 16valves car and i'm not saying these are the best choice, my long winded point is you need to have a fixed tyre/wheel so you can work off that. Unfortunately there is no perfect answer. 400 plus bhp is just crazy amounts to put down through a front wheel drive mk1, most of the time its just unusable power.

Aero, 16valves right, forget it and get the basics right first. thats hard enough as it is!

just my thoughts.

 

There is a 235/605R16 Dunlop Slick.

Thats what i run on very good rubber

 

I bought the car in 01 I ran without a cage in the mk1 for a couple of years due to weight, then fitted one but sold it soon after to crispy when i bought the mK3 race car in 06/07. I ran 16's for the supply of part worn DO1J'S i had coming in and found the car handled better on 16's. Nothing on that car was for looks, practical only.

 

Pascal77uk, that could be the best option. I didn't think they would fit but if you've had them in the past then happy days!!!!

Do Dunlop do them in a usable construction for a 900kg circuit car. How offer do they produce these tyres? Who else runs then and is it a strong series? All these questions need to be asked before the decision is made.

 

On where to buy, I tend to use John Morgan at Fairfield Motorsport. John organises rally and race travel packages around the world plus wheels and tyres, look them up on the net. I've always found his prices very good, delivery costs are sensible as well. Not super quick delivery but I'm not normally in a rush. Not sure about full slicks as I have always purchased Rally Tarmac Slicks from him plus the usual A048's etc.

Most of the hillclimb and sprint runners I talk to all swear by Avons if they use slicks. This might be down to their size and compound availability as in this form of motorsport the softer the better generally. Different for circuit use though so they may not have such an advantage. As I say only based on what I'm told.

 

Good inputs Nick Availablity is a big issue.

I havent used this tyre was just doing a bit or searching for Ali. I use these guys http://www.mrtyremotorsport.co.uk/ as my friends have always used them

The widest ive gone on a mk1 front is 225, it needs arches like yours to make a 235 fit and a lots of other geometry work to get it right.

I feel that with 500 bhp Ali will muller 200 section tyres even in a medium compound and i would stay away from using soft tyres on the front, 2-3 laps and they will be gone.

Nick whats your thoughts on running soft slicks for 10 laps 15+ minutes?



Tony, i always find it interesting that hillclimbers and sprinters use Avons or Hoosiers and Circuit boys go for Dunlops or Michelins. With the single seaters buys being an exception.

 

IMO Avons/Hoosiers (tried both) suit a lighter weight car, in terms of sidewall flex. Dunlops generally are good for availaibility. Their main factory is Fort Dunlop (North Birmingham). Had a brief look round, they h\ve some stock, oh yeah. Michi's : I would rate these as better than Dunlops, but pricier, and a bit of a mare to get hold of. (tarmac rally comments, rather than slick comments) Those tack on arch extensions look this biz, dont suppose you would point us in the direction of a supplier?