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View Full Version : The pitfalls of autocrossing a Panther



BK_GrandMarquis
08-06-2005, 03:40 PM
I got the BF Goodrich KDW-2s early in the year. Not sure how many miles I got out of them but that was not the factor of the wear. It was my autocrossing of course. Heavy car in 90+ degree weather, 120+ runs on the tires and another 40+ runs yesterday, don't end up with a good result.

I should have rotated the tires after last week's event and I probably would have gotten another 30 runs out of them, maybe. All in all, I was surprised how well they held up. The hot weather last week with about 50 runs and yesterday morning was a big factor in wearing these tires down. I've been going to an autocross school by the auto club. There are only about 12 drivers per class. This leads to having 6 drivers working the course and 6 driving. Almost as soon as you get off the course, you are back on. This goes on for about 10 runs. With this pace, the tires and brakes heat up tremedously.

Yesterday was a bad day for cars. An old Porsche 914 blew an oil line or a gasket somewhere and started to leak. Another Porsche blew a swaybar in the regular autocross event later in the day. He was driving around a hairpin type of turn and thunk, it just let go. He didn't know what it was at the time and drove slowly to the finish.

Big House
08-06-2005, 06:42 PM
Oh now that is just nasty...please don't those beautiful wheels though. Looks like you will be placing a new order soon.

BK_GrandMarquis
08-06-2005, 08:09 PM
Oh now that is just nasty...please don't those beautiful wheels though. Looks like you will be placing a new order soon.

Already ordered a new set. While I was still at the autocross. Should be at my door Monday and on the car the same day.

Next year I have to think about a cheap set of rims and a set of race rubber. I keep hearing people say good things about Kumho ECSTA V710s.

Here are some shots of the tire after driving another 70 miles before I got it to the shop.

wchain
08-17-2005, 02:51 PM
WOW! Thats AWESOME! How does the car handle?

cyclone03
08-17-2005, 04:43 PM
I think you may want to think about some race front end specs for next time.
Some neg. camber and a little toe out will help a lot.

Add some air pressure too to get the sidewall of the tire off the pavement.

Notice how little wear the inside of the tires show.

BK_GrandMarquis
08-17-2005, 06:49 PM
WOW! Thats AWESOME! How does the car handle?

I think it does relatively well. One of the instructors was surprisingly impressed how well it handles. She was of the female pursuasion too. :D

BK_GrandMarquis
08-17-2005, 06:51 PM
I think you may want to think about some race front end specs for next time.
Some neg. camber and a little toe out will help a lot.

Add some air pressure too to get the sidewall of the tire off the pavement.

Notice how little wear the inside of the tires show.

Yeah, I was thinking about that when I got the new tires but I didn't know what settings to change. I didn't want to mess with it too much that it isn't driveable daily. I figured next time I would just rotate the tires before they get this bad. I'm also thinking about a set of 18's with race compound tires next year.

ckadiddle
08-18-2005, 10:10 AM
Always wondered what the inside of the tire looks like. :)