As a 15+ year racer/IT driver, this is my .02¢:
I started racing with an older Showroom Stock car. Lucky to be at the back of mid pack on a great weekend (for me) with used tires. Once I was driving the car close to limits, I started the upgrades. Over the years I built the car, added new tires to the mix and became a better racer. I built it to the level I wanted and am as competitive as I want to be. I'm faster than some, but not as fast as others. My tire budget is 6 tires a year (Hankooks for less than $1k a season) and they are a great race tire. (That $1k is no where near my biggest expense for a race season.) I could buy new tires every weekend (or every session) if I wanted, but the 6 usually get me 16-18 sessions each (4-5 weekend a year).
I'm on a Chump team and we have run one event with tw200 tires that were great for what they were. We have run over 16 hours on the tires and they still look new. They are great for Chump racing, but I have no interest in using them on my club racing car. Three wide in turn one at Mid-Ohio on the Hankooks is awesome! Three wide in turn one at Mid-Ohio on the tw200 tires isn't something I'd look forward to (or even probably try). Those tw200 tires don't do what the race tires can.
I wonder how a set of these tires would do shaved down to 1-2/32 and maybe some special treatment...
Matt Downing
1995 Honda Civic EX Coupe - ITA
Ohio Valley Region, SCCA
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