I know all you experienced track people have already said how much differance that warm tyres can make but frankly I though it was all B***** until I went out on Saturday. I thought I might have a puncture or that the tyres were at the wrong pressure when I set off for a blast. On the first roundabout the road was nice and clear so I gave the S a bit of VTEC and hey! It felt like those WRC boys on a gravelly corner and for the next 5-10 mniles I can't say I really noticed things gradually getting better until we drove, at a leisurely pace, through Stamford-stopping for various traffic lights. Then the car was back in jelly mode. Only a spirited bit of back road corners got the thing cornering properly again.

OK not the most enlightening post, but in years of driving I've never noticed such a big differance as the tyres warmed up. No wonder people have problems on icy/slippy roads in Winter.

 

I find I come back form places much faster than I go there, it really makes a difference.

I dunno if it's the damp, but it seems more extreme this year than I remember previously.

 

I've noticed it as well, havng S02s on now for a month or so (had Pirelli P7s on when I bought it in June).

Quite eye opening when you feel something like tyre warmth through the handling of the car

 

Interesting. I was driving around on the slimey roads yesterday (3rd proper day with the car - i.e. only counting days where I got to drive it), and it generally felt very slippery so was taking things pretty slow on the corners. Then as it got dark I think I stopped seeing how wet the road was and started pushing a bit more But the car seemed to come alive and it felt a lot better and gripped a lot better too. I was having loads of fun until the petrol light came on and I thought it was probably time to go home.

I said before I had several sets of S03s on my FTO and have been suprised to hear people here talk badly about the S02s in the wet, but the S03s wouldn't have been like that (at least not on my FTO) and I'd have had a lot more confidence to push harder in the damp conditions. I guess you were all right about the S02s.

 

Cold tyres and a heavy right foot can be lethal.

It's not just a characteristic with the S or Bridgestones, Toyos etc but applies to just about anything... i even experienced cold tyre slide when i was driving 4x4 and i always make a point of getting the tyres warm before any blasting.

 

I wonder if its because of the low profile nature of the tyres as there's less rubber between the tread and rim making the tyre very stiff??

BTW on a differant topic I'm insured with Norwich Union and said I would do 6000 miles in a year. On Monday I got a stone chip in the windscreen and rang Norwich Union to get it fixed. They sent a van next day and the chap fixed it quickly on the drive. Whilst he was doing the repair I noticed the mileage on the certificate and as I've done 5900 miles (since July) I thought I better get in touch and increase the mileage. I rang this morning and a helpful man in Bangalore said OK have 12000 miles so I was ready with my credit card but then was told there was no charge!! He also confirmed that the car is covered if I leave it in the garage with roof up or down. I've heard some bad reports of N. Union but I was pleased with the service this last week, and my premium is only

 

On the tyre temp front, i don't think i ever get the tyres hot on the road, certainly not warm too the touch. On trackdays they get hot to the touch but never on the road.

However, when i first pull out of my drive in the morning and accelerate away (not hard i might add), i always notice a bit of slip. This slip remains until i've done about 2-3 miles. I guess this is the tyres warming up enough to soften slightly and hence grip.

 

I'm finding it slippery out there. I am not sure it is slipperyer than last year, i guess we just get more used to the grip in the summer

 

Low profile? They're huge!

I guess you have 17s.

 

Hi,
I did a track day at Cadwell park a couple of weeks ago and for the first 2 laps it was obvious the tyres were not hot enough. After that the tyres came good for about 4 laps then started to overheat.

this was on S02's

Out of interest i did Nurburgring this summer , and i can tell you a 9min 40 sec lap uses 1.5mm of rear tyre!!!!!!! - nice!

Gary.