Quote:
Originally Posted by RaceR
I think the stock tires are a factor to the big success of the twins.
They don't have enough power to easily overcome the grip level of performance tires. And if they had performance tires, the car would still not be competitive against powerful sportscars.
With Primacy HP tires the car focuses on fun, and that's why it scores so high in all subjective tests. That is why it is such a great driver cars. It was built for fun, of course it can do speed and laptimes. But so can many other cars.
The car reviewers cant really complain about lap times, because its not the intented purpose of the stock cars. That makes them focus so much more on the fun part. And the stock tires makes the car more lively and fun.
The stock tires are great in terms of road noise and fuel economy. They are great for fun, they work great on the track.
Adding tires that would knock off 1-2 seconds on a lap would just do that one thing. Add more grip, add compromises on everything else.
The twins have won huge car tests in: TopGear, Autocar, Autoexpress and scored very well in many other tests.
I think the tire choice only helped it with those achievements.
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As someone who has gone from the stock Michelins to 235 wide Advan AD08s, I will choose to disagree with you overall. I do agree that the stock tires add a lot of "fun factor". But upping the grip really transformed the car. Everything that makes the car great, IMO, was improved with better rubber. Every part of a corner, from entry to exit was improved in both feel and capability. Braking improved, and so did launch. And I can still get the rear to step out at will, same as the stock tires. The only difference is that the plateu where the tires begin to let go and are truly gone is a bit narrower. Something that is perfectly acceptable in a more performance-oriented versin such as the STI/TRD versions will be.
And if they add a little negative camber in the front along with good tires? That would be icing on the cake. This chassis is
exceptional for the price, and I think a good set of tires emphasizes that rather than detracts from it.