Quote:
Originally Posted by chkltcow
I don't get all the hate for the tires. They're a spec tire, which means we're all on equal footing with them.... so they're a GREAT competition tire.
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It's a great tire for an entry-level class and entry-level driving in general. That seems to be the intent and I see the value of it.
However in the beginning, I was coming at it from a different angle. My initial impressions (back in September) were that the car was the step between Street and Street Touring with performance to match. We put a top tier tire on the it and started getting the jump on setup. Had a lot of fun in the process and the car was certainly performing in the space we expected it to.
Fast forward to the spec tire pick and, while I can see the benefit of the choice, I can also see that the goals of the class do not align with my goals & expectations of the car. The most important thing for me is to have fun driving it, and (for me) this tire gives up when the fun starts.
Falkens are cheap, and that's great for running costs, but they wear about the same as a top tier 200tw. I got more runs out of ES tires while going faster and (to me) having more fun. I got out of ES for this class, and I'm now being matched or raw-timed by my car from last year. That's a significant blow to my ego and not one I feel is worth swallowing. It's annoying spending the money to buy into the class and not go any faster, to say the least. At least I have a roof and can carry more than a suitcase.
I really do like spec classes, but the most important thing to me is to have fun. It's similar to my thoughts of SRF Gen 2 vs SRF Gen 3.