Or at least one of the first things we should educate ourselves about?

Opinions please?

Good luck, talk soon.

A.

 

On the track, certainly.

On the street, I run what's cheap (Azenis).

 

brake pads and fluid

jason- who is a track ***** and would probably try to sell himself for track time

 

What many newbies think are the most important, with 1 being the most important of all:

1. Power
2. Power
3. Power

What are actually the most important:

1. Driver skill
2. Tires
3. Brakes
4. Suspension

 

Personally. I'd rather have better brakes (in terms of fluid and pads). I don't care what tires I'm running if I can stop the car at the end of sebrings back straight and hit the wall.

 

Top 3 performace mods
1. Driving experience and skill
2. Safety ( brakes, suspension, tires,etc)
3. Power adders

 

But doesn't the performance of tire also dictate how well you are going to be able to brake? I.E. (being very drastic here) Snow tires Vs. RE010's, braking from 60-0....even if u have good brakes, the snow tires won't be able to handle it and stop in the same distance as the RE010's... then ABS will have a field day with the snows as well... right?

 

Brakes don't stop the car, tires do

They are a very important mod...the R comes with some pretty decent rubber (unlike, for example, the GS-R)...it's important to pick rubber that meets your needs and budget the best. I'm gonna run azenis on the track cuz they're fairly inexpensive and they'll last a while. I run Pirellis on the street that are more than adequate in the rain and dry for the summer. I run V700s during AutoX, because it's fun to be competitive, and they last longer than hoosiers. And i've got some terrible continnentals on my steelies cuz that's what they came with...eventually i'll put real winter tires on there. Excessive maybe, but it works for me ...i like to do alot of things with my car, and multiple tires means i don't have to make compromises.

 

I'll second that. A specialized driving course, on a racing track, is by far the best performance improving investment.

 

Good call B2........
I would say driver skill, and keeping all of the other mods under control while on the street, i.e. don't do anything stupid on public roads.

 

For all saying tires...

Competition tires do not "communicate" with the driver as well as street tires do, which is why I say don't run your first event(s) with them. Street tires "talk" to you to warn when they are reaching the limit, while when competitions start talking, you're probably heading for a wall...

 

Ahhh that's my list as well. I totally agree but, you guys probably already knew that.

Everybody always asks: "Whats the best first mod?"

And almost all the time less experienced drivers blurt out, "intake!" or "header!" or "cams" even "suspension!" but usually never "tires!"

"Nothing" is the best response, and most here who've answered this post agree. Just getting acquainted with the car is the foremost important task in the beginning. Then becoming a better driver should rank second. Then the skies the limit but usually after the first two things the list begins to resemble nsxtcjr's.

Power and speed are the drugs that are initially addictive for most. I understand this and appreciate this too but, whats the use of more power or higher speed if you can't drive correctly? Or turn and/or stop on a dime and be quick doing so?

The reason I was pondering this is that since I recently swapped on my Snows I became acutely aware of just how different tires can be. Of course I've noticed this before back when I switched my LS's XGT4's for Yoko A520's but I never really deeply thought about it and noticed as much until I owned the R's. I have run auto-X's on the RE0's and also Hoosier A3S03's and experienced the difference, "and yes the Hoosier's are different and less forgiving than RE010's."

I also from time to time have driven different cars and am more aware of their limits now. One of the biggest shortcomings I find with most automobiles and their handeling is usually the tires 1st at least, not counting abnormal body roll or premature brake fade. When working a car you can feel things and manuver it differently to compensate and achieve the best from it. But, if just the tires were better you'd be more able to push the limits even farther.

Usually stock tires squeal and slide alot earlier than they should have to. Just look at how people drive zipping in and out of traffic. If and when they'd need to make a quick stop or any emergency response, the tires usually just aren't up to the task not to mention usually NOT properly maintained, IE kept in good condition, and properly inflated.

I think that we are blessed with some very good stock rubber. I am Not trying to applaud the ITR here, "it gets that enough already," I'm just sayin that if it had a lesser tire stock it certainly woulden't have as precise steering and handeling characteristics.

I also posted this because most of us are getting on in mileage and I see more and more postings about tires pertaining to the ITR and replacements for it. We all tend to agree on some general Good replacements and upgrades for different applications, But tire discussion is usually more deeply discussed in the Competition forum and I feel that a good discussion of it here benefits all of us. And even Again for all the newcomers.

Just for the record, I am a proponant of the stock rubber, "even if I'm going Azenis this spring."

Driver skill and technique plays a huge roll and ranks #1 but, A lesser driver with good tires while learning will progress faster than one with poor rubber between him and the road.


Thanks guys, lets get more opinions...

A.

 

Yes Aleph, we all read that SCC article. Again, I don't care what tires you have if you also have boiled fluid. You will *NOT* stop. The tires "stop" the car because the pads "stop" the rotors which "stops" the wheel, which cause the tires to increase friction on the pavement, thus sklowing/stopping the vehicle. If you have a failure at any point between the brake pedal and the tires, you'd fugged. That's why I'd rather run kmart special tires with hawk blues and good fluid versas hoosiers with discoutn auto parts 99cent brake fluid and one-stopper pads.

 

I also agree with this 100%. IMO you should also do your first events with a stock car. But hey, that's just me.

 

 

I think one thing works together with the other one. Brakes are very important but, also having a good tire compound that sticks to the track so they help better to stop or slow down the car so you don't hit that wall... grip is good

 

2 words....TREAD MILL! get one you fat bastard! then, maybe your car might go faster.....

oh, and driver skill is the number 1 mod, followed secondly to tires, imho.