1st time on track with cup 2's in the wet
Discussion
Looks like my 1st track day in the gt4 will be wet this week 
I have got used to the cup 2's on rd in the wet and they do have more grip then I initially thought as long as its not cold. How do people find the cup 2 gt4 on a wet track (snetters?), are they predictable on breakaway or is it a a case of utilising the garage for extensive periods of time?
I have got used to the cup 2's on rd in the wet and they do have more grip then I initially thought as long as its not cold. How do people find the cup 2 gt4 on a wet track (snetters?), are they predictable on breakaway or is it a a case of utilising the garage for extensive periods of time?
If there's standing water then it's a problem. With current temperatures, merely being wet shouldn't be an issue imo on cup2 as long as you're sensible. Just feel your way into it and don't pile in before you have a decent gauge on conditions. Also, do consider using a slightly different line to the 'dry' line as there might well be more grip offline.
I've only done a couple of wet sessions on Cup 2. They were better than I thought they were going to be. Didn't really have to deal with any standing water though. On a fully wet track, not scary, but not as confidence inspiring* as I had found P Zeroes in the wet.
I was too lazy to pump the tyres up a bit. I had already done a couple of dry sessions that day so had let a lot of air out, and they lost temperature pretty quickly in the wet, which can't have helped. I think if I'd pumped them back up to recommended cold road pressures as a starting point they'd have had more of a chance.
I'd start on 30 psi front, 32 psi rear, cold pressures. Leave plenty of margin for error on the track. Have some fun knowing that you are not about to melt a perfectly good set of Cup 2s when they get too hot!
Liam
I was too lazy to pump the tyres up a bit. I had already done a couple of dry sessions that day so had let a lot of air out, and they lost temperature pretty quickly in the wet, which can't have helped. I think if I'd pumped them back up to recommended cold road pressures as a starting point they'd have had more of a chance.
I'd start on 30 psi front, 32 psi rear, cold pressures. Leave plenty of margin for error on the track. Have some fun knowing that you are not about to melt a perfectly good set of Cup 2s when they get too hot!
Liam
- Confidence inspiring is probably a bit of an overstatement in making it sound like I know what I am doing. I find wet tracks a bit nerve wracking, and even on P Zeroes my 981 GT4s PSM was occasionally working its little heart out to keep me out of trouble on my last wet outing. 718 PSM seems better to me, but I've never driven a 718 GT4 in a way that would encourage it to intervene.
As above, standing water can be an issue but warm and wet shouldn’t be terrible, damp can be surprisingly good. I was in a 981 Gt4 on Cup 2s at a damp Croft recently and was very impressed by how much bite they had.
OP, which track are you visiting?
The tyre of choice is still Yoko A052 for excellent wet and dry performance BTW.
OP, which track are you visiting?
The tyre of choice is still Yoko A052 for excellent wet and dry performance BTW.
I did Silverstone in November on Cup 2s, 981 GT4.
Very nearly slid off several times at very low speeds on a cold damp track (not wet), once a dry line appeared they were as good as ever, if I strayed onto the damp sections this resulted in big slides and massive understeer.
Good luck.
Very nearly slid off several times at very low speeds on a cold damp track (not wet), once a dry line appeared they were as good as ever, if I strayed onto the damp sections this resulted in big slides and massive understeer.
Good luck.
I was at Bedford yesterday on PS4S on a warm and sunny day... so basically not at all analogous to what you are doing but I just wanted to say that the GT4 was properly epic and I'm sure you will have a fantastic time!
If you are really worried then leave the ESP and TC on, my experience yesterday was that they were very unintrusive - given the value of the car and my ham fisted driving there's no way I would turn them off in the wet anyway, regardless of what tyre I'm on!
If you are really worried then leave the ESP and TC on, my experience yesterday was that they were very unintrusive - given the value of the car and my ham fisted driving there's no way I would turn them off in the wet anyway, regardless of what tyre I'm on!
I've done Snetterton in the wet on Cup2s and as mentioned there are two important factors - avoid standing water and stay off the dry line. You will be amazed at how much predictable grip there is on the far outside of the corners, whereas the inside line feels like an ice rink.
It does mean you have to be aware of when you're crossing the dry line, i.e. where the dry line crosses from the outside to the inside of the track and vice versa. So on corner exit for example, don't floor it where the dry line comes back to the outside!
When I was there, a MX5 racer was in his MX5 road car, but on the race tyres pumped up to really high pressures. It was amazing the pace he could maintain on the different racing line. I followed him around for a bunch of laps and we were easily faster than everything else that was tip-toeing on the dry line (which is snappy and unpredictable compared to the wet line). It was a very interesting lesson for me and now I don't dread wet track days.
It does mean you have to be aware of when you're crossing the dry line, i.e. where the dry line crosses from the outside to the inside of the track and vice versa. So on corner exit for example, don't floor it where the dry line comes back to the outside!
When I was there, a MX5 racer was in his MX5 road car, but on the race tyres pumped up to really high pressures. It was amazing the pace he could maintain on the different racing line. I followed him around for a bunch of laps and we were easily faster than everything else that was tip-toeing on the dry line (which is snappy and unpredictable compared to the wet line). It was a very interesting lesson for me and now I don't dread wet track days.
You`ll be fine and as mentioned above by several posters, avoid standing water. The ambient temperature has picked up now a bit so if it were me , I`d leave the road pressures in the tyres and keep an eye on them after a few laps with the TPMS screen in the cluster. If the pressures start to rise, this is a good sign as the tyres are getting some temperature in them which will help with grip.
I`d also add the caveat that the racing line ( the rubbered in line ) will be more prone to slip sliding than off the racing line. Just start slow and build up until you feel comfortable or get a few warnings !!
I`d also add the caveat that the racing line ( the rubbered in line ) will be more prone to slip sliding than off the racing line. Just start slow and build up until you feel comfortable or get a few warnings !!
In my limited track day experience, don't underestimate the amount of extra wet grip that a road tyre can build up as its temperature increases in a session. I found that corner speeds achieved at the end of my second session were not possible at the start of the following session, lesson learnt.
So start each session relatively slowly and Enjoy!
So start each session relatively slowly and Enjoy!
Just to close the loop on this and help anyone else with an opinion:
Very wet today to the point where they shut the track due to flooding so I definitely experienced a very wet track!
In short as many said on the wet line the handling was predictable and far more confidence inspiring than driving on the wet roads home. PSM does a great job and you can get some heat in the tyres which makes a real difference. There was much more grip and on the whole you could push up too and slightly beyond the limit and it was a good experience to see how hard you can push cup 2's in the wet.
On the way home the rain kept coming and I was reminded on a few occasions why cup 2's in the wet on the road are crap, several significant slides just breathing on the throttle.
In short cup 2's on the rd in the wet very traction limited and not particularly confidence inspiring.
On Track you can build some heat and as long as its prob 10 degrees or more they are absolutely fine.
Suffice to say I did go home early...isn't British weather great.
Very wet today to the point where they shut the track due to flooding so I definitely experienced a very wet track!
In short as many said on the wet line the handling was predictable and far more confidence inspiring than driving on the wet roads home. PSM does a great job and you can get some heat in the tyres which makes a real difference. There was much more grip and on the whole you could push up too and slightly beyond the limit and it was a good experience to see how hard you can push cup 2's in the wet.
On the way home the rain kept coming and I was reminded on a few occasions why cup 2's in the wet on the road are crap, several significant slides just breathing on the throttle.
In short cup 2's on the rd in the wet very traction limited and not particularly confidence inspiring.
On Track you can build some heat and as long as its prob 10 degrees or more they are absolutely fine.
Suffice to say I did go home early...isn't British weather great.
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