Drag Tires forcing pit stops

Hi All,
I wanted to start a discussion around the use of drag tires. I am currently competing in a series on Friday night using drag tires in 2 of the 4 races for the night. I am in 2 minds whether I like the concept or not. I get the idea that it makes you manage your tires / pitstops, just not sure it has benifits.

Race 1 last night I ran the entire race on the same set of tires. Before anyone pitted I was in 9th place and after everyone pitted I was in 5th place, I was then caught and passed by 2 putting me back to 7th place, a net gain of 2 places. 2nd race I did pit and my finishing place did not change once the field had gone through their stops.

I find the cars do not handle as well as they should, and I understand everyone is in the same "boat" (Pun intended).

I dont want this to be a "I'm right, your wrong thread", I simply would like people's opinions and others to respect each others thoughts on this.

The reason I am asking is, I am planning my next series and wondering whether to use drag tires or simply have mandatory pit stops.

Be nice!

Dazz

i like the idea of both, drag tyres and mandatory stops.
that way the idea isnt "can i control the car enough to finish without pitting" but more so, when is the right time to pit to bring strategy into play.

just my 2cents anyway

The use of Drag tyres would depend on what you want from the race series.

We are a week away from running the final round of the Red vs Blue and I do have mixed feelings. Happy to see the drag tyres go but I will miss what they brought to the racing.

What I have found with them so far...
Pros:
* A control tyre with high wear rate for mini enduros.
* Forces pit stops or you lose time.
* Tyre wear depends on the driver: Hard on the brakes or throttle will see more wear.
* Has great grip when hot and with 30%+ wear.
* Can create pit strategy.

Cons:
* Must be used with damage on for optimum grip (and the wear).
* Some drivers will not pit.
* Has great grip when hot and with 30%+ wear but loses it after 50%.
* Handling lower than with race slicks.
* Takes up to 3 or 4 laps to get them to their peak.
* Choice of tracks need pit access.

I have now run noRecoil's MX5's, our Red vs Blue cars and tested Envy's DTM build all with drag tyres. With the weight and power of the Red vs Blue we had higher wear than noRecoil's MX5's. Unsure how well the DTM cars will go as they have a lot more speed and down force than the other cars we have run.

Dazz, You need to do a bit of testing with the different tyre compounds before you commit to using it. Our original idea was Nissan GTR's with drag tyres but Crimson found that the AWD gave the car plenty of grip even with a fair bit of wear. We then settled for the w427 before we ended up running in noRecoil's MX5s which gave me extra testing. The mandatory pit stops we used in the C Class series back in FM3 were fine and this opened those builds to use any tyre compound we wanted.

Drag tyres add an extra element of strategy and realism, however with either tyre compound making pit stops mandatory would be better

If you want real tyer wear then you need to play GT5
T10 could not aford the real thing ( SHAME )

I raced in most of NoRecoils MX5 series which used drag tyres.

I love the strategy involved and found generally you are much better off making a pitstop than trying to push the tyres too hard. You lose far more time at the end.

...but... driving around corners is like trying to push a wardrobe up a fire escape, not only when they are worn.

I find having to wrestle the car though every single turn takes the fun out of the game for me.

From a technical standpoint I believe it is the soft sidewalls that cause the cornering issues. I don't think the game should let people use drag tyres for circuit racing in any case.

I am both for race tyres and drag tyres..

to me it adds a little bit of a pitting eliment to the race.. Yes u do lose a bit of grip on drags.. but its good to have a bit of change now and then..

drag tyres for the slower cars i think is good.. but for the faster cars i prefer race tyres..

just my 2c worth..

guess its best for the organiser to chose what tyres they would like to run in there series..

I'm all for Drag Tyres. The extra they give in terms of strategy is worth the negatives. Plus, you can do some tuning to overcome some of the handling drawback that drag tyres present.

At Mugello the other week, I was racing Dazza for track position but just not able to get past him. He pitted, and I put down the mother of all laps. I knew if I pitted the next lap, and had a stonking great 'In' lap, I could jump him on the pit stop.

I anxiety and tension of that lap, the 'endless' pit stop, the slow crawl out of the pits and the nervousness of seeing Dazza's 'Dot' bearing down the Pit Straight was insane. I ended up in front, but then I had to deal with Cold Tyres and a 'Hot Dazza'.

He ended up getting his position back after I got a bit enthuastic on a slow corner but for me, it turned that 'middle' part of the race where I would have normally been struggling to overtake and 'following the leader' into a 3 - 5 laps of gripping entertainment.

In other events I've participated in the 1st third of the race is hell fun with all the cars grouped together, the 2nd third I've generally had a bit of battle, and the last third has generally been me by myself putting in 'hot laps'. All the thrilling finishes I've had have been with Drag Tyres.

Power and weight play a big part in how they handle. The 1500kg RWD V8's in A class would be as high as I want drag tyres in. The lower spec Gen 1 Mazda's with 999kg where easy to drive on the drag tyres.

In higher/faster classes I would rather the race tyre especially race cars. With all that speed and power on tap I want grip when I need it but more than a few laps worth.

One thing I am against is their use to de-tune - drop PI of a car (like the R3 #77 Subaru down to S class) so they can be used to change the leaderboards. These tyres have their place in this game - for drag racing and for special race series only.

Would I use them again in a future series? yes.