It was a day off here in Canada -- long live Queen Victoria -- so I had some time in the morning to test out a few strategies (then I went and worked in the yard until I was exhausted and now I've had a few gin drinks -- apologies if this post is somewhat incoherent -- or even less coherent than usual). Anyways, I mostly I wanted to find out if changing tires is the right choice for me at Daytona. I'm driving the Dodge Viper -- your mileage may vary, as always.
For me, it looks like changing tires is the right move, but not by much:
Obviously staying on the same set of tires impacted my lap times in the second stint. Here are the overall numbers:
Strategy | Change tires? | Opt time | Best time | Total time | Avg time | Avg dev |
---|
10RM-10RM | FALSE | 1:46.359 | 1:46.948 | 36:22.816 | 1:49.141 | 0:02.131 |
10RM-10RM | TRUE | 1:46.330 | 1:46.929 | 36:19.902 | 1:48.995 | 0:02.563 |
Tread levels at pit:
Strategy | Change tires? | Front left | Front right | Rear left | Rear right |
---|
10RM-10RM | FALSE | 75% | 70% | 75% | 45% |
10RM-10RM | TRUE | 75% | 70% | 75% | 45% |
Tread levels at finish:
Strategy | Change tires? | Front left | Front right | Rear left | Rear right |
---|
10RM-10RM | FALSE | 55% | 45% | 50% | 0% |
10RM-10RM | TRUE | 80% | 75% | 80% | 60% |
In the no-change strategy, I was really noticing the tire wear starting on lap 16. Turn 1 was where it was most noticeable. The rear right tire when fully red in the final lap.
All the raw data, including a few other strategies I tested, is in
this spreadsheet here.
One side observation, for the Rd.4 race at Suzuka, I'd decreased the controller's steering sensitivity from 7 to 3. I'd left it at 3 for these tests. Comparing them to tire wear I observed when I did my selection tests back in April (which were done with sensitivity 7), it looks like the reduced sensitivity settings can have a significant effect on tire life. Have any other controller users noticed this?
I've done a few other strategy tests with a tire change. Right now an 8RM-12RM seems to be my fastest option, but it is also my most recent. Can't tell if I'm just getting faster on the track or if it is the strategy that is making the difference. All the numbers are in the spreadsheet for anybody interested.
Everybody whose hitting lap times in the 1:44s, my hat is off to you. In FP, the best I've been able to manage is a 1:46.1, with an opt time of 1:45.9. I find myself caught in the usual state of anxiety over whether that will be good enough, but the last few times I've been in this situation, qualifying worked out okay for me, so I'm going to try not worry about it.