Which tires provide the most accurate grip levels for classic racing cars?

  • Thread starter Thread starter RyanRacer
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Which tires provide the most accurate grip levels for classic racing cars?

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RyanRacer

RyanRacer

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As a lover of classic cars and classic racing cars, I would like to know. Although most people say race car=racing tires, there are others who say that Sports tires and even Comfort tires are the way to go. However I, after testing the Ford Mark IV and Chaparral 2D, am unsure. I noticed that with RH tires that the cars actually had a little less grip than all of the modern race cars with RH, and that they lose grip much more quickly and violently, which would support the argument for racing tires. However, they still feel pretty grippy before losing it itself. Did these cars really have as much grip as Racing: Hard tires provide, or are harder compounds the way to go? My question for you is, what do you think?

:gtpflag:​
 
It depends on the car in terms of power and weight. For the Ford Mark IV, Ferrari 330, Jaguar XJ13 etc, I won't go higher than RH tires. Otherwise, some would say it's overkill. Those cars are very light, so tires aren't a big issue here (at least not for me anyway).
Less powerful cars (Honda S800, Lancer GSR rally car etc) I think sport sorts are a pretty fun tire to use. Any sport tires are great but SS is the best. Not excatly racing tires but close to it in my opinion.
Hope this healps.
 
I don't think any tire in GT simulates the characteristics of a 60's bias ply racing tire very well. The closest you'll get for higher powered racecars like the Chappies are sports hards or mediums, and for the smaller and lighter stuff comfort softs or lower. RH is just way too much grip for a 60's bias ply racing tire IMO.
 
It varies from car to car - yesterday I was enjoying the new 500PP race car seasonal and really enjoyed using my classic race cars at 500PP on race hards. The cars vary - the Alfa TZ2 has a ridiculous amount of grip - like it's on rails or race softs, but the Ferrari GTO was slipping and sliding, wheel spinning over crests etc.

I don't get hung up on recreating a replica of the grip level, but if a car has an on-rails feel I select a less grippy tyre. I think there are certain cars that PD made a mistake with by giving them an unnaturally high level of grip such as the Alfa TZ2 and Suzuki Cappuccino Race Car - when I ran a series for that car we used comfort tyres.

I find that if the grip level becomes too low I get very little sensation or resistance from the wheel. Also I want the people I race with to be able to make mid corner corrections - if you use very low grip tyres you get a lot of collisions (perhaps they are ok for very skilled drivers). I don't use higher than race hard, but go lower depending on the feel of the car or cars.

Johnnypenso is probably right with his comments - cross ply tyres and drum brakes were awful in the 1960's - just bringing a normal saloon to a stop in a straight line from 70mph was a real challenge and required cadence braking to avoid an accident!. I remember my Dad couldn't believe the difference switching to a set of Michelin radials from cross plies made to our family Mark 1 Cortina.

I've posted the following clip because it supports Johnny's comments about 1960's tyres having very little grip - you've probably all seen it before, but I never tire of it! In many classes of classic racing they use modern tyres which are a reproduction of 1960's tyres and that is what this Porsche 911 was running on.

 
If u put racing hard in back and sport hard in front you will get very strange feeling in car. I have tested it in yellow bird and formula ayrton senna. It is almost imbossible the spin.
 
Truth is none of them simulate 60's racing crossplys very well at all.

They have much more grip on turn-in then any of the 'comfort' tyres. But they slide progressively after that point unlike the 'sport' tyres.

They have relatively high sidewalls too and this can make them wander even in a straight line. It's a constant battle to keep on top of any car running period correct 60's race tyres. In GT you just don't get any of the feeling that the car could let go at any time. The video above illustrates that very well 👍

Its one of my biggest bug bears with the GT series.


*edit* Where's the poll option for 'none'?
 
Personally I prefer sports tyres. They have more progression than racing tyres, and (depending on the car) you can drift the corners in the old school style. In GT5 when I played a lot, I would drive with SH and no aids for fun in the Ferrari, Jag and Ford race cars to get that feeling of being on the edge. Now, I don't play so much, probably SS and I'm back to ABS (though I don't have any of those cars in GT6).

Racing online might well be a different matter as @Sick Cylinder said, unless you know the drivers it is probably better to go for a bit more grip and enjoy the racing over any concerns of 'realism'.
 
I rarely go above Sports tyres, the grip threshold on Racing tyres just seems to high. Saying that I haven't driven any of the '60s Le Mans cars yet so I'm not sure what I'd use for them and other high PP historics. It's also probably worth a mention that slick tyres weren't used in any categories except drag racing until the early '70s, so that would suggest that Sports tyres are the way to go.
 
datracervenom
What actually does happen if one puts RS tyres into a 60's LM car???
Click to expand...
This:

car6.jpg
 
datracervenom
What actually does happen if one puts RS tyres into a 60's LM car???
Click to expand...
If you're looking for realism, like I am, from Gran Turismo 6 then RS tires are going to throw that realism out the window. You'll be able to drive faster, yes... You'll be taking corners at speeds that have your heart pounding and it will feel amazing - at first. Then you'll remember that the whole point of Gran Turismo 6 was to experience what it was really like to drive those cars from the 1960s and you'll soon realize you're not experiencing anything remotely similar to an actual driving experience in that car. :boggled:

If you're not really concerned about realism then just slap on RS tires and go have a good time. It's your game and no one can tell you how to play it! :D
 
ALB123
If you're looking for realism, like I am, from Gran Turismo 6 then RS tires are going to throw that realism out the window. You'll be able to drive faster, yes... You'll be taking corners at speeds that have your heart pounding and it will feel amazing - at first. Then you'll remember that the whole point of Gran Turismo 6 was to experience what it was really like to drive those cars from the 1960s and you'll soon realize you're not experiencing anything remotely similar to an actual driving experience in that car. :boggled:

If you're not really concerned about realism then just slap on RS tires and go have a good time. It's your game and no one can tell you how to play it! :D
Click to expand...

I agree. I usually use RH. But that means I'm still a radical :dopey:
 

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