No matter how you slice the handling pie, corner carvers desire traction--and lots of it. Despite having the best suspension com-ponents, there's no better way to get traction than with a good set of tires. Grip requires that your tires generate friction at those four little contact patches. When friction is increased, better traction results; when it is decreased, traction (and overall grip) suffers.
High-performance, cornering-type tires, namely those found in the DOT-approved "competition" genre, must grip under the extreme cornering forces, heavy braking, and during hard acceleration when the power is "on." These tires are often subject to long periods of use, so they need to hold up to higher temperatures, sometimes for hours at a clip. They must absorb imperfections in road or track, and most importantly, they must be safe and have a decent lifespan.
We pushed as hard as we could,...
We pushed as hard as we could, right to the point of maximum adhesion.
With that stated, a gigantic challenge is imposed on tire manufacturers, but that's what makes this market so interesting. Some manu-facturers work toward offering ultimate dry grip, another might build tires better suited to driving in the wet. Still, you'll find tires in this segment that provide great traction, but with a slightly harder compound to extend life on the street and track. Perhaps that's why there is no single, perfect tire.
Still, we wanted to explore the realm of competition DOT tires and try out a few in a controlled race-like environment, so we gathered up a few popular players and headed to the track. Ultimately, there were many tires to choose from, but we narrowed it down to Nitto Tire's newest, the NT01 sized at 275/35ZR18-inches, Pirelli's PZero Corsa in the 285/30/18-inch size, and Toyo's Proxes RA-1 Competition Radial in a 275/35ZR18-inch package. To keep the weight variable in check, we mounted all the rubber on Konig's awesome Beyond five-spoke wheels, measuring 18x9.5-inches.
You may notice the tires vary in size and/or design. We did that because each driver and each car requires something a little different to maximize performance. This makes it virtually impossible to determine a "best tire," so we decided not to go there. Of course, you could look at lap times alone, but there's far more to picking the right rubber for your ride. For instance, is the best set simply the quickest on the track? Is it the one that works best in damp or wet conditions? Or, is it the tire that can provide great traction but last the longest under normal driving?
To pick a winner for your car, you have to consider fit, budget, how often you can afford to purchase tires, whether you'll be towing your ride to the track or driving it, and whether you need the tires to last for a season, for a few sessions, or for one race.