Reply to: More reasons not to buy a Toyota GT86

[ZARDOZ]

Wide tyres don't give more grip as the contact area is the same for a given PSI, they're used on race cars as they don't heat up and get destroyed as easily as a narrower tyres allowing softer compounds.

A quick google says the Prius has 185/65/15's whilst the the GT86 has 215/45/17's which is a fairly wide low profile tyre anyway, I'm guessing the similarity has more to do with a hard compound rather than the size.

Yep,Clarkson was very lazy in his review the comment on RWD and the tyres are a nonsense. They are reasonably wide tyres for that type of car . He must spend too much time in supercars with their massively wide wheels. IIRC the Ford Capri 2.8 injection had 205s!

[gingerjedi]

Fair enough - only going off what Clarkson said! I would have thought it would be a contact area of 0 instead of o i.e. bigger on the wider tyre

If the contact area is bigger (by lowering pressure) then the load is spread over that area so there's less grip at any particular point, this is why wide tyres are prone to aquaplaning and are crap on snow/ice.

Clarkson is a journo who likes cars, he know's feck all about physics!

[BoredBloke]

Wide tyres don't give more grip as the contact area is the same for a given PSI, they're used on race cars as they don't heat up and get destroyed as easily as a narrower tyres allowing softer compounds.

A quick google says the Prius has 185/65/15's whilst the the GT86 has 215/45/17's which is a fairly wide low profile tyre anyway, I'm guessing the similarity has more to do with a hard compound rather than the size.

Fair enough - only going off what Clarkson said! I would have thought it would be a contact area of 0 instead of o i.e. bigger on the wider tyre

[darmstadt]

Jeremy Clarkson likes them

Ah yes, Jeremy:

[gingerjedi]

Wide tyres don't give more grip as the contact area is the same for a given PSI, they're used on race cars as they don't heat up and get destroyed as easily as a narrower tyres allowing softer compounds.

A quick google says the Prius has 185/65/15's whilst the the GT86 has 215/45/17's which is a fairly wide low profile tyre anyway, I'm guessing the similarity has more to do with a hard compound rather than the size.

[d000hg]

there are plenty of cheaper options for some back end slidey fun.

titter

[original PM]

many pro drivers will use computer games to learn tracks - GT is the favorite but does not have all tracks...

on the subject of the GT86 not a bad car... but as others have said there are plenty of cheaper options for some back end slidey fun.

[d000hg]

Well of course. I never said it was identical, only that one can provide skills useful in the other.

From memory Jez concluded it wasn't that the game was 'easier' as much as he didn't dare drive the same way in real life. He had exactly the same when they had that Lotus 'home F1' car, he knew where the braking point was but didn't dare brake that late!

Kids with no fear on the other hand, might do better - as that article suggested.

[Bunk]

Simulators can never reproduce the G forces, or the balance. It's not like experiencing the real thing, even though it may be pretty accurate in the way it responds to inputs. I've done a fair few trackdays (although I've gone off it a bit), but I've never had any interest in driving games. It doesn't even begin to compare.

F1 drivers don't train on simulators, but use simulators to test things as they aren't allowed to do much real testing. In fact, it's mostly the test drivers (who are real racing drivers too) that do the simulator work. But if you follow F1 you know that the teams often turn up at a race track with parts that the simulator and wind tunnel say are better, and then find that they're slower.

And yes, Jezza was much slower on the track than he was in the game.

Part of his problem, if I remember correctly, was that he could take the corkscrew a lot faster in the game than he could in real life, mainly because he shat himself everytime he approached it.

[VectraMan]

Of course it can. It's a driving simulator, hook it up to a decent force-feedback steering wheel and what exactly is your problem? Driving line, drifting, over/under-steer, all these basic things you would not normally get to experience on a regular road.

Computer games have moved on rather a lot since your day I expect. Again, that's why F1 drivers train on them. They even had a TopGear episode where Clarkson used it to learn a track before driving on it.

Simulators can never reproduce the G forces, or the balance. It's not like experiencing the real thing, even though it may be pretty accurate in the way it responds to inputs. I've done a fair few trackdays (although I've gone off it a bit), but I've never had any interest in driving games. It doesn't even begin to compare.

F1 drivers don't train on simulators, but use simulators to test things as they aren't allowed to do much real testing. In fact, it's mostly the test drivers (who are real racing drivers too) that do the simulator work. But if you follow F1 you know that the teams often turn up at a race track with parts that the simulator and wind tunnel say are better, and then find that they're slower.

And yes, Jezza was much slower on the track than he was in the game.

[BoredBloke]

It's fitted with the same tyres as the Prius. Do you think the Prius is fitted with tyres that promote the back end sliding out?

Different car with different properties. The Prius is obviously fitted with these tyres because it provides the grip the car needs. This car is fitted with these tyres so that folks like SasGuru can drive then sideways around corners. Putting more rubber on the road would stop the back end slipping out. This would make it just a fairly slow car. Its selling point is its handling and the fun that can be had by driving it in a certain way! Hence the thin tyres.

[Bunk]

Of course it can. It's a driving simulator, hook it up to a decent force-feedback steering wheel and what exactly is your problem? Driving line, drifting, over/under-steer, all these basic things you would not normally get to experience on a regular road.

Computer games have moved on rather a lot since your day I expect. Again, that's why F1 drivers train on them. They even had a TopGear episode where Clarkson used it to learn a track before driving on it.

I'm pretty sure he concluded it was very different driving for real around Laguna Seca than it was in Gran Turismo.

[VectraMan]

So why fit it with tyres that promote the back end sliding out?

It's fitted with the same tyres as the Prius. Do you think the Prius is fitted with tyres that promote the back end sliding out?

[rob s]

Seriously ? Where is this advert ? Toyota website says it has great handling, doesn't mention powerslides.

It's the opinion=fact fallacy.

[BoredBloke]

Seriously ? Where is this advert ? Toyota website says it has great handling, doesn't mention powerslides.

So why fit it with tyres that promote the back end sliding out?