BigEvilDoer
Well-known member
Well, I couldn’t resist their prices from a certain dealer in Montreal, so I had to give them a whirl.
First time out was for an easy day at Grand Bend. Unfortunately, my rear tire warmer crapped out and I had to follow the general warmup procedure.
Metzeler claims the tire doesn’t need warmers to run a hot pace - luckily, they’re at least somewhat correct.
I was coaching several new to track students, so it was the perfect opportunity to give them a test for their fast warm up times.
Surprise! They did exactly what they claimed. After 2 laps they were giving me enough feedback to start elevating the pace, and go track day “full send” after 3 laps. The wear was absolutely minimal.
Did a second full open track day at “full send” track day pace (85%). The tires lived up to full expectations - zero grip issues, and again, barely any wear. Sure, there was a nice “sandy beach” wear pattern on the rear, but that was expected.
Day 3… well, let’s say it didn’t go quite so well. It was a Mosport. I run a 1:32-1:33 pace there. Once I was into a session with a hot pace, I could feel a bit of rear tire squirm here and there, but nothing terrible. Unfortunately, despite adjusting tire pressures and suspension, Mosport absolutely DESTROYED the rear on the right side. The drive line is barely above the carcass at the moment. If you run your hand over the profile, there’s a serious deformation going on. It’s not a rounder profile at all - it’s more of a Round, U, 2” to edge. The “U” is the deformation shape. It’s astonishing to see how much rubber went “missing” in this area.
Final Verdict - a great track day tire for most tracks. I wouldn’t choose to use them again at Mosport - I’d switch to a Dunlop (which in the past have done very well for me there). I will most definitely be purchasing them again for next season.
First time out was for an easy day at Grand Bend. Unfortunately, my rear tire warmer crapped out and I had to follow the general warmup procedure.
Metzeler claims the tire doesn’t need warmers to run a hot pace - luckily, they’re at least somewhat correct.
I was coaching several new to track students, so it was the perfect opportunity to give them a test for their fast warm up times.
Surprise! They did exactly what they claimed. After 2 laps they were giving me enough feedback to start elevating the pace, and go track day “full send” after 3 laps. The wear was absolutely minimal.
Did a second full open track day at “full send” track day pace (85%). The tires lived up to full expectations - zero grip issues, and again, barely any wear. Sure, there was a nice “sandy beach” wear pattern on the rear, but that was expected.
Day 3… well, let’s say it didn’t go quite so well. It was a Mosport. I run a 1:32-1:33 pace there. Once I was into a session with a hot pace, I could feel a bit of rear tire squirm here and there, but nothing terrible. Unfortunately, despite adjusting tire pressures and suspension, Mosport absolutely DESTROYED the rear on the right side. The drive line is barely above the carcass at the moment. If you run your hand over the profile, there’s a serious deformation going on. It’s not a rounder profile at all - it’s more of a Round, U, 2” to edge. The “U” is the deformation shape. It’s astonishing to see how much rubber went “missing” in this area.
Final Verdict - a great track day tire for most tracks. I wouldn’t choose to use them again at Mosport - I’d switch to a Dunlop (which in the past have done very well for me there). I will most definitely be purchasing them again for next season.