Mustang Challenge Michelin take offs

[12coBoss]

Wondering if anyone has ran the Michelin Challenge take offs on a GT350, what did you set your hot PSI at?

 

[Fabman]

Wondering if anyone has ran the Michelin Challenge take offs on a GT350, what did you set your hot PSI at?

Michelin Race Tire 30/68-18 S8M | Sube Sports

The Michelin 30/68-18 S8M race tire is an intermediate radial slick utilized for GT2, GTE, and GTLM Class 2012+ large front applications in dry conditions.

www.subesports.com

 

[blacksheep-1]

You talking Mustang Challenge? Or Michelin Pilot Challenge stuff?

 

[12coBoss]

You talking Mustang Challenge? Or Michelin Pilot Challenge stuff?

Believe these are take offs from Darkhorse Mustang Challenge series. Purchased off usedracingtires.com they are the 295/30-19s.

 

[blacksheep-1]

40 hot

 

[12coBoss]

@blacksheep-1, looking for your advice on setting hot temp. So when I go to the track I am my own crew member. The way I set my temp is when I go out for the first session I take the first lap or lap and a half to get all fluids up to temp, then push hard for 3-4 laps and come directly into the hot pits and air down to that hot temp, (usually I am 2-3 pounds to much, depends on how good I am at setting the cold temp). I usually don't see others doing this as they will go out for a session and set the temp once they get back to the pits. At the end of my sessions I take that last lap to take it easy to cool everything down, so in my opinion if you do that the tires would cool down too so when you get back to the pits the tires are not at the true hot temp. I usually set my quickest lap after I set the temp like this. So looking for your opinion on setting hot temp correct as you are the tire whisperer...

 

[blacksheep-1]

@blacksheep-1, looking for your advice on setting hot temp. So when I go to the track I am my own crew member. The way I set my temp is when I go out for the first session I take the first lap or lap and a half to get all fluids up to temp, then push hard for 3-4 laps and come directly into the hot pits and air down to that hot temp, (usually I am 2-3 pounds to much, depends on how good I am at setting the cold temp). I usually don't see others doing this as they will go out for a session and set the temp once they get back to the pits. At the end of my sessions I take that last lap to take it easy to cool everything down, so in my opinion if you do that the tires would cool down too so when you get back to the pits the tires are not at the true hot temp. I usually set my quickest lap after I set the temp like this. So looking for your opinion on setting hot temp correct as you are the tire whisperer...

When we do hot pressures and temps, we do it in pit lane and bring the car in as hot as possible. 2 things can happen if you don't.
1. You lose tire pressure because the tires have cooled down.
2. You gain pressure because they heat soak from the brakes. ( porsches are real bad about this)
Unless you can find the amount of rise, or drop from pit lane to the paddock, I'm not sure you can accurately set the hots.
You are correct in putting more pressure into the tires to start with, that way you only have to bleed down, trying to put air into the tire can be problematic on pit road and takes too much time. Just bleed to target and send it.
You might have a buddy, girlfriend or spouse to come with you to help, it gets them involved.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

40 hot

wow

 

[blacksheep-1]

wow

They act more like 200TDW tires rather than race slicks

 

[12coBoss]

When we do hot pressures and temps, we do it in pit lane and bring the car in as hot as possible. 2 things can happen if you don't.
1. You lose tire pressure because the tires have cooled down.
2. You gain pressure because they heat soak from the brakes. ( porsches are real bad about this)
Unless you can find the amount of rise, or drop from pit lane to the paddock, I'm not sure you can accurately set the hots.
You are correct in putting more pressure into the tires to start with, that way you only have to bleed down, trying to put air into the tire can be problematic on pit road and takes too much time. Just bleed to target and send it.
You might have a buddy, girlfriend or spouse to come with you to help, it gets them involved.

Good stuff, thanks for the info. I did notice on all 4 of these take off's that the middle of the tire had quite a bit more tread than the outside going off the wear holes, so not sure if they are running enough PSI to get that even wear.
I have them mounted on 19x11 wheels so I know I am probably stretching them out more than they should be. Hoping these tires work decent, hard to find cheap slicks for 19" wheels as I don't want to spend a lot of money on tires since I don't run in NASA or SCCA, but just go out for fun but still want to be quick. The other used slicks out there that I have been running are from the Ferrari Challenge series and are 315/705/19 Pirelli's and have always felt like those are just to of a tall tire for a stock GT350.

 

[blacksheep-1]

Good stuff, thanks for the info. I did notice on all 4 of these take off's that the middle of the tire had quite a bit more tread than the outside going off the wear holes, so not sure if they are running enough PSI to get that even wear.
I have them mounted on 19x11 wheels so I know I am probably stretching them out more than they should be. Hoping these tires work decent, hard to find cheap slicks for 19" wheels as I don't want to spend a lot of money on tires since I don't run in NASA or SCCA, but just go out for fun but still want to be quick. The other used slicks out there that I have been running are from the Ferrari Challenge series and are 315/705/19 Pirelli's and have always felt like those are just to of a tall tire for a stock GT350.

If they are off the front, it's not an issue, they basically run down the straight on the inside of the tire, then roll over to the outside in the middle of the corner due to camber gain. It's not a pressure issue., just vehicle dynamics coming into play.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

I will be hanging around the whole time , so I can try and help with your pressures 12coboss, and that might take some of the other pressure off you , ha!

Look forward to seeing you guys and for those who have not signed up get your butts in gear, great chance to run against tons of other Mustangs, chat with Ford Engineers, see a big surprise, and if any needs me to ride with them I have over 10,000 miles at speed at Hastings. Heh, I may not have a Mustang there, but I can still help you guys go quicker!

 

[CobaltFilly]

I will be hanging around the whole time , so I can try and help with your pressures 12coboss, and that might take some of the other pressure off you , ha!

Look forward to seeing you guys and for those who have not signed up get your butts in gear, great chance to run against tons of other Mustangs, chat with Ford Engineers, see a big surprise, and if any needs me to ride with them I have over 10,000 miles at speed at Hastings. Heh, I may not have a Mustang there, but I can still help you guys go quicker!

I wish you were in Commiefornia, I would love hands on teaching from the pros! One day... I plan on visiting Circuit of the Americas in 2026, and hitting up some other tracks including Sonoma, Laguna Seca, and some out of staters in 2025. Just getting my learning on this first year on all the Thunderhill tracks over here in CA.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Check out NASA in your area (drivenasa.com ) as they have a very solid driver education program with 4 Stages prior to getting a Time Trials license if that is your desire. It is a good program with a Logbook to track your progress and help you focus on areas you need to work on. One can move through the stages quite quickly, but it helps all of us to go back and run through the basics or have someone " Coach " us a bit --- improvement never stops . I had a good friend ask me to ride with him a few years back and I was a bit taken back as the guy is damn near a Pro Level talent. He had changed some things in his car and just thought it was handling weird in some spots and just riding with him I was able to help him try a few new lines that had not worked well prior to the suspension changes. Two minds figured out the issue and he found the car would hook up sooner and stronger in an area of the track he had never really even tried to drive in.

That is the fun part of this sport, things always change, whether it is due to new mods, different tires, new brake parts ( even just pads ), aero, etc. so learning never stops. Of course as you progress the improvements may be in tenths of a second instead of full seconds as in the past. Have fun and ask plenty of questions, this is one super helpful site.

 

[CobaltFilly]

Check out NASA in your area (drivenasa.com ) as they have a very solid driver education program with 4 Stages prior to getting a Time Trials license if that is your desire. It is a good program with a Logbook to track your progress and help you focus on areas you need to work on. One can move through the stages quite quickly, but it helps all of us to go back and run through the basics or have someone " Coach " us a bit --- improvement never stops . I had a good friend ask me to ride with him a few years back and I was a bit taken back as the guy is damn near a Pro Level talent. He had changed some things in his car and just thought it was handling weird in some spots and just riding with him I was able to help him try a few new lines that had not worked well prior to the suspension changes. Two minds figured out the issue and he found the car would hook up sooner and stronger in an area of the track he had never really even tried to drive in.

That is the fun part of this sport, things always change, whether it is due to new mods, different tires, new brake parts ( even just pads ), aero, etc. so learning never stops. Of course as you progress the improvements may be in tenths of a second instead of full seconds as in the past. Have fun and ask plenty of questions, this is one super helpful site.

Definitely will! Received so much advice it is impressive. Planning on going into NASA once I kind of get more track time in under the more leisurely, more available (NASA isn't often too close to me), and (far) less expensive SCCA.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

NASA runs at Buttonwillow and the HPDE starts with folks like you who are just beginning -- that is the whole focus. Either way seat time is the best mod in the World!