Q: How do I reduce the amount of “chatter” I get with the tires while cornering?

by | Jun 7, 2022 | Ask Ross

Q: “I have a question for you – it’s about the ‘tire chatter’ I experience a fair amount of at Sebring. It’s most notable at Turn 7, and to a lesser extent at Turns 5 and 10. Other drivers have described this as me needing to reduce corner speed a bit, as well as not ‘throwing the car in there quite so aggressively,’ but I was wondering if you had other ideas. My setup is that I run a Ford Focus ST with some engine and suspension mods, and Maxxis Victra RC-1 tires. In experimenting on Turn 5 a bit I found that if I relaxed my hands a bit at the apex and let the car run out a bit more to track out, that I could reduce the amount of chatter, but the chatter is still there. I don’t see too much opportunity to do that sort of an adjustment at Turn 7.”

Q: Why are new race track surfaces faster? Why do old tires have more grip?

by | May 24, 2022 | Ask Ross

Q: “Why are new track surfaces faster and why do they seem to like old tires? I race regularly at two north Texas tracks (Eagles Canyon and MSR Cresson), both of which have new surfaces. Cresson just received a new top coat and immediately became over a second faster. ECR is essentially a new track. Both tracks are at least a second faster on high heat cycle tires compared to stickers. What is it that makes newer surfaces faster, and why would old tires add to the speed even more?”