theplanner

Im running 275 with AR1 so yes it is fine.

I have a 390FE on stock pads atm, 225 front tyres running -ve 3 camber at the front , on nankang ar1 and I dun have issues with ABS on road or track so not sure why you seem to be having issues unless you are driving it in the safe mode.

Really depends on your track experience, tyres you are using etc. Will you be driving with T/C on or off etc? Nonetheless, if you are starting from scratch I say work your way up (base on tyre wear), perhaps start with -ve 1degree camber at the front (max on stock setup should be around -1.5 degrees) and have about 0.5 to 1 degree variance to the rear. I say u want around min -1.5 degrees at the rear. Some toe in in the rears if you want it to be less oversteery. Some ppl like toe out at the front, personally I run zero toe. Sorry there really isnt a one size fit all. Some ppl run more -ve camber in the rear than the fronts, I personally run more -ve at the front than rear. im on -3 front with zero toe and -2 rear with 2mm toe in, on semi slicks and T/C off. But my rears need more -ve camber so I will be increasing it.....

There is certainly a big difference between tour, sport & race. I personally have not driven much in tour/ sport mode but the few times I have (been accidental) I did notice it was holding me back significantly. But the best way to experience these cars are in everything off mode (as long as you are confident with controlling your right foot and steering), when the rear end pushes it is quite progressive, and naturally wants to return to its normal position so not snappy. Enjoy the drive!

Congrats on the new car. I think u will know the answer to ur query if u try driving in the other modes. But I think wat u describing sounds right.

My does, because Xpel is all precut. If you don't want any seams you need to seek the ones they cut on the spot.

I can confirm what Tex mentioned above. In the 390FE, Race button pressed twice turns everything off and there is no electronic intervention but you still have ABS.

Interesting, what mode were you driving in? My guess (pure speculation) is the mode you driving it may trigger the ABS threshold due to the change in pads and tyre width. Im running 225/ 45 AR1, still on stock pads and have tracked my car. No issues with ABS but T/C completely off. I was half expecting ABS being more sensitive....but not so.

Any particular reason u didnt try 225 at the fronts? Given it is track use, you shouldnt rub at all, unless parking.

Oh just a word of warning with AR1 if u intent on trying them out is that they are noisy on the road. I just remembered I have a friend who went from A052 to AR1, reckons grip level is similar for him (his lap times are identical) but he doesnt like the noisiness so he is going back to A052. Other friends reckon they are heavy rubber so dun rate them high. Personally all those issues dun bother me on the road or track so Im pretty pleased with it.

My steering arm was milled to get an extra -ve 1 degrees of camber (im max out at the front at -ve2.5. It only rubs on full lock to the left otherwise it is all good. So just need to be mindful when parking in carparks. My car is a 390FE still on stock suspension for now. I also know of a 430 that is running the same -ve camber as me with 235 tyres which also seems to work. Im not sure what tyres he is runninf tho. agree re the 295 rears, I will up size next time once my suspension is all sorted.

I cant say from experience but certainly from my mates who run them it is. 1 of them has tried most of the semi slicks and conclusion for him was A052 gave him the best laptime and best all rounder for him. Personally I dun like cup2 because of the softer tyrewall (stiffer tyrewall will give u more feedback). Also I had a brand new set cup2 where 1 rear tyre just split after 1 single trackday. I dunno how it happened but only noticed the next day so fortunately nothing bad happened except for my wallet 😂

I think A052 u should be able to get the right size if I recall correctly or maybe profile was 1 down. But AR1 I am running 225 fronts and 275 rears (OEM F 205 R 265). I think rears you can run up to 295 with no rubbing.

Most ppl I know are running A052, Im running AR1

race mode still uses the rear brakes to limit the slip... I think the slip % is the angle of slip before the rear brakes reel the situation in...

Going to need He-Man arms to steer if that was the case...LOL. But I honestly dun understand why the steering is so heavy at low speeds, my other car with similar weight distribution and overall weight, running 245 front tyres yet it is lighter to steer at parking pace.

@Toqcars I took lessons from pro drivers on track, I suggest main thing is to master the technique of trail braking as that is essentially what you need to do to carry the weight forward while continuing to brake into the corner which will cancel out the understeer then on power early. Once you get that right, I think you will naturally attune your senses to the weight transfer around each corner. I also took my car on the skidpan to learn to slide it so I have full confidence to carry a power slide out of the corner if need be. But I think about 6 months (around 4-5 track days) before I could say I thoroughly understood and felt at ease with the car. With steering I have to say, even I felt it was very heavy (probably due to the small steering wheel) and I have an air cool 911 without power steering. Took me a couple of weeks to get used to how heavy it was to steer when parking...🤭

@Toqcars i think the level of understeer each driver experience can vary from many factors but I think what’s important to note on the exiges is that their weight distribution is more akin to a classic 911 then a typical mid engine car. So in other words, to gain its max potential one needs to drive it like a 911. Slow in fast out, and use plenty of trail braking. Few yrs ago, I went from a mid engine car to a GT3, and i understeer so badly thru every corner that I wondered at the time, why do ppl rave about GT3…lol until I learned to drive it properly to suit its inherent weight transfer characteristics. Any way I’m no driving god just an ordinary bloke who enjoys tracking his cars, but I thought I share my learnings for what it’s worth. yes tyres would certainly help especially up front, 215 tyres r a joke imo, even my MX5 is running 215 😂. I’m running 225, with 275 rears.

On the 5th gear issue the synchro makes sense becos it felt like something not keeping up with the pace of shift. Except its strange all other gears are fine. On P cars let face it they’re a better all rounder, PDK or manual. They r also far easier to drive quick plus the tc really flatters the driver. I once took my gt3 on the skidpan and forgot to turn off tc, and i thought i was a drift god, till i noticed the tc light flickering away….lolol. I didnt even feel a hint of intervention, except for how easy it was to carry the slides and transition. So I think you if bought the 430 to try to be faster than a GTS/ GT3, you really only have tyres, geo and great driving skills to help you in absence of other mods. I don’t believe the Lotus TC is as well programmed as the P car’s. But what the Porsche owner dun get is much more involvement, so even if you were slower you are having much more fun and require much more skill to complete the lap in the same time. The reason I’m installing the LSD is I wanted predictability in how the car behaves when I am at or near the limits (my or the car’s) as I prefer to drive with TC off on track. Just have to slow down a little until you learn the car, then gradually pick up pace and consistently be mindful of the tyres limits and weight transfer. This will make you a better driver over time even if your track times may be slower in the beginning. The BS many go on about LSD causing understeer is simply not true as understeer is really down to alignment/ geo setup, tyres and drivers inputs (assuming full traction off). Anyway, I will let you know how it drives once I get it on track hopefully in 3 weeks.

I would think if u r trying to dial out under steer, the following is what I would do (and do it in steps to see what works for u as we all drive a bit differently) - more -ve camber front than rear - a bit of rake - more trail braking because of the weight distribution of these cars - stiffen rear sway bar (if adjustable) altho from my experience this has not helped my track times lol - turn TC completely off so electronic Nannie’s doesn’t intervene ur inputs the stock setup is inherently understeery I presume for safety reasons.

Ideally on track you want to shift as quickly as possible without reminding yourself to slow it down. Nonetheless the difference is micro seconds so unless you are racing, dun think you will really be too disappointed with your track times as there are other areas where you can improve to make up the difference imho. Watch this vid, and you see they experienced the same crunch going into 5th. They were able to minimize/ prevent it by showing some mechanical sympathy. I have to admit I have yet to take my car on track, so it will be interesting once I do if I still feel the same way about slowing down the shift…LOL. My gearbox is out atm pending LSD install.

Buy what you prefer, but I personally the grey if you live in a city with plenty of sunshine. Otherwise the brighter orange may look better most of the time imo.

No I hvnt, I figured I can train myself to slow the shifts down…lol….kinda used to it cos I hv classic cars too..but pls do share if u found a fix for it.

My crunch every time whether under load or not if I shift quickly 4th to 5th. Every other gear is fine. I can prevent the crunch only by shifting a touch slower and be more deliberate with pulling the shifter to the right before slotting it up into 5th as opposed to a quick right and up motion.

Not sure that would fix the issue in my case as a sensor was faulty therefore sending signal to ecu to play it safe. Beats me tho that this is a known fault, yet it has not been fully rectified years ago. How so many brand new cars can hv this same issue keep recurring?