05RollaXRS

Though, R compounds might be a bit too much for street driving, they could have put the Potenza RE70 high-grip tires on the stock LFA and it would have been perfect.

05RollaXRS

Lap time list of MotorTrend Driver's car of 2011:

I will update this as new lap times get added

Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Centennial Edition: 1:34.43 (Michelin Pilot R compounds)
Ferrari 458 Italia: 1:36.22
Lexus LFA: 1:36.39
Audi R8 V10 GT: 1:36.39 (R compound Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires)
Porsche 997.2 GT3 RS: 1:36.77 (Michelin Pilot Cup R compounds tires)
Mercedes SLS AMG: 1:38.82
Mustang Boss 302 Leguna Seca Edition: 1:41.06 (R compound Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires)
Porsche Cayman R PDK: 1:41.64
Lotus Evora: 1:42.49 (R compound Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires)
BMW 1M: 1:43.31

ydooby

Wow...the Vette rules them all, and it's not even the ZR1! Godly tires are godly eh.

05RollaXRS

LOL. They are. MotorTrend has been saying they have never seen more sticky tires ever. They are almost like "velcro".

TF109B

What tires were on the 458? Definitely not the S001's?

05RollaXRS

Definitely no on the S001. Ferrari ended dropping S001 early due to poor performance of the tires and never supplied any press car with those tires and terminated their contract with Bridgestone.

All of the early track tests on 458 Italia were done on PS2 Pilot K1 tires (or maybe, a "magic" version of these tires that have been so talked about) and then Michelin released a custom version of Pilot Super Sport K1 tires for the 458 Italia.

So this test was conducted with the Pilot Super Sport K1 tires. Randy Pobst again, praised the grip levels of SS tires and said "the tires kept digging in everytime he would get on the power mid-corner".

Ferrari itself admitted that they have been getting grip levels from the Pilot Super Sport both laterally and longitudinally (in simple words: around corners and straight line) that are much better than the PS2 previous tires.

While LFA put down the same lap time as the 458 Italia around Laguna Seca, if Lexus had put some decent tires on the LFA for tenacious grip in the corner and straight line, it could have been in the 1:34.xx easily.

05RollaXRS

Lap time list of MotorTrend Driver's car of 2011:

I will update this as new lap times get added

Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Centennial Edition: 1:34.43 (Michelin Pilot R compounds)
Ferrari 458 Italia: 1:36.22
Nissan GTR: 1:36.35
Lexus LFA: 1:36.39
Audi R8 V10 GT: 1:36.39 (R compound Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires)
Porsche 997.2 GT3 RS: 1:36.77 (Michelin Pilot Cup R compounds tires)
Mercedes SLS AMG: 1:38.82
Mustang Boss 302 Leguna Seca Edition: 1:41.06 (R compound Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires)
Porsche Cayman R PDK: 1:41.64
Lotus Evora: 1:42.49 (R compound Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires)
BMW 1M: 1:43.31

TF109B

GTR up there too, with it's R compound tires.

05RollaXRS

These are the tires GTR is using:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....T+600+DSST+CTT

They are not official classified as "R compound" tires, but according to Nissan itself, they were more stickier than the previous 2009 Nissan GTR tires, which were Bridgestone Potenza RE70 tires, which currently are on Nurburgring edition LFA.

Another interesting thing is, Edmund's insideline tested the updated 2012 Lexus IS-F this week and it was only Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires instead of the typical Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires. The numbers, despite the updates on the IS-F actually were poorer than the previous test on PS2 tires. Insideline squarely laid the blame on the tires saying the performance and handling numbers are because of the weak tires that become greasy very quickly.

I am quite sure they will not give the overall win to the Lexus LFA since he claims LFA is like a "fighter jet that you know is very capable of killing you". In other words, it was scary for him most probably due to the lack of grip got him sideways three times and he said once the brakes on the way downhill did not work at all and he missed the apex.

05RollaXRS

So they placed the Lexus LFA 9th out of 11. It was quite a pathetic comparison. Ferrari 458 Italia had its own engineer on site tuning the car. Still it ran only as quick as the LFA.

They say LFA's "biggest weakness is its Bridgestone tires". They claim the car lacks way too much grip on a track like Laguna Seca and makes it feel scary as if it is going to go out of control. They claim based on this that LFA does not inspire confidence, they placed it a very low 9th out of 11.

jpvarghese

iTrader: (1)

I really hope Lexus takes note of every review this car has gone through and start making adjustments before handing it over to the press. Ninth is pretty pathetic. GT-R is an unbelievable performer. As much as I don't like its fanbase, the car deserves a little respect.

05RollaXRS

Lap time list of MotorTrend Driver's car of 2011:

I will update this as new lap times get added

Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Centennial Edition: 1:34.43 (Michelin Pilot R compounds)
Ferrari 458 Italia: 1:36.2
Nissan GTR: 1:36.4
Lexus LFA: 1:36.4
Audi R8 V10 GT: 1:36.4 (R compound Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires)
Porsche 997.2 GT3 RS: 1:36.4 (Michelin Pilot Cup R compounds tires)
Mercedes SLS AMG: 1:38.9
Mustang Boss 302 Leguna Seca Edition: 1:41.0 (R compound Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires)
Porsche Cayman R PDK: 1:41.1
Lotus Evora: 1:42.5 (R compound Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires)
BMW 1M: 1:43.4



World's greatest drag race:
























img]http://image.motortrend.com/f/33662960+w1500+ar1+st0/2011-best-drivers-car-lotus-evora-S-track-map.jpg[/img]



















[img]https://image.motortrend.com/f/33663194+w1500+ar1+st0/2011-best-drivers-car-ferrari-458-italia-track-map.jpg[/img

05RollaXRS

Lexus needs to fire Bridgestone ASAP:

This is what they say about the LFA:

Other interesting Edmonds observations: "The [Bridgestone Potenzas] are the most low-tech parts on the LFA," and "The rear tires on the Boss 302 are three years old, so they're obviously an off-the-[dusty] shelf fitment."

TF109B

Their test is biased and predictable. The best tires win, not the best car. Any car can throw some semi-slicks on and have awesome feedback and response towards handling. Fail. LFA's figure 8 time was only bested by the Z06 with the latest and greatest tire tech. The Ferrari has its tech team with them always, the GTR has AWD AND sweet tires that make the LFA's seem 3 generations old, same with the R8, and they're barely if even faster. Randy Pobst is not the standard either, his comments read like PR BS that the last LFA reviewer from MT spoke. Lame conclusion to a decent article.

05RollaXRS

Definitely biased since they placed it 9th when it had one of the best driving dynamics and best power and experience. Yet, he said LFA's grip is scary weak and they placed it 9th just because of that.

I blame Lexus for shooting themselves in the foot by fitting tires that are so universally considered mediocre at best and good for 300 HP cars. IS-F has suffered the same blow where the previous PS2 tires outperformed the current Potenza RE050A tires.