September’s issue of Fast Ford magazine carries enlightening reports on two performance tests – how different tyre pressure settings affect a car’s handling characteristics and the performance benefits that can be gained from fitting lightweight alloy wheels – both of which were conducted using the Maxxis MA-Z1 tyre.
Fast Ford concluded that when the front tyre pressures were higher than those at the rear, good rear grip caused the front to understeer, yet with significantly higher rear pressures the car suffered from snappy, unpredictable oversteer, which was even worse under heavy braking. The best setting was 25psi in the front and 35psi in the rear tyres, which inspired confidence since turn in was sharp and crisp and the car felt secure under braking.
The magazine took racing driver Dan Rowbottom and his Fiesta ST to Bruntingthorpe to carry out the tests. Dan is no slouch, having won championships in various karting categories, Radicals and the much-acclaimed SEAT Cupra Cup, while the Fiesta has been extensively modified to produce 215bhp and is fitted with Weitec lower and stiffer suspension and 330mm front discs with D2 eight-pot calipers.
Working on the basis that you should never underestimate the benefits of good rubber,
Fast Ford chose the Maxxis MA-Z1s ‘because of their excellent performance in wet and dry conditions’. The tyres impressed Dan, who said they gave ‘awesome grip, especially when warmed up and scrubbed in’ along with consistent performance throughout the tests. With the original tyres he was able to get the car sideways with lift-off oversteer, but with the MA-Z1s the rear grip levels were vastly improved and this was no longer possible.
Reducing a car’s unsprung weight and rotational mass is said to improve its straight line and cornering performance, so Fast Ford fitted the Fiesta ST with a set of Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 wheels to find out just what difference the lighter alloy wheels would make.
The Maxxis MA-Z1 was selected for this test because ‘it is a well-regarded high-performance road tyre and is exactly the kind of rubber most people will be using on their Fast Road cars,’ according to Fast Ford, which added that it had heard excellent feedback about the tyre’s ability to perform well in wet and dry conditions, an important consideration when dealing with the traditional British summer weather.
The tests proved the point: when braking from 100mph the Fiesta ST came to a halt around half a second quicker on the lighter alloys, while the stopping distance was reduced by 28.5ft and the average lap time went from 1 minute 28.6 seconds to 1 minute 24.3 seconds. A greasy track surface presented major traction issues which meant the standing start acceleration times were slower than on the standard wheels – although Dan remarked that the MA-Z1s performed well – but the in gear acceleration test gave more representative results with the lighter wheels proving almost half a second quicker on average over three runs.
“Fast Ford is the UK’s top Ford tuning magazine and is highly influential in reaching an important performance enthusiast audience, so we are delighted with the magazine’s very positive feedback on the MA-Z1 from these two important tests,” says Maxxis International UK’s managing director Derek McMartin.
For further information visit www.maxxis.co.uk or contact leading wholesaler Grouptyre, exclusive distributor of Maxxis PCR tyres in the UK, on 01928 706166 or www.grouptyre.co.uk
