M_Weining

I hear some people shy away from GTB1 due to tire costs. What is the difference in tire cost per event (sprints and endurance each weekend) for GTB1 vs similar car in a letter class (stock or prepared)?

Assume you want to be near the pointy end!

Pete Debusmann

In my H car I used one set per race weekend. Last race’s tires for the practice sessions, then stickers for quali. I used these tires after quali for the rest of the race weekend then they became my practice tires for the next race, so a set of Hankooks per race weekend, around $1500

New car needs Pirelli’s at $2800 a set, and most likely 2 sets per weekend, though I might get away with one set depending on who you are racing against. GTB1 uses the same tires so I would guess most guys use 2 sets since it is super competitive.

cstyles

The pointy end of competitive GTB1 weekends includes an eye wateringly expensive tire bill. Expect the top racers to be using a new set of 265/305 slicks for qualifying and to start every race. $10k+ per weekend just on tires. I wish I had done my due diligence on that before building for GTB1, but was able to convert the car to SPC as it was a 987.1.

Look at Hankook F200 tires instead of Pirelli. They are less expensive and they have better rear fitments for 987 GTB1 cars (280 rear versus Pirelli's 305) assuming you are running a Cayman. I found the 305 Pirelli was way too much grip for the 987 platform and the car just wouldn't rotate no matter how much front tire we mounted or how much oversteer we put into the setup. Switching to Hankook 250f/280r was a game changer for me and saved a few dollars as a bonus. But still, expect to buy 3-4 sets per weekend if you want to beat the top guys at the popular weekends.

Frank 993 C4S

Mark - if you want to run at the pointy end of the grid of GTB1 it is an eye watering comparison.

I believe Pirelli DH slicks are about $2,700 per set now. When I won the GTB1 championship, we had to run at least two sets of stickers for the weekend and we used to run narrower (cheaper) tires than what people run now. The good part was Pirelli contingency, which basically paid for one new set if you won all the races. Some of my competitors ran three sets at the time. In order to be competitive, you will also need to buy new rain tires annually. The Hoosier R7 would be about $1700 per set now and you would need one new set to be competitive in H or I or J for the weekend. I buy new Hoosier rain tires every two years.

Frank

ProCoach

Given the typical investment in a front running GTB1 car, and the budget for testing and optimization for both the car and the driver, I don't think the tire budget is any worse than any other relatively fast class to run at the pointy end.

Tire costs have increased markedly in just the last few years, so I think people are more cognizant of that specific cost component, but so have accommodations, crew, et cetera. I think I lived through the hey-day of GTB1 working with a number of front running drivers and teams, and it's a GREAT class.

M_Weining

Wow, yes eye opening and eye watering. Thank you for the great input.

M_Weining

GTB1 has a great mix of cars in the class. It's a shame the tire costs are so high.

38D

I have seen a top GTB1 driver bring, wait for it, SEVEN sets of tires for a single weekend. $20k in tires and mounting. No that does not include the test & tune. So that's the upper end.

For the big races (Sebring, Watkins Glen, Road America), you can be competitive in any class with 2 sets of tires. 1 set for qual & the 2 sprints, new set for the enduro. For the smaller races, you can get away with 1 set, just realize the enduro will be a slow. Pirellis fall off after 60 mins of run time pretty noticeably.

stujelly

Dont you have to run Pirelli in GTB-1 as the spec tire?

We used to run the Yoks and we were very competitive against the Pirelli, but that was before Pirelli was a sponsor

Frank 993 C4S

Only if you want to run in the Tripple Trofeo Championship. Some People are running Hoosiers because they are shocked with the cost but that kind of defeats the purpose of running in a GT class. You might as well run in a stock class and be at the pointy end of that grid.

LuigiVampa

It's all how you manage your tires.

Firstly, you have to arrive at the track with some decent scrubs for practice.

Stickers for quali but pull off as soon as you did your fast lap.
Stickers for Sprint 1
Quali tires for sprint 2
Sprint 1 tires for enduro.

Two sets. Drive the grip.

Bill Lehman

Back in the day when I was racing a MGB I received a "Credit Card" worth $500.00 in the mail. I went to Roger Penske's and bought 4 Firestone Race Tires. They lasted at least 4 race events.

erliuic

In my limited experience, how many sets of tires is a function of how competitive the class is or how competitive you want to be. Unless there is some sort of gentlemen's agreement on how many sets one runs, people are going to spend more for stickers for the pace advantage.

What Todd said is what I try to do. Then I run those scrubs for the practice in the next race. Yes the tire bill is expensive, but I only crack stickers during a race weekend.

I don't do enough races to be in contention for the championship, so I mainly focus on the contingency races and you can always count on enough cars in the class for Pirelli to offer 2 tires per race win and 1 tire for 2nd. The car count also makes it competitive and adds to the fun.

erliuic

Did that person win?!

Frank 993 C4S

Not always but he was a great GTB1 driver. The best part is that Spencer *** (RIP) always sold me his scrubs.