Track Wheel Setup - Square vs Staggered

[Brad Roberts]

Tom? Tell us *why* Alex and Will went square at Chuckwalla a few weeks back? LOL the narrow fronts do NOT last in a race. They burn down 2-1 to the rears. Now tell me why I would run that config? Expense: I can now rotate the tires after burning down the left rear at Willow Springs. Move it to the right front for the next event.

Square. Always square.

Look up the tire sizing on the RSR's.. 12inch front and 13 inch rear?

Miata racing = square
944 spec = square
LMP1 and 2 cars = square

Yes, narrow, you can turn a few burners, but you will find a more consistent chassis running square.

We loved being protested at POC events for running square 5 YEARS ago

[Topless]

I think there are valid reasons to go both ways. If you trailer the car and it only sees track time it would probably favor running square. Four wheel rotation is a definite benefit for tire management.

You can certainly go deeper into corners running square but... it does tend to put the car on it's nose, and acceleration out of the corner is a bit slower square from my data. Not by much, but maybe a few mph. It also tends to put a LOT more heat and wear in the front brakes. Even with a yellow/black pad choice we see the front brakes wear much faster square. I do like the controlled squat under braking and the more even brake heat distribution running staggered.

For tire wear, my car sees both track and some street duty running to and from the track. As a result I get very even tire wear front to back running staggered, averaging 40-50 HC per set of NT-01s. Some have dubbed me the tire management king because of this but I have always believed that sliding is slow, and pushing is slower. I pay a lot of attention to steering angles which reduces front tire wear.

Really well controlled braking zones, more even brake heat and bias, slightly better acceleration out of corners, and very slightly faster laps, probably sums up the reason I choose to run staggered most often these days. It seems like the right setup for me but certainly not for everyone. There are plenty of fast guys out there running square.

Cayman Interseries, Pirelli GT3 Cup, and Rolex GT3 RSR run staggered.