It’s not hard to understand why a slick tire, with its flat surface and ample contact patch, is better than a road tire. But does a regular performance car actually make enough power to use that extra grip?
That was the question at the heart of Tyre Reviews’ latest video. Will a Hyundai i30 N, a very good but somewhat modest performance car, be powerful enough to make use of the extra grip provided by a slick tire? Essentially, should you bother with slicks if you’re a keen track day enthusiast with a normal car?
Powered by a 2.0-liter turbo-four that produces 276 hp (280 PS/206 kW) and 289 lb-ft (392 Nm) of torque, the i30 N competes with the likes of the Golf GTI and has quickly become a well-respected hot hatch (or Fastback, depending on which body style you choose) wherever it’s sold.
Read Also: 2021 Hyundai i30 N Launched In The UK With Competitive Pricing, Two Body Styles
The tires in question, meanwhile, are all Pirellis mounted on 18-inch wheels and come in at four different performance levels. There is the road-focused Pirelli P Zero PZ4 ultra high-performance 300tw road tire and the P Zero Trofeo R track day tire, as well as two sets of slicks. One is designed for Ferrari race cars, while the other is made for touring car racing, which should make it better suited to a front-wheel-drive application.
While in theory the i30 N isn’t powerful enough to take advantage of slicks designed for pure racing cars, the host admits that the results surprised him.
“I thought, at the end of the day, I’d be like ‘Nah, there’s not really much advantage to using a slick on the track, especially in this kind of car, ’cause it’s just too much tire for the car.’ But I was wrong,” he says. “It was another [2.48] seconds faster. And where was it gaining time? Absolutely frickin’ everywhere. It was awesome.”
So there you have it. Slick tires make a huge difference even in relatively affordable performance cars. Which, if you dabble in track days, is something you might want to consider before your next outing.