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Dunlop Formula FM901


ryanfels

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Quite an old design now (over 5 years old), can still be found brand new in very limited/weird sizes though. Definitely a road tyre as opposed to a semi slick.

Actually found them to be a much better tyre than the DZ101 overall in terms of grip and wear. Pretty noisy though. both the DR30 coupe and my track car currently roll these.

If they are any older than three years old I wouldn't even bother using them on the track. Mine are 6 years old and they proved to be less useful than tits on a bull around taupo in the wet.

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oh, and furthermore - if you were looking for some aktual Dunlop race tyres 2nd hand on a budget, I'd recommend either the Formula R D01J or 03Gs.

D01Js are a bit on the soft side though, and after 5 laps round Taupo if you don't cool them down sufficiently you run the risk of melting and delaminating 'em completely, which is what happened to me earlier this year.

03Gs are slightly harder and more ideal for those 5-lap stints.

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Fuck D01J, unless you are a targa car, why run dunlop at all? D01J is what I left on the roof of burgerfuel the other night while the Toyo R888s sat safely on the front. r888 = same or better grip, same or better feel, 2/3 the price, longer lasting. No competition really. And yes, I've run both, and yes on the same car, and yes, oddly, even on the same axle, dunlop locked and spun first every time.

Fred.

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Fuck D01J, unless you are a targa car, why run dunlop at all? D01J is what I left on the roof of burgerfuel the other night while the Toyo R888s sat safely on the front. r888 = same or better grip, same or better feel, 2/3 the price, longer lasting. No competition really. And yes, I've run both, and yes on the same car, and yes, oddly, even on the same axle, dunlop locked and spun first every time.

Fred.

Bit of a harsh comment. I've had many reports about dunlop Semi's being better than R888's... Especially if it gets a bit damp. R888's are only useful in the dry.

Advan A048's are the best semi's... (I think they've been superseded with A050 now)

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I've got datalogs to proove in excess of 1g on R888 in the wet. They work GREAT in the wet, but you have to have the confidence to keep pushing and keep them hot. I drove them on the street every day for 6 months too, you can't (well, I couldn't) get/keep them hot on the street in the wet, though, but the same went for the dunlops. Mean while, the dunlops are gone, and the r888s live on. There is simply no way I'd buy more d01js, no way at all The value for money just isn't there. Even if they were better (which I do not believe) they would have to be 50% better to account for the price difference, and there is no way that you'll go from pulling 1g to pulling 1.5g changing from r888 to d01j. no way at all.

The above, and my previous post, are definitely my opinions, and not worth anything more than anyone elses.

$350 for 225/50/15 d01j vs $230 for same size r888 - no competition IMO.

At the nurburgring a bunch of gt3rs guys were running r888s on their cars and cutting mid 7 minute laps. They were complaining that they overheat a little and get slightly greasy, but those are heavy cars and that is a very fast track!

Fred.

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Yes, r888's are good value for money... But they aren't good in the wet on the track, not at all.

The road is a whole different ball game fred - chip seal allows for water to run down into cracks and you get a lot less pooling of water. On the open road (Hillclimbs) my RA1's feel the same as a road tyre in the dry, but on the track in the rain they are a lot less impressive - but still good for a semi.

Also, explain how Super6 race cars are so much faster (5 seconds a lap at manfeild) than HQ's in the dry, but are the same speed or slower in the rain??? It's the R888's.

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My logs were from Taupo, full circuit, R888 on the front, braking from 170kph at the end of the straight, comfortably. Properly wet, too. There may be better stuff for the wet, but I've never driven as fast in the wet on any other tyre as I have on those. It'd be a stretch to call them crap in the wet, regardless of what better is available. They are crap when cold, unbelievably, but then to expect a tyre that is designed to be warmed up to work cold is asking too much.

Which comparable semis work better in the wet, tell me that :-) Always keen to learn new things!

Fred.

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I didn't think ANY semi was that great in the wet, still lightyears ahead of road tyres tho. I spose you'd have to weigh up the likelihood of rain during an event.

Might buy some full slicks from palmside, the $100 ones that are EOL and happen to be the right size for my car :badgrin:

also ryan what size are those FM901s? not 195/60 R15 or 205/55 R15 per chance?

sorry to hijack sorta, but are you looking for some 901s? would 205/60R15s and 215/60R15s suit?

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