"Night and day" was all I could say after turn 1. The feedback from the steering wheel and driver seat were dramatically amplified. It was easy to get the tires to their limit of traction and hold them there. Unfortunately, this meant that the factory Bridgestones could be overheated very easily. Unlike before where the tires were loaded and unloaded as I stumbled through the long sweepers, they were now being unmercifully pressed into the pavement. Tire management was the name of the game, and I lost. Despite having much better control of the car, I could not get it down to the apexes of turns 2 and 9. I was only able to pick up seven-tenths of a second over the stock setup. The increasing track temperature was partly to blame, but it was definitely time for a tire upgrade.
Session 3: RMR Intake And Exhaust, Short Final Drive, Toyo Proxes T1R Tires
It was getting really hot out there. I wouldn't have wanted to change the lug nuts after pulling into the paddock, but the crew simultaneously attacked engine bay, searing exhaust and differential-all in one fell swoop. Under the hood, the intake was replaced by RMR's carbon induction tube and K&N filter equipped airbox. The system was carefully designed to not affect the crash-worthiness of the front end. This consideration is part of RMR's plan to market its products through Hyundai's dealerships without interfering with the company's legendary warranty program.
The new exhaust is a nicely constructed stainless steel axle-back piece that opens the diameter up to 2.5 inches. It's hard to really say how much this helped the engine's performance due to the rear differential swap, but it certainly sounded healthy. There are four different engine and transmission combinations available in the Genesis Coupe, and each comes with a different final drive ratio-Rhys has no doubt crunched the numbers on each of them. For this track, he chose to swap out the V-6 manual's 3.538 for a 3.909 from the Turbo-4 6-speed. To go along with the increased torque at the wheels, the crew also swapped on a set of Toyo Proxes T1R tires.
The Genesis' outside temperature gauge read 98 degrees as I headed out on the track. That wasn't helping us any. But despite the sweltering conditions, the car went almost a second and a half faster on its first lap. Part of this was due to the increased acceleration on the straights. It was picking up another 4 mph over what it could pull previously, even with the power-robbing air temp. As far as feel goes, it had about the same balance as it did on the old tires. But I no longer had to worry about babying them. This resulted in increased cornering speeds and a set of fried brakes. The second lap of the session was hampered by a widebody BMW M3 that didn't know how to get out of the way. Despite Hyundai USA's Miles Johnson encouraging me to "use the chrome horn," I decided to back off and bring it in for the final round of upgrades.
Session 4: RMR By Stoptech Brakes, Toyo Proxes R1R Tires
My "One More Time!" session was an absolute blast. The car lost its blingy 19-inch wheels in favor of a set of 18-inchers with low-profile Toyo R1Rs. It also got a much-needed brake upgrade. I've always been a big fan of the balance provided by Stoptech systems. And, this one co-developed with RMR, was top notch. It included radial-mounted, six-piston calipers up front, a four-piston rear and two-piece rotors all the way around.