Saturday morning at the Indy SCCA Putnam Park event gave me the perfect opportunity to put the Vitour P1 to the test in wet, rainy conditions. While I’ve driven the P1 in wet autocross events before, this was my first time on a wet road course with them.
Testing Conditions
The track surface was entirely wet with light rain throughout most of the session. There wasn’t any major standing water or puddling, but the track was more than just damp—ideal for a proper wet test. I didn’t do an A/B comparison with any competing tires, but I did several laps to get a solid feel for the P1's wet performance.
Performance Breakdown
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Straight-Line Acceleration & Braking: The P1s handled surprisingly well in these conditions. They put power down effectively, even better than I expected, and braking performance felt solid. In fact, I’d say for a start/stop competition scenario in the wet, the P1s would excel. There was no hydroplaning at speed, and under straight-line braking, the tires performed very well.
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Mid-Corner Grip & Blended Loads: This is where the P1s start to show their limitations. When cornering forces are introduced, especially in blended loads mid-corner, the tires lose grip and the car tends to slide. It reminded me a bit of the BFG Rival S 1.5, but with much better braking and acceleration capabilities. Compared to the A052 or PS4S, the P1s fall behind in terms of cornering grip in the wet.
Comparison to Other Tires
- Straight-line acceleration & braking: The P1s are faster than the Rival S 1.5 and may be similar to A052 in these conditions.
- Cornering performance: The P1s are slower than both the A052 and PS4S when cornering forces are involved.
Final Thoughts
In full wet conditions, the Vitour P1 is a strong contender when it comes to straight-line performance. I’d even say they are on par with or better than the A052 in this specific area. However, when cornering comes into play, the A052 and PS4S offer more grip. That said, for a wet road course, the P1s perform impressively, especially in braking and acceleration.
Anecdotally, I was probably the fastest on track during the session, but that could also be a reflection of the car/driver combination.
Check out the video of the session here:
Watch the video