Super-G Changes Track Surface
May 13, 2023
THE SHORT VERSION
Super-G has imported P-Tile from Japan. It is different than U.S. P-Tile. DS Racing Comp III LF-3 or Comp III LF-5C will be the Spec Tire. Opening Soon.
THE LONG VERSION
As many of you are aware of, we have been making big changes here at Super-G. Before there even was a Super-G, we were making RC Drift tracks in front of our shop, Project-G, on asphalt. From there we moved to the back lot of our shop. We had the asphalt resealed, and set up our track. Again on asphalt. Shortly after setting that up, we moved our track indoors into our shop area, and polished concrete was the surface. We have always loved how the polished concrete would slide. There were always areas on the track that would have different characteristics, some hated that, some loved it, I personally enjoy and appreciate what I consider to be features of the track.
The downside to “our” concrete track, since even before we took over the shop, there were deep oil stains. No matter what we did, and we tried everything, we could not get the surface to be stain free. In fact after looking clear for 2 weeks, the stains would resurface. We contacted professional cleaners and they confirmed the stains would always return. Then in mid 2020 (I think) we moved into our current location, the surface was the same polished concrete as our previous location, minus the big stains. So we thought. After a few days, stains began to appear. It was obvious they had been cleaned before we taken a look at it. It was what it was. We were excited to finally have an ideal shaped spot and a larger venue, so it wasn’t all bad. But those stains!
Before our move, actually early in our start of RC Drift, we had been exploring different surfaces. Mainly because we wanted to improve the appearance. However, we did not want to sacrifice the performance of our track. Polished concrete has just been our favorite to slide on. Nothing against any other surface, we just felt we were fortunate to have a surface we really liked and we did not want to lose it. So we just had to accept the stains. During our earlier days, we had visitors we had always looked up to from Japan. We would always get on the topic of surface preference, and a common opinion would come back, Super-G #2, Vega #1.
Shaine Collins, my right hand man in the Super Drift Championship Series, has the most extensive experience with U.S. P-Tile, AND our particular surface here at Super-G. When he visited Vega in Japan, all he could say is, Yes, Vega’s surface is definitely tops! He also confirmed that without a doubt, it is not the same as the U.S. P-Tile. I take Shaine’s words very seriously, as I know him to call things as he sees them, free of bias no matter what the topic. He didn’t try to sugar-coat it, Vega P-Tile over Super-G Concrete. Not terribly far off, but questionable either. This fell inline with what we had been told over the years.
Upon further investigation, we found that the P-Tile in Japan has a different composition than the P-Tile here in the U.S. The U.S. is considerably more flexible and soft, where as Japan is harder and more brittle. Since converting to P-Tile would mean fully committing to losing our surface, we kept digging and digging for more info. I’m sure everyone involved was sick of me asking so many questions.
There have been many times we attempted to import the correct tiles, but we have always run into some kind of obstacle and we would just drop it. This time around has been over 6 months in the making. There was a lot of run-around and dead-ends, but we were finally able to get it handled. Persistence pays off.
We had planned to shut down for a weekend to have the new surface installed, but as it turned out, 2 days before the tiles landed, we acquired our additional building. This put the entire new Super-G phase into motion, and has extended our closure.
We had the new P-Tile installed last month. The installer asked why we are using this “stuff”. He explained the regular P-Tile he is used to is a lot more forgiving and he’s never worked with anything like this. He went on to explain this stuff just breaks, where as the stuff he usually installs will flex a lot.
THE INSTALL IS COMPLETE!
I couldn’t wait to test out our new surface! I was ready to be slip-slidin’ all over the place. Man, the track was the complete opposite of our previous surface. Stain-free, and super fast! I contacted my man in Japan, Sonnechi and he confirmed we had the correct tiles, and that it will take a good while to break in, but once broken in, will be really good.
SPEC TIRE
Once the surface was pretty broken in, I started my usual Spec Tire hunt. As always DS Racing stepped up and really helped with finding the correct compound. I tried many other brands as well, as the search is always for the best we can possibly get. Right now we have settled on 2 possible Spec Tires. DS Racing Comp III LF-3, or DS Racing Comp III LF-5C. It really depends on how much the track surface slows down and what speed it finally settles on. At the moment, it’s slower than our previous surface, and it’s still slowing. That’s a really good thing in our opinion.
TEST SESH
Last night we had a closed, Test Sesh. RawFew, Team Super-G, Team Zenshin, Tech One Drift, Marcus Morizuka, Jon Chase, Jolly, Justin JTP Pawlak, and of course, Shaine Collins, all came out to lay down some plastic and get some serious slides in. I needed to check the speed throughout the sesh and also make sure the tire we are leaning toward has the correct properties we are after. The surface is awesome and the DS Racing Comp III LF-3 seem right. Thank you to everyone who came out to help us break in the surface and for making it a really awesome session!!!
I want to put out a special thank you to Shaine Collins, Marcus Morizuka, and Wee (DS Racing) for all your help and information with this project. It wouldn’t have happened without your help and guidance.
WHEN IS Super-G REOPENING
We are considering opening the Track ONLY in the very near future. No retail store at the moment, but fulfilling orders placed online. The retail section is next, but taking longer than we would like.
OFFICIAL REOPENING EVENT
June 10, 2023 we are planning to have an official Reopening. A day to bring everyone together to celebrate the next phase of Super-G. We will be making an announcement shortly.