I commute on some truly awful roads (surface-wise), so most of the time, I run fairly low front tyre pressures (32 - 34psi)
This gets rid of a little of the crashiness of the ride (I'm also on Eibachs and uprated shocks). However, I've also realised that it had another benefit - traction.
For the Cat & Fiddle meeting at the weekend, I expected to have a whizz up and down the pass, so I put the correct pressure in - 38ish psi. The ride was noticeably harder, but cornering was better - crisper turn-in.
All as expected so far....
However, today it rained. I'm still running the higher pressures and I still used exactly the same roads. However on a hill climbing away from a small roundabout, where I always get wheelspin in 1st and 2nd, I also lit up in 3rd and 4th and got a squirm in 5th
the Mondeo behind me must have wondered why there was so much noise and so little forward motion - he stayed with me to 80, after which I finally stopped spinning the power away and got some decent acceleration.
Whilst I'm not surprised at losing traction, I AM surprised at just how much I've lost. Time to let the tyres down again