Falken Tire Discussion and Q&A

[The Badger]

Id like to see vids of drivers explaining to the mechanics , why the car isnt working to its best and how they plan to remedy it with respect to setups .

[FalkenALMS]

We're going to be doing an upcoming blog (or two) on the helmets of Bryan Sellers and Wolf Henzler. Do any 10-Tenths users have any questions regarding the helmets they'd like the drivers to answer in the blog?

[The Badger]

What do the colors Yellow & bright green represent on Henzler's helmet , and also for Sellers please .

Many drivers have a specific pattern that can mean something , but the 2 boys lids are fairly bland , imo .

[Canada ALMS fan]

Hi Kelly,
A meet up for Sebring would likely be the best as a lot of us here attend, not just the folks in North America I would guess.
The best parts of the Petit tour for me were the walk through of the steering wheel and its' functions and the tour of the inside of the transporter.
As for the helmets, how many do they use in a season? I assume they are carbon as per the rules? An explanation of the different visors for different conditions would be cool too.

[FalkenALMS]

With the recent announcement of Dunlop leaving ALMS, we've been getting asked the same question numerous times today, so I might as well address it here too.

The main question as been, "Is there any chance of Falken Tire providing former Dunlop customers tires now that Dunlop has left ALMS?"

Simply put, that would have to be a discussion between the Falken Tire Corporation and the teams that are hypothetically interested. We're just a team owned by Falken, so we would not be involved in those discussions. (For example, if Corvette wanted to switch to Dunlops, they wouldn't go through other teams running Dunlops, they'd just go straight to the tire manufacturer).

[Simmi]

I think the question I'd be asking is why do you think they turned their back on America? Especially with the timing being the way it is - naturally fans are going to wonder about a potential spec tyre coming in for '14.

Don't expect you to answer that. I think everyone is crossing their fingers that won't be the case.

[rich07]

A nice write up on the Falken 997 RSR with some great pics of the car and some spectacular wallpapers too.

http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/11/falken-gt3-rs/

[FalkenALMS]

As promised, here's the latest Falken Tire blog, where Bryan Sellers and Wolf Henzler answer your questions about their helmets. Thanks to The Badger and Canada ALMS fan for sending in questions!

http://bit.ly/QLJKBm

[Spyderman]

Excellent! Thank you.

[Canada ALMS fan]

Thanks, I wish all teams communicated with the fan base as well as Falken does. Sponsors couldn't ask for better activation!

[FalkenALMS]

Originally Posted by Canada ALMS fan

Thanks, I wish all teams communicated with the fan base as well as Falken does. Sponsors couldn't ask for better activation!

Thank you very much! You all have been so interactive and supportive of us, and for that we thank you as well. This is such a great forum and group of enthusiasts. We're happy to be a part of it!


We've got another one in the works showing the painting process of our #17 Falken Porsche. Just like the helmet blog, if any 10-Tenths users want to be included and have questions, ask away in this thread and we'll have our painter Dan answer them in the blog!

[I Rosputnik]

Very interesting read with the helmet blog ^^. Any chance we could get a look at how the car livery is designed and applied to the car?

[skycafe]

Originally Posted by I Rosputnik

Very interesting read with the helmet blog ^^. Any chance we could get a look at how the car livery is designed and applied to the car?

That is a cool bunch of questions and I would love to know

I have a question too, when it comes to setup of the cockpit, what concessions do the drivers make for each other?

Related question-with regards to setup, do the drivers basically agree on setup, or are they having to compromise somewhat for each other?

[FalkenALMS]

Originally Posted by I Rosputnik

Very interesting read with the helmet blog ^^. Any chance we could get a look at how the car livery is designed and applied to the car?

Yes! That's what the painting blog is going to be all about! So if you have any specific questions for our painter Dan, just post them here!

[FalkenALMS]

Originally Posted by skycafe

I have a question too, when it comes to setup of the cockpit, what concessions do the drivers make for each other?

Related question-with regards to setup, do the drivers basically agree on setup, or are they having to compromise somewhat for each other?

Bryan and Wolf are two peas in a pod. Team Manager Derrick Walker even calls the duo "the twins." They're both pretty similar in car feedback and car setup. It's pretty rare to see one of them wanting something set up differently than the other. I don't think it happened once in the 2012 season.

More on their workings as co-drivers here: http://bit.ly/KY8xj0

[skycafe]

Thanks Kelly!

[I Rosputnik]

Originally Posted by FalkenALMS

Yes! That's what the painting blog is going to be all about! So if you have any specific questions for our painter Dan, just post them here!

How much freedom does Dan get when designing a car livery in regards to how expressive can it be and how much artistic license is allowed to be used when working with sponsor logos?

[Matt]

Why hasn't Falken changed their livery to the one their D1GP car used a few years ago? Looked much more modern.


Plus, blue chrome!

[Pandamasque]

No thanks. The one currently used on the ALMS Porsche is perfect. It's as instantly recognizable as any. And it's not just the colours, but that pattern on the sides. IMO it'll go down in history as one of the truly iconic liveries of all time. No other tire brand has that.

[The Badger]

Michelin Man Sauber C9-88 looked cool : http://www.carsandtrains.com/diecast..._michelin1.jpg

The blue on this is way too bright though . Was the same color as the AEG cars , Mercedez-Benz Dunkelblau . I dont think the Falken livery is super nice at all ..... Its ok in my opinion . I like the black wheels though .

[Pandamasque]

Like it or not, it's very original and recognisable even w/o any Falken logos there's no mistaking it for something else. Just like Gulf or Martini. Remove the Bibendum logo and that Michelin livery will stop being a Michelin livery.

[Canada ALMS fan]

Originally Posted by Pandamasque

No thanks. The one currently used on the ALMS Porsche is perfect. It's as instantly recognizable as any. And it's not just the colours, but that pattern on the sides. IMO it'll go down in history as one of the truly iconic liveries of all time. No other tire brand has that.

x 2.

[zr1 fan]

Falken is a team that is second to none in how they treat their fans. the "big" race teams should follow suit

[FstrthnU]

By the way, is it looking like Falken will be the ONLY Porsche GT team in the ALMS this year? I haven't heard anything about Paul Miller Racing or any new Porsche GT teams in the ALMS.

[FalkenALMS]

Originally Posted by FstrthnU

By the way, is it looking like Falken will be the ONLY Porsche GT team in the ALMS this year? I haven't heard anything about Paul Miller Racing or any new Porsche GT teams in the ALMS.

PM has announced they will return in the GT class and Team Manager Derrick Walker says that there will possibly be another team as well in addition to ours.