Combining Pirelli’s P Zero Trofeo R tires with Brembo carbon-ceramic brake rotors is claimed to push deceleration forces up to 1.5 g. Engineers marked the tires and found that the braking forces were strong enough to cause the tire to slip more than 360 degrees during a single track session.
The team reportedly looked to race cars for potential solutions, trying out abrasive paint around the bead of the wheel.
“The Z/28′s engineers tried it, but it wasn’t strong enough to prevent the slippage, so other approaches were tried,” the company notes. “Finally, they tried media blasting, which involves shooting a gritty material through an air gun at the wheel’s surface, adding texture to the paint for the tire to grip.”
The media-blasted surface reportedly solved the slippage issue under braking and acceleration. The team partially blamed the Z/28′s 7.0-liter LS7 V8 engine’s 505 horsepower as a contributing factor to tire slip on the rear wheels.
The 2014 Camaro Z/28 is expected to arrive in showrooms later this spring.
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